Hambone11B

Congrats! 8)

Hi Bmurp, From what I was told, as I have obstructive Sleep apnea as well, is that due to the nature of the CPAP needing to have the tubes replaced every 6 months or so, this automatically warrants a 50% rating so you are insured for your SC disabilities. Whether or not this is true I don't know. I do know I recieved a 50% rating for Sleep Apnea first try.

My apologies for the length of that last reply, I didn't realize how much I had written when I copied and pasted it into the reply box.

To Carlie: For my TBI claim I'm not actually asking for an increase, I'm asking for a re-evaluation on a claim I submitted that was denied. In the claim response they had noted that I was recieving treatment for headaches, fainting spells and balance problems in accordance with post-concussion syndrome and that I was exposed to IED's and explosions while in service but at the time of discharge the issues had resolved. At the time of discharge I had stopped recieving treatment because I was being discharged and not because they had resolved. For my GERD I had never really thought about seeking an increase and it is something that I will most definitely submit. At the current time, my PCN and I are currently going thru the steps of getting an upper and lower GI as every time I see him I complain of heartburn. My last appt we tried the last medicine he needed to put me on before he could order such procedures so when I go in on OCT 18 it is one of many things he will be ordering for me. About 2 months ago I checked myself into the ER for headaches and it was discovered in a brain scan that I had calcium deposits on my brain and he had said that I have Calcification and would order more scans to see how widespread it is. Is this something that you've ever heard of and if so is it something that you've heard of someone getting a SC decision on? No need to do any research on it, I'm just wondering if you've ever heard of it is all. Now, for my siezures, this is also something that I brought up with my PCN when he saw me for headaches 2 months ago. About 4 times in the last year, I found myself waking up in awkward positions in the middle of the days with cuts and scrapes on my body and not knowing what had happened and thought it was just more of the fainting spells I mentioned above. It wasn't until my wife had seen me have a siezure that I realized that I wasn't fainting and that I was having siezures. My PCN told me it was something we'd talk about when I came back in Oct and to take note of any more episodes. It was then that he told me that it could be from TBI or asbestos exposure which were both listed in my files. I was discharged in FEB 2009 and the siezures have been going on since I got back from Iraq in APR 2008. As far as the 30% PTSD rating with a CIB, when I was at one of my C&P appts an ex-Colonel from the Army that was doing the exam was looking at my file and said he was surprised that I hadn't put in for PTSD. He told me that with a CIB I would get a 30% rating just based on that. Afterwards I told a lot of my battle buddies and so far everyone one of them have gotten at least a 30% rating. After I had put in the claim for PTSD I got a call from the VA asking if I had anything to submit in as far as support for the claim and I told him that I had no files that weren't from the Army and he said OK and then noted that I had a CIB on file and said that was enough to warrant an exam. He then told me I would get a letter for a C&P appt in the mail but I never got the letter and I never had an appt. I did however still recieve a 30% rating. So whether the Colonel was just stating a generalization that people with CIB's get 30% or whether he meant that a CIB alone warranted a 30% rating in the same way Sleep apnea warrants a 50% rating (which ensures that you are able to receive the tubes and stuff that goes with it free for life) I do not know. For the SSA, in the letter they sent back they did not go into detail as to why I was denied, they just said "We have determined that your condition is not severe enough to keep you from working. We considered the medical and other information, your age, your education, training, and work experience in determining how your condition affected your ability to work." They then attached 3 pages on how to appeal. So, I think its just something that I have to keep after and after researching online and hearing from you, I know that I need to get myself an SSD lawyer to help with my claim and maybe they can help me find out why it was denied. On a side note, I would like to tell a funny story of when I went to the ER for my headaches. The day I went to the ER, I was admitted and after waiting about 6 hours, they gave me Blood Pressure medicine and sent me on my way telling me to come in on Monday and see my PCN. I was like what the heck. So, come Monday, I go to my Primary Care Clinic and ask to be seen for my headaches which were still going on. They sent me in to see the on call PCN, and I complained that they sent me away from the ER with blood pressure pills for my headache and asked her to please give me something to help take this away. She then asked me a few questions and asked me to wait in her office while she went to get me something for the headache. She came back into the room, reached in her pocket, and to my amazement, she pulled out 2 Hershey Kisses and said " Here, eat these because they might help and then come back in tomorrow" and she then walked out. As I stood there I couldn't help but ask my wife, " Did my skin turn orange and my hair turn green while we were here or something? It doesn't look like I'm wearing white overalls does it?" lol. Anyways, thanks for any help anyone has and please feel free to correct anything I might be doing wrong. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

