DuRock

Dallas Area, nothig but good things to say about them. I got my paperwork Friday, 100% Comp, no follow ups, they deemed it permanent!!!!!!!!!!! DuRock

Sorry Papa, I have 3 kids living at home now. My how times have changed since we grew up. DuRock

Thanks for all of the comments from everyone, we have calmed down now and I am at work but the wife took the day off and is out spending money, mainly paying bills but she is getting her hair done today. I am so lucky to have a job that is behind a desk. I used to carry a toolbox as a field engineer but that stopped 11 years ago when my heart started acting up. Thanks to a great company they found a spot for me in tech support answering questions all day. Life is grand, and I am only 2 years away from retirement. DuRock

No brown envelope, no white envelope, no phone calls just checked my bank balance this morning and there it was 40K + some. Filed Oct of 09 for Ischemic Heart related to AO and here it is. By my figures I think they rated me at 100% but really wont be sure until the notice gets to me. When I saw it I scared the entire family going from bedroom to bedroom yelling at them to come look. My wife started crying I was shaking all over. What a great feeling it was and still is. Hope everyone else gets the same news. Thanks to everyone at HADIT for all of the advice, I read this stuff on a daily basis and have learned so much more than I ever knew a year and a half ago. Thanks again all DuRock

Just got off the phone with the 800 #, Young lady said my AO/IHD Claim has been with the raters for 2 weeks now. From what I have read that normally takes 2 to 6 weeks to complete this stage. What happens after that?

Thanks for the reply Stillhere, the only word I have got from the VA for the last 14 months are letters stating we are still working on your claim, I called the 800 number and they said there had been no activity on my claim since July. They said they sent a query that would require a phone call back to me within 5 business days, well that was 10 working days ago and still no call. I have just decided to wait it out and see what happens. I just spent a week in the hospital with my A-FIB and they have finally gotten that corrected so I feel much better at this point in time, but who knows what tommorrow may bring. I crinch every time I hear of a vet passing while waiting on a reply from the VA, it just should not take so long for them to do what they have to do, it just plain makes no sense at all. DuRock

I was first diagnosed with IHD and PAD at the same time back in 1999 and have my claim in for IHD at this time since OCT 2009 with no answer yet. If I am awarded compensation for PTSD is there any chance of claiming PAD as secondary to IHD? My Vascular surgeon says they are basically the same desease just in different locations of the body. I am pretty sure I will be awarded 60% (METS 4.2 and EF at 48%). I have had one MI and 7 stents with 3 leg bypass surgeries plus mamy other heart complications as well. DuRock

I am so glad I read this thread, I had never really given this any thought. I was diagnosed with severe Sleep Apnea recently and sleep with a CPAP every night. I used to awake several times each night gasping for air like I had been holding my breath, most everytime this happened I would relate it or think about my Vietnam experience's. I had already applied for PTSD in July of this year but have not heard anything since I had my exam with the shrink. However since starting to use the CPAP machine on a a regular basis I am sleeping through most every night without waking up. So I don't know if the PTSD was due to the Sleep Apnea or the other way around. I still have other issues with my PTSD but it sure helps to be able to sleep through the night for a change and being fully rested does seem to help with my other symptoms as well. Depending on the outcome of my claim I may claim the Apnea due to PTSD. What are your thoughts on this? Durock

Thanks for the reply, this is what I expected.

What is the VA definition or descripton of what a parent is, can it be an inlaw, step parent? This is for compensation rating.

