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chr49

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Posts posted by chr49

    Peripheral Artery Disease (pad)

    in Agent Orange

    Posted

    Du,

    Thank you very much, I appreciate your complement. With that said, "WOW", you have so many health problems I don't know where to start. Unfortunately, I don't know very much about the AO presumptives since I am Gulf war era. I would like to see berta get involved with you and see what she could do for your situation. Personally, I think you should just file for everything, because you have so many things that something has to be AO connected. With that said though I really would like Berta to get involved with you. I think you need a new post and title it something like Berta I need your help. once you do that ask her if she will allow you to PM her and go from their. I hope I'm not offending Berta, but I think she is super smart and knows alot about AO claims.

    Hope this helps, take care,

    Bergie

    Bergie is thinking along the same lines as I was. I bumped this message in hopes that Berta would pick up on it. She's the best when it comes to AO claims. If you can get connected I'd go for it. Please keep us updated, OK? Those of us out here with PAD are always interested in others with the same problems.

    Peripheral Artery Disease (pad)

    in Agent Orange

    Posted

    Bergie

    Thank you so much for your replie, I see your name a lot and have come to respect your advice and opinion, my history is as follows.

    1999 diagnosed with PAD and prior to triple bypass surgery in my right leg my vascular surgeon suggested that I have a cath performed to make sure my heart was ok. This procedure showed two heart arteries blocked 85% so stents were inserted, then I had my PAD surgery the next day. In 2000 my right leg became blocked again so my surgeon took the vein out of my left leg and replaced the entire artery in my right leg, major deal (187 staples, felt like a split frog). This procedure has been working since then but along the way my heart started giving me more problems and since then I have had 5 more stents inplaced, 8 ablation (laser) procedures, 1 shock procedure and my right coronary arterie is 100% occluted with no repair possible. Diagnosis as stated by private physicain as IHD, CHF, CAD, PAD, 50% or less fraction, and tried to do a teadmill 2 months ago and could only take it 3.4 minutes. I applied for IHD in Oct of last year. My real question is should I go ahead and apply for PAD just in case it becomes a presumtive in later years and that would inable me to get retroactive benefits from date of filing?

    DuRock, Vietnam Vets Forever!!!

    DuRock,

    Well, you definitely have everything needed for the Ischemic Heart Disease presumptive. I don't have the answer to the real question on your post but hopefully some of our fine Hadit membership will assist you. I'll be interested to hear what they have recommend in your situation.

    My question would be whether you should file PAD as a secondary to IHD at this point? It's obvious, to me, that you have severe issues with systemic atherosclerosis. Good luck and let us know how you proceed so we can learn thru your case.

    Peripheral Artery Disease (pad)

    in Agent Orange

    Posted

    'chr49',

    I try to help with medical advice/questions when I can. I appreciate your kind words and hope the best for you.

    Take care,

    Bergie

    Thanks Bergie...

    I'm a tough old bird! I have occasional 'Pity Party' days but, all in all, I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm still able to work and I have a wonderful wife who's put up with my insanity for several years now. What more could one ask for?

    It's great that we have somebody like you that's willing to help with medical advice when & where it's needed.

    Peripheral Artery Disease (pad)

    in Agent Orange

    Posted · Edited by chr49

    DuRock,

    Have you ever been checked for heart disease? I ask because PAD although it is in the peripheral arteries, can be an indicator of coronary artery health. Meaning that if your peripheral arteries are sick (PAD) than you may have sick arteries in your heart (IHD). If you have never seen a cardiologist than you should consider what I have explained and make an appointment. Also, you should have your "carotid arteries" checked as well, because PAD can be an indicator of problems there as well.

    JMO,

    Bergie

    Bergie's advise is right on....Not to scare you but I was told everything Bergie said by my vascular specialists. I was originally diagnosed with PAD in 2002 and 6 years later I had a stent put in the other leg. At that time they also found atherosclerosis in my aorta, one carotid occlusion and the other had build up that they figure will require treatment in the near future. I'm currently investigating whether I have it in my heart too (IHD).

    Thanks for bring that up Bergie...it's important to know. I wish somebody had told me about it in 2002.

    Peripheral Artery Disease (pad)

    in Agent Orange

    Posted

    DuRock

    I'm in the boat right along side of you.

    If you haven't read the proposed regulations you can find them at www.Regulations.gov under VA proposed regulations.

    At this point the proposed regulations specifically state that peripheral vascular and stroke will not be allowed. I realize PAD is not the same as PVD, but since they are saying the won't allow stroke, they most likely won't allow anything peripheral.

