goofycow

I guess what I meant to say in my first post but never got around to it, even though there's these blood tests and x-rays in my files, no one has written a diagnosis of heart or vascular disease. And knowing how anal VA can be, some rater in North Little Rock would tell me you don't have a diagnosis of heart disease. Howver, before I got out of the Navy, DAV made copies of my medical records. I believe I even have copies of old lab chits that show hyperlipidemia even back then. Liz

Soooooooooo.......The fact that I have had high blood pressure & hyperlipidemia for so long calcified deposits in my abdominal artery on a conventional x-ray means squat to the VA....unless I keel over from a heart attack or stroke' That's just makes me feel so warm & fuzzy! And having major depressive disorder for years has nothing to do with it.... Liz

Dear Doctor Josephine :D For me, going to primary care at VA reminds me of going to military sick call. Back then it was either all in my head or I was trying to get out of work. Now it is either all in my head or I'm trying to milk the system for a rate increase. Plus VA has it in their head that I have a substance abuse problem. The only solution VA has ever offered me for pain is a TENS unit and that was years ago. Otherwise going to primary care is just like so many other instances I've read thru posts from other vets on this forum Besides, don't you realize all us women are complainers? Liz

At my latest shrink seesion this last week my shrink decided that my major depression wasn'tgetting any better & that she was "worried" about the severity of my symptoms so she put me on the concoction in the topic title to try to "improve" my mood. From what I can gather from research on the web, this stuff is used to treat migranes, seizures and bipolar disorder. as I am fortunate enough not to suffer from migraines or seizures, I can only conclude that she thinks I'm bipolar. Maybe if they did something about my chronic back & joint pain, my mood might lift somewhat. Then what do I know? I'm just a vet.

I was never diagnosed with a personality disorder while I was on active duty. Think that would have showed up sometime during my 20 years of service????? However the mental health professionals at VA have labeled me with all sorts of personality traits & disorders. I've never been diagnosed as being paranoid either but could the mental health people be attempting to make sure I can never win an increase in rating?? Just wondering. Liz

The sad part is I probably wouldn't have gotten any better care from the private sector, at least not in the Fort Smith AR area. i just won't go back as I do not see the point of going thru this again. In order to see a primary care doc, I have to ride the VA van because I have to dope myself up with valium to even get the nerve to see the doc. Then there's the whole issue of driving "under the influence". Of course I have to drive myself 10 miles one way to even catch the van. Here is what I met by how other members of the board treat me when I ask a question. I have joint and back problems that i think are service connected. In fact there are entries in my active duty medical records about being seen about these problems. Sometimes they would x-ray but nothing ever turned up. Sometimes they gave me motrin but most of the time they(corpsmen, doctors) just wrote the problem off due to my being a woman or trying to get out of work. When i mentioned trying to put in a claim for service connection for these problems, the advice I got from Hadit members was not to be "greedy" because I already had 100% due to IU. Some even suggested that my claim would clog the system for more deserving vets. Other member have asked the same question with the same 100% and were advised to go for it, get every penny you can from VA. Of course I am afraid to put in any additional claim because I am afraid that VA will review my current disabilities. And mental health has made sure that I can no longer get an increase in rating because they have labeled me with having personality disorders. In my 20 years of svc, the Navy never found issue with my personality. They gave me a TS clearance & PAID me to reenlist on 2 separate occassions. Now I'm scared that a casual review of my VA medical records might result in a rate cut. Anyway, that's my long rant for today. Sorry if I came across as being a BI-itch the other day. Must be that borderline thing going on. Liz

Dear Doctor Josephine: Happy to get a clear bill of heal from you, even though I have already lost the use of one dgit on my right hand and that I have difficulity swallowing. I am sure you are also correct when you say I had a normal session with a VA primary care doctor. As for my depression......HAHAHA!!!!!! It is down in the basement. I do not care if I live or die. In fact, I would much rather be dead than living the life I am living now. I felt that it was an intrusion on my privacy that I had to even see a doctor. My husband commited suicide by not seeing a doctor. i want to do the same. By the way, why do you have so much cred on this board when other members ignore my questions or treat me like a "wannabe" Liz ???th