Just got this back from an IRIS I sent in yesterday at 3:30, So I guess I am still waiting along with a bunch of other VETS, wish I had better news for everyone!! Trying to find out what the status is of two claims, first claim is for IHD i... Discussion Thread Response (Department of Veterans Affairs)11/05/2010 03:31 PM Dear Mr. Morris: This is in response to your recent inquiry to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), dated November 4, 2010, in regards to the status of your claims. Thank you for contacting the VA. Our records indicate that we are working your claim dated November 11, 2009, for ischemic heart disease based on herbicide exposure. The final regulation was recently published and VA is currently processing these claims. A VA employee will review all the evidence and make a decision regarding your claim. Unfortunately, due to the large volume of claims we are unable to provide a time frame for completion. We are processing your claim dated July 13, 2010, for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A review of your examination is being conducted. Once it is determined that all information has been gathered, your claim will be forwarded to a VA employee who reviews all the evidence and makes the decision regarding the claim. From there it will go to the team that prepares the claim package for final review. Once this is complete the staff will review the information for accuracy of the claim and send you a notification letter, which is usually the final step. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. You may contact us anytime by submitting a new inquiry at https://iris.va.gov, call 1-800-827-1000, or visit our web site at www.va.gov. Thank you for your service to our country! Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below. Sincerely yours, E. J. Kruse National IRIS Response Center Manager RW Trying to find out what the status is of two claims, first claim is for IHD i... Discussion Thread Response (Department of Veterans Affairs)11/05/2010 03:31 PM Dear Mr. Morris: This is in response to your recent inquiry to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), dated November 4, 2010, in regards to the status of your claims. Thank you for contacting the VA. Our records indicate that we are working your claim dated November 11, 2009, for ischemic heart disease based on herbicide exposure. The final regulation was recently published and VA is currently processing these claims. A VA employee will review all the evidence and make a decision regarding your claim. Unfortunately, due to the large volume of claims we are unable to provide a time frame for completion. We are processing your claim dated July 13, 2010, for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A review of your examination is being conducted. Once it is determined that all information has been gathered, your claim will be forwarded to a VA employee who reviews all the evidence and makes the decision regarding the claim. From there it will go to the team that prepares the claim package for final review. Once this is complete the staff will review the information for accuracy of the claim and send you a notification letter, which is usually the final step. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. You may contact us anytime by submitting a new inquiry at https://iris.va.gov, call 1-800-827-1000, or visit our web site at www.va.gov. Thank you for your service to our country! Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below. Sincerely yours, E. J. Kruse National IRIS Response Center Manager RW Trying to find out what the status is of two claims, first claim is for IHD i... Discussion Thread Response (Department of Veterans Affairs) 11/05/2010 03:31 PM Dear Mr. Morris: This is in response to your recent inquiry to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), dated November 4, 2010, in regards to the status of your claims. Thank you for contacting the VA. Our records indicate that we are working your claim dated November 11, 2009, for ischemic heart disease based on herbicide exposure. The final regulation was recently published and VA is currently processing these claims. A VA employee will review all the evidence and make a decision regarding your claim. Unfortunately, due to the large volume of claims we are unable to provide a time frame for completion. We are processing your claim dated July 13, 2010, for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A review of your examination is being conducted. Once it is determined that all information has been gathered, your claim will be forwarded to a VA employee who reviews all the evidence and makes the decision regarding the claim. From there it will go to the team that prepares the claim package for final review. Once this is complete the staff will review the information for accuracy of the claim and send you a notification letter, which is usually the final step. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. You may contact us anytime by submitting a new inquiry at https://iris.va.gov, call 1-800-827-1000, or visit our web site at www.va.gov. Thank you for your service to our country! Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below. Sincerely yours, E. J. Kruse National IRIS Response Center Manager Trying to find out what the status is of two claims, first claim is for IHD i... Discussion Thread Response (Department of Veterans Affairs)11/05/2010 03:31 PM Dear Mr. Morris: This is in response to your recent inquiry to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), dated November 4, 2010, in regards to the status of your claims. Thank you for contacting the VA. Our records indicate that we are working your claim dated November 11, 2009, for ischemic heart disease based on herbicide exposure. The final regulation was recently published and VA is currently processing these claims. A VA employee will review all the evidence and make a decision regarding your claim. Unfortunately, due to the large volume of claims we are unable to provide a time frame for completion. We are processing your claim dated July 13, 2010, for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A review of your examination is being conducted. Once it is determined that all information has been gathered, your claim will be forwarded to a VA employee who reviews all the evidence and makes the decision regarding the claim. From there it will go to the team that prepares the claim package for final review. Once this is complete the staff will review the information for accuracy of the claim and send you a notification letter, which is usually the final step. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. You may contact us anytime by submitting a new inquiry at https://iris.va.gov, call 1-800-827-1000, or visit our web site at www.va.gov. Thank you for your service to our country! Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below. Sincerely yours, E. J. Kruse National IRIS Response Center Manager

I haven't heard anything on my claim yet but I have a friend that got a letter yesterday and it stated that he had been rated at 100% for his heart condition and that his payment would be direct deposited into his account on the 15th on this month. He filed his claim in July of this year. This was great news for him since he has been making it on only $826.00 a month from SSI. They even stated that they were going to help him get housing in his area since he is presently without a home. We live in the Dallas area.

Just called the 800 number to check on status of my Ischemic Heart AO claim, young lady informed me that all of the new presumptive claims were now being processed without further delay. She said that it was now out of Congress and that the VA is presently processing all claims as of yesterday. Can anyone else confirm this information, as far as I am concerned this is great news for everyone concerned. DuRock

You sir certainly have the symptoms of PTSD and should not hesitate to file for it and along with that would hopefully come some counseling that could really help you out. I just went through my first C & P and survived it OK. If you don't seek help for yourself then do it for your family. Good Luck to you sir. DuRock

Papa, I heard this a lot from the guy's I served with at Cam Rahn, same thing happened to me, it was like they saw our plane coming in and knew it was full of cheery boy's. We didn't even get half way off the tarmac when the rockets started coming in, we ran for sand bags and the one image that has stuck in my mind from that night all this time is an APC rolling by us as we were taking cover, some guy was standing up holding his M16 up hollering welcome to Viet Nam Mother#$%@*#. I am not ashamed to say I had a load in my britches as well, what a wake up call. I just had my first C & P for PTSD last month, put it off way to many years but finally did something about it. If this guy got it then there should be no doubt about me getting it with the experience's I had in NAM. Vietnam Vets Forever DuRock