    Ao Rules - Disagree On Posted Comment For Ihd

    in Agent Orange

    Posted

    Excellent topic, JRW.

    I agree with you. I'm pretty tired right now so I may goof this up...but I actually got angry when I read that post. So...I was a FO, spent huge amount of time in the field and I preferred rice over of rations. Big Whoop!!

    Thing is, who has the right to say one person deserves more than the other? We didn't keep diaries of what we ate/drank and where we went each day, or what we touched or what was sprayed on us and I'm sure that all of us went to/thru places that aren't documented in our files.

    Fact is...we were all exposed. Whether it was me, out in the field, or my brother sitting behind a desk most of the time!

    I've read so many tests/studies/abstract/scientific data that I'm truly sick of it. We've been tested, prodded and denied for years on end. The time has come to treat all AO vets properly! JMO

    I Won 100% Sc Back To 1995

    in Appealing Your Veterans Compensation Disability Claims NOD, DRO, BVA, USCAVC

    Posted

    got a call from my atty today...he said that i won 100%sc p&t back to 1995 with retro of 352,000.00...

    i just got 50% back in janurary for bipolar....but the DRO lied about the effective date i.e...the director of the st pete varo sent 2 letters to my congressmen rep and senator stating that i was inappeal...the dro ignored that and just gave me back to the date of those letters....also my 50% award was based on inpatient clinical records spanning the last 55 days of service which i spent in a psych ward.....

    with that said...i've been calling and writing everyone i could think of....the Secretary, the Congressmen, the VAOIG, the VAOGC...the press....i've called the Secretary everyday since the janurary award complaining about the VA lying to congress and how that is a crime under title 18, chapter 47, sec. 1001....i'd gone to the US attorney and the FBI, requesting that charges be filed...and then out of the blue....they called my atty...and I won back to my original claim in 1995 under 38 cfr 3.156© ...

    haven't rec'd the money yet...but the atty assures me that it should be forthcoming by 04/09/

    I won I won I won....dancing around nakedly...

    after the atty's 30 pieces of silver i'll get in the neighborhood of 290,000.00 (that oughtta cover a house, a new motorcycle, several "escorts", and a new car) that's a joke mostly....i am planning on buying a house because as a 100%sc p&t vet i'm tax exempt as far as property taxes go, and i've been homeless on and off since service...i want a motorcyle, I plan on buying a used one...and i need a new car, because my current one is a jalopy...

    I haven't rec'd the money yet...but the atty assures me that it should be forthcoming by 04/09

    I'm still kind of in shock...I WON a 15 year battle with them SOB's...I won...holy cow batman...

    WOW! I'd be so elated that you'd have a hard time getting my feet back on the ground. It's so nice to read such great news. Truly makes it worth the 15 year battle you've been thru! Congratulations!

    Make Sure Paperwork Is Turned In

    in Social Security Disability Questions

    Posted

    as most folks are saying ,lawyer up after your first turndown. while thqt is good advice i did the same thing and in between my first turn down and second turn down i too lawyered up. i received 100% sc disability in that time frame along with a housebound decision as well....sounds good only my lawyer did not turn the paperwork into the ss office. though they did make sure to send in the paperwork saying they were representing me. the moral of the story is if any service member has navigated the way through the va on their own. chances are they have better organizational skills then they give themselves credit for and make sure you still cover your own @#$ i feel i have taken it in the shorts on this one.

    So the moral of the story is...Be aware at all times...just as we must be with the VA. So sorry to hear that your lawyer didn't follow thru!

    New Glasses

    in Success Stories

    Posted

    Hey Fellers, just wanted you all to know that Lexington VA has a spouse program and I got glasses for $89.00. It would have been cheaper but they charged extra for the transitions. I thought for a minute someone up there had lost it!!! I didn't look the gift horse in the mouth just took-em and ran like hell.

    Carolyn

    Great deal! Especially for transitions. Did they do your exam too? My wife needs glasses so bad! Tell me more about this program. I'd like to check to see if they have it around here.

    Welcome Home Vietnam Vet

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    That's correct. I understand where you're coming from. Used to get all hung up about it but try to stay calm these days...HA! Guess it's the meds they have me on these days.

    Remember the check they sent us? It was approx '72 or '73 for $600 (if I'm remembering right)...bought my wife a much needed washer/dryer...nothing for me.