Hello Boys & Girls: I haven't whined on this board for a while so thought I might complain about my first visit to primary care in over 2 years. I only went today because mental health finally nagged me into it. Anyway, seems like it was the same old, same old. I told them about the nasty acid reflux thing i have developed in the last few years. That it would wake me up at night. Have difficulty swallowing. Blank stare. Told them about & showed them my severely bent right pinky finger. Told them it hurts & lately it gets numb on the right side of my right hand & tingles all the way up to my right elbow. Also told them that my left pinky finger wasn't bent yet but was starting to hurt like the right one did before it started bending. The lumps around the middle joint of said right pinky look so disgusting, doc didn't want to touch it. Another blank stare. Also when they tried to take my vitals, the old Goat volunteer sat & watched while I screamed in agongy as the blood pressre cuff was trying cut my arm off. When I realized he wasn't going to do anything about, I ripped the cuff off myself. And what is the purpose of putting that little oxygen thingie on the tip of your finger anyway?? He wrote down I had a reading of 92 from that thing??? Never got an explination of what that met or what it was measuring. He just seemed to think I was a wimpy female who can't take pain. (He could have a point there ;) ) The doctor seemed conmcerned about my blood pressure, my weight etc. I tried to explain to her that I had been treated for eating disorders while on active duty & I probably wouldn't have much luck losing wieght until they treated the eating disorder. Another blank stare. Made me wonder why I bothered to come in the first place. So, all in all I did get to use my VA bennies today. And had an outstanding rest of the day. End of babble. Liz

yes Berta, I realize that you have posted on this topic many times. My husband died last from heart failure & other complications of diabetes. He served on board several aircraft carriers. He had 2 Viet Nam service metals plus a viet Nam gallantry cross on his final DD 214. But I am sure that will probably not be good enough for VA. BTW, I wasn't aware that there was a Blue water Navy site. I will have to check it out. Liz

I had a gaf of 33 on my C&P for mental diorders & they only rated me at 70% However, I did get IU. Liz

VA has finally figured out that my husband died last August & now wants me to pay back $1100. I am trying to fight it on the grounds that I contacted them last Sept. They still asked for a financial status report, assets, etc. I figure I have a snowball's chance in Hell of getting a waiver even if it was VA screwing up by sending my paperwork to Philadehia(sp) and then to Arizona before it got back to Arknsas. Liz

This may sound like a really dopey question but here goes. How was ao applied? Which branch of the service actually did it? Was it from Army helecopers, Navy planes??? The reason I ask is because my husband was on an aircraft carrier right off the coast. If navy planes dropped the ao, how can VA deny that anyone to not actually set foot on the ground in country could contact ao? Just wondering how this stuff was delivered & who delivered it. Liz

Theotherguy: I cited the reg you turned me onto in an IRIS inquiry. Would you believe I got a reply back today fm VA stating that they found a reg that allows a veteran & surviving spouse to draw both IU and DIC. Imagine that! My husband died from miarcardial infraction caused by DMII and years of uncontrolled high blood pressure. He was medically retired fm the Navy for angolosing spondolititst. But his medical boards also mentioned major depression. The Navy prescribed enough antidepressants for him to fill a red radio wagon! The problem is, he would never go to VA or file a claim but he did go to a private doctor for about 7 years before he died. He served on board aircraft carriers with several different fighter squradons. He had at least 2 Viet Nam service metals plus a Viet nam Galanty Cross. However, knowing VA, this is going to be a long, uphill battle. Liz Please excuse the butchered attempt at spelling his different medical conditions. I think the lay term for what caused his death is called heart failure/heart attack. The second term concerned his back, a disease that would eventually restrict his breathing.