to Carlie TBI: denied, pending DRO (I wasn't told to submit statements in support of claim the first go round and due to the circumstances of when and where I was injured there was no record of it so even though I had record of treatments it was denied) PTSD : 30% (this is also pending a DRO request for an increase as they did not have my mental health files at the time they came to their original decision and based the rating of 30% on the fact that my records have a CIB( which by the way automatically grants 30% if you didn't know)) Sleep Apnea: 50% Back, neck, shoulder, hypertension, tinnitus all rated at 10% GERD service connected at 0% to Fanaticbooks: Thank you for you reply. Where can I find a link to your site? Sounds like I need to find a lawyer in the Milwaukee area, anyone that happens to read this have any suggestions? I've contacted Binder and Binder but after talking to some kid in a warehouse on the phone I have decided not to go thru them lol.

First off I want to say again that this site is a goldmine of information and I have told just about everyone I was in service with about it. In recent months I have come to realize that the best way to go about a claim is to educate yourself on your disabilities and be your own champion and this site is the best place for that. Anyhow... After going thru 3 different people in the course of 18 months at the VFW (all of which proved to be wrong in one way or another) I am asking how I can find out info on my own claim thru the VA. Th first guy just submitted my claims and when half came back denied he said" Well, we tried." He was fired a few months later. The next guy told me I only had 60 days to file an NOD and had it not been for you guys letting me know that was completely false I would've missed out on a considerable amount of backpay after he just opened new claims on the things I was denied. Now the new VFW rep I have is never available and is now gone for the week. A month ago I was told to look for my TDIU appt and haven't heard anything since and I haven't been able to ask anyone at the VFW because my rep was busy all last week and now is gone all this week. Is there a number I could call or is there a site I can email? I've tried emailing thru the VA website but it comes back as a CGI Error and doesnt go through. Another question is that I recently recieved a letter from the SSA saying my original claim for SSD was denied, is there any recommendations as to who to contact to aid in the appeal process? I've looked online at a few places to go through but not sure what I should be looking for or if theres any I'm not aware of that help veterans. Another question I have is after all the nonsense I've gone thru with the VFW, should I be looking for a new VSO or is it more that I've just been unlucky with my branch so far and the same could happen at any of the other VSO's? Any info regarding any of these issues will be greatly appreciated and I'd like to thank you for reading this and replying if you have anything to add My SC disabilities are as follows: PTSD Sleep Apnea Degenerative Disc Disease Cervical Strain (neck) Left Shoulder Strain Hypertension Tinnitus

Thank you Pete! I have filed the TDIU form and have turned in several statements since this letter was submitted so everything is on track. Just wasn't sure if an NOD was one of those technical forms that needed to be filed. I was helped with on my original claim by a "former" vfw rep and everything I did then I am finding out was wrong or was incomplete and may have lead to why the claims were denied or underestimated and just wanted to double check here for ease of mind. Now the waiting game starts lol. Once again, thanks Pete

I just have a question regarding whether or not what was done was sufficient for saying that I disagree with there original assessments and if what I did qualifies me for back pay from the date I left the army in FEB2009. This is what was filed as I was told an NOD had a statute of limitations of 60 days. VA Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim that stated) Veteran is filing a claim for service connection for IU Veteran will submit Buddy Letters at a later date. Veteran also requests a re-evaluation of his service connected 30% PTSD. Everything else that I was helped with needed to be redone or filed for the first time such as the TDIU form. I'm at 80% and am looking to get to 100% and the back pay is a considerable amount this being 17 months since my departure from the army. I had typed out an NOD to be sent in and wanted the vfw rep to read over it to make sure it was correct and he said I only had 60 days from 30SEP2009 (the date the decisions were made on the two claims TBI and PTSD) so we scrapped that NOD and filed the form I listed above. If the above just makes it look like I'm filing for an increase because it has worsened since then, that is not the case. It was underestimated in the first place because they did not have all the information. The original TBI claim was denied and PTSD was set at 30% which is low because they did not have all the info. Any feedback or information is much appreciated and I would also like to thank anyone who has answered my questions here. This site is such a tremendous tool and I have referred numerous battle buddies to here as well. Thanks all.

Ok so I just contacted the collection agency and apparently the TPD only works for federal students loans and this is a private student loan. In research, I have found this to be true. It looks as if I am going to have to get a lawyer for all this. Is there any programs out there for vets in obtaing lawyers?