    60+20=60?new Exam By Original C&p Examiner

    in Appealing Your Veterans Compensation Disability Claims NOD, DRO, BVA, USCAVC

    Posted · Edited by chr49

    OK I've been trying to wrap my head around this till tomorrow so I have this:

    1. 30 sinus tachycardia

    2. 20 lumbar (First claim submitted April 2008/denied June 2008/Denied August 2009-New DRO Grant 17 March 2010)

    3. 10 tinitus (bilateral) X 1.1 = 11

    4. 10 L foot

    5. 10 R Foot

    4&5 Pyramid = 10% total

    6. 10 Hypertension

    7. 0% R high frequency hearing

    = 90%

    or

    with pyramid factoring

    X 1.1 = 81%

    Obviously I am doing something wrong. I have the L and R Feet pyramided to 10% instead of 20%. Still the VA has me rated at 60%. I can call 1-800-827-1000 Tuesday or IRIS the quetion but if anybody can tell me where my thinking has gone wrong that would be quite helpful.

    The only new items are:

    2. 20 lumbar (First claim submitted April 2008/denied June 2008/Denied August 2009-New DRO Grant 17 March 2010)

    3. 10 tinitus (bilateral) X 1.1 = 11 granted June 2010

    I have found no spreadsheets that are relevant to this and clueless for the rest of this.

    It comes out to 64 for me, rounding to 60

    Your bilateral for tinitis = 10+10 = 19 + 10% or 1.9 = 20.9 rounded to 21.

    If 4&5 are pyramid, I believe they ignore one of them so you get 10 on that.

    So you end up with 30+21=45 + 20=56 + 10=60 + 10=64 using VA fussy math, which rounds down to 60%.

    At least that looks like what they are doing to you.

    Welcome Home Vietnam Vet

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted · Edited by chr49

    Thanks for the info, Shamrock.

    Here's the statement and a bit of history for those that don't know. I don't believe Vietnam was termed a "war" when I returned home. Funny they term it that way now. It's good to hear that people thinking about us old guys!

    I agree vperl...it should have been done 40 years ago!

    ...........................

    Today, U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced a resolution in support of the establishment of “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.” Designating March 30, 2010, as “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” honors the return home of our armed service members after serving in Vietnam.

    “There’s no question that our troops served our country bravely and faithfully during the Vietnam War, and these veterans deserve our recognition and gratitude,” Burr said. “Unfortunately, when these service members returned home, they were caught in the crossfire of public debate about our nation’s involvement in the Vietnam War. As a result, these brave men and women never received the welcome reception and recognition they deserved.”

    “On March 30, 1973, our United States Armed Forces completed the withdrawal of combat troops from Vietnam,” Senator Inhofe said. “Our veterans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in Vietnam deserve the greatest honor and respect - honor and respect they were denied when they arrived home. I am proud to join my colleagues in support of this resolution to establish a day in honor of the return of all troops from the Vietnam War.”

    The United States became involved in Vietnam because policy-makers believed that if South Vietnam fell to a communist government, communism would spread throughout the rest of Southeast Asia. The US Armed Forces began serving in an advisory role to the South Vietnamese in 1961, and in 1965, ground combat troops were sent into Vietnam. After many years of combat, all US troops were withdrawn from Vietnam on March 30, 1973, under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. Therefore, March 30, 2010, is an appropriate day to establish “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.”

    More than 58,000 members of the United States Armed Forces lost their lives and more than 300,000 were wounded in Vietnam. The establishment of a “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” would serve as a small way to honor these men and women who served our country in Vietnam throughout the war.

    Need To File Claim - Lots Of Confustion

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    Being diagnosed maybe the easiest part, you have to have the right sores, the right lousy terrible scores that show how ill you are.....

    Not good for you as a person, but good for the higher percentage of compensation....... I also have IHD so we share this crap also...

    The tests and recent tests in last 6 months the VA C&P guy danced around me like little girl in toe shoes.... asking me questions that the 5 inches of medical records showed and the three tests the VA gave me... ( My VA C&P guy did not care about the tests I took in 1999, he wanted recent tests... guess he thinks my heart healed it's self..)

    These tests measure blood flow.... the lower the number the higher the compensation and the worse your health.

    I posted many times in this thread what METS Scores you need to get 30 % 60% and 100 % with all different added other reasons you

    can get a higher compensation rating......

    The VA by regulation has to give you 60% disability for 29 METS....

    The information is posted below.... for all to read...

    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

    vperl...

    Sounds like you've been put thru the mill! I hope all goes well for you. With your medical history it sounds like a sure thing.

    I do appreciate the VA regulation info you've attached to this topic. I actually understood requirement wise, etc. Just don't know if I fit into the picture at this point. I guess time will tell on all of this. Thanks for your help and good luck!

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