Theotherguy: This may be exactly what I have been looking for. I will have to get a copy of this for my svc rep & the RO. Honestly though, after reading Berta's saga & others on this forum, it seems that DIC even even harder to get than other VA benefits. Thanks otherguy. Liz

Berta: Thank you for all your input. I would like to make one thing clear. My svc officer did not come up with this on her own. She told me the RO in Little Rock told her that. It would be nice if I could find something in writing but it seems like this is another case of VA trying to bend the regs to their own advantage. Second of all, I do live in Arkansas. I think the "good ol boys" are still trying to come to grips with the concept of a female veteran let alone a veteran who is also a widow. I guess I will just have to sit tight until I get the actual paperwork. Oh btw, somehow my claim got routed to Arizona at first. I found this out when I got a letter fm Phonex(sp!) I had to argue with the people in AZ & explain to them that my husband had never been a resident of that state. Maybe I should have left the claim there. I might have had a better chance of winning. :D Thanks again. Liz

Betrayed: Please do not give in to the urge to end it all. Even if your wife did manage to win a claim with VA, she would still have to live with the conseqences, feelings of guilt, etc. I could go on & on but will leave at that. Liz

A few days ago I called my county svc rep because VA has still been paying me UI at the rate for having a dependant even though my husband died 8/31. I wanted to know why were they still paying me too much. Well, this morning she called me back & told me that Little Rock was going to turn down my claim for DIC because I can not draw UI & DIC at the same time. She couldn't answer why they were taking so long to adjust my pay. I know why!!!! That way they can deny my claim & twist the knife in my back by demanding all that extra they have paid me over 7 mo! Life is sweet for the VA :D My husband was my buffer to the outside world. He drove me everywhere. Now I only drive to the nearest Wal mat & across the river to the liquor store. My husband's bike still sits parked out on my front porch because I am too afraid to put an ad in the paper. I live alone out in the country & fear who might come out in answer to my ad. The same goes for the Bronco that has been sitting in the garage. It hasn't been started in 10 months. Yes indeed, life is a hoot! Thanks for letting me vent. Liz

When I was up in MN I was told to go to Lenscrafter or Pearl Vision for an eye exam even tho I was SC for glaucoma. Then just this last Monday my VA shrink suggested I go to a local church for grie counseling.

My husband was also on TDRL for his back. Think he was also rated at 40%. It is very important to keep going to your doctor on TDRL. My husband didn't. The VA re-evaluated him after about 2 years. He was found to be fully fit for duty and went back on active duty. Liz

That is fantastic news. ;) I hope he gets to spend lots of time with his new son. I also hope he never has to go back there!

Hey Sledge: You wouldn't happen to go to the same VA I go to, would you???? I also get way pissed when I get treated like bovine excretment. Makes me act like I have a personality disorder Come to think of it, my personality or lack there of was never really an issue until I started trying to deal with VA. Tne Navy had 20 very long years to make it an issue but they didn't. Instead they gave me a security clearance & several hefty re-up bonuses over they years. Now according to VA I am no good low down dirty pond scum. Liz

jaz: Yes, it is somewhat of a Catch 22 isn't it? I have "self medicated" on and off over the years since joining the military. In fact I have been hitting the sauce quite heavily lately. But like you, I wait until after hours, don't drink & drive & drink at home. Besides there is no one around to object to my drinking anyway. Why is it OK for the VA to prescribe medication which can be highly addictive but it is such a terrible no-no to drink alcohol? The last time I checked, alcohol is still a legal substance & can be obtained without a prescription. Liz

I recently started taking fish oil capsules because of the heart health benefits. Hadn't heard that fish oil could help joint pain. Would be nice. I gots plenty of joints & most of them seem to hurt on any given day. Liz

My disability is for major depressive disorder. I also underwent 6 weeks of in-patient treatment for being a compulsive over eater while on active duty. Yet when I try to bring up the fact that I have an eating disorder, i just get blank stares at VA. I personally believe that VA ignores potentally serious health problems in the hope that we will die early, thus saving the VA a boat load of cash. Liz

i don't know about the rest of you guys, but when I enlisted Jan 1972, the Navy did not give me any kind of phycological testing that I'm aware of. However, I was granted a top secret clearance 6 mo. after I first enlisted, for what that's worth. I heard from my Dad that there had been some govt. types askig questions about me in my old home town. Maybe my old school teachers & neighbors lied about me so they wouldn't have to put up with me if I were kicked out & came back home early. :)