I am currently at 80% disability and am awaiting info back on appeals for my TBI claim (0%) and my PTSD (30%) . I have put in for TDIU and SSDI as well. I started these claims about a month and a half ago. About an hour ago, I recieved a call from a collection agency about a student loan from 12 years ago. They called to inform me that on 17AUG (today is 13AUG) they were going to hold a hearing for garnishing my wages to pay the debt, $20,867.73. They are willing to settle for roughly 14,000 and I'm asking on here to find out what my options are. Can a GI Bill be put towards it? I tried to get the loan paid for while I was in the army after I learned my parents hadn't been paying on it for some time, but was told it needed to be in my original contract to do so. Should I try for a loan to pay it off? I really have put myself between a rock and a hard place here and don't know who to go to or what to do. If anyone has any info I could really use the help. I apologize if this is the wrong forum but none of the forum headings were labeled "I'm a Dumbass help me"

Ok so I went to the VFW for help at the regional office and the officer told me that the time to file an NOD was 60 days after the decision date and then he helped me fill out a 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim that stated Veteran is filing a claim for service connection for IU Veteran also wishes to file for service connection for TBI. Veteran was involved several times with IED's, mortars and rocket attacks. Veteran will submit Buddy Letters at a later date. Veteran also requests a re-evaluation of his service connected 30% PTSD. That was the extent of anything we sent in. Was this the right way to go about it? I don't want to question the guy as he is helping me but from what I read, I have a year from the decision date to file an NOD and that filing an NOD is what I should be doing next. Also I was previously denied for TBI and from what he wrote I don't think he saw on my decision papers that I had already filed for it once before but it got denied because like my PTSD claim they did not get and I could not obtain the files from the mTBI clinic from Ft. Riley.

Thank you Carlie, That most certainly shortens my NOD.

First off let me say thank god for google because I would not have found a website such as Hadit.com to aid in my troubles. Ok, quick sitrep is as follows. 80% overall rating 50% Sleep Apnea 30% PTSD (should be 50% based on there guidelines for a higher rating in the review) 10% hypertension (should be 20%) 10% Left Shoulder strain 10% degenerative disc disease of the Lumbar Spine 10% cervical strain Denied Claims TBI Major Depressive disorder Anxiety Disorder Left Knee condition Sleep Disorder (this claim was never reviewed and I was never given a decision for anything sleep related other than sleep apnea, not sure if this was not included because of miscommunication between myself and the VFW rep who helped with my initial claims or if this just falls into the category of PTSD/ Depression, Anxiety Disorders or what the case may be.) On 12/16/2008 it was decided that I would be released from the Army under the proceeding of a Chapter 5-17 with an honorable discharge. This was decided based upon Depression and anxiety disorders. In the ratings decision review they based there findings on a report of depression and anxiety first reported on 12/16/2008. My biggest problem has been locating the records for any treatment before this as all of these issues did not come up on the date stated above, I had been recieveing treatment for these issues for the 6-7 months prior to this decision. Where can I find these files? I have done the process of requesting my records from St. Louis and all they sent me back was a few copies of my DD214 and other nonsubstantial papers and did not include anything to do with my mental health records. I have requested them from where I was stationed and from the VA I currently go to and have ended up with nothing. Another giant problem I am having is related to records of anything that happened to me while I was in Iraq. I served In Iraq from Feb 2007-Apr 2008. I went to Baghdad as an infantry soldier during the first wave of The Surge and performed my duties from a Combat Outpost which meant I did not have access to regular medical facilities and many injuries were treated by medics in my company and were not recorded into any medical records. IED explosions, Mortar attacks, RPG attacks I was subjected to and any injuries sustained as a result of these were not recorded and thus alot of my claims would be based on word of mouth and evidence based on soldiers testimonies. These were the bloodiest months of the war and unless I had a severe injury that required immediate medical attention, we were not going to risk any casualties to drive on black routes to take someone to the green zone based on something like a possible concussion or back pain. Thus my problem with any medical evidence to support my claims. ( I feel I am rambling a little so I will conclude this lol) Basically, what I'm looking to find is if there is anyone else out there who has gone thru the same process and ask them how do i go about this and if it is worth it in the end. How long does all of this take and as I plan on putting in paperwork for TDIU within the next week, what can I do in the meantime to support my family? After going out and trying to find gainful employment I have come to the conclusion that I am unable to work with my current issues and appointments as a result of these issues. I know that this is partially my fault as I have not gone about this in the quickest of manners, but after the army that I had grown to love and gave my life to for five years with plans of going for many more told me that I was broken and they no longer required my services, I was left feeling "what next ". My biggest claims and most severe problems are the ones that they denied right off the bat. Anyways, Thank you for any replies and any thoughts or advice you could give.