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brokensoldier244th
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Posts posted by brokensoldier244th
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Im rated 10% and from what I can gather you are exactly right-short of EMG findings showing permanent damage, mild encompasses everything unless you have muscle withering, foot drop, partial paralysis, etc. Im rated 50% over all-10% tinnitus, 10% Rt Leg radiculopathy, and 40% DDD. If you are in a wheelchair and can't walk on it you are an a lot worse shape than me, so you should have them do more than the touch test, tuning fork,etc, and have them do a nerve conduction velocity study and/or EMG. Its not pleasant, but I had one the other day and it's tolerable. At least I found out that despite the tingles and pain in my left (non-svc connected) leg, I don't have permanent nerve damage.
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Thanks, all. We'll see what they say.
CAS
I would't put any faith in the accuracy of an EMG test. They often come out normal and seldom show what is really going on with nerve damage.
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I had one of each-id rather not again :-0
From what ive read here and on another board by some that have been raters, the test is only 1 piece of several. If there is is other subjective evidence over time of the issue it could be indicative of mild neuropathy and not permanent damage and so a rating can still be established. We'll see.
CAS
You may have to have more than one to determine the nerve problem. Some Neuro Docs dont know how to interpet the results, Some are very inaginitive on these as they try to reinvent the wheel and say you have some crazy disease like Parsonage Turner syndrome.
remember these tests are actually a guess. It measures the speed of the signal from a Nerve point to a muscle. The Needle test is more evasive but it is a better test.
Keep trying and dont give up. If your process is not active, you may get Normal readings.
J
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Well, despite pain and intermittent numbness, my EMG/NCVS came out as 'normal'.
Hmmm...now what?
Probably a no go on the left leg, despite symptoms, im assuming.
CAS
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I take 1200 mg gaba and 7.5 mg meloxicam every day. Since I started ive noticed that at two times of the day-around noon-1 oclock and around 4-6 oclock I get really drowsy at work. I come home and almost every day after i hit teh door at 530-600 and say hi, how was your day and talk to the kids I end up crashing for between 1-2 hours.
Does anyone else have dips like this on either of these? I wasn't doing it before I started taking them.
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It will also complicate things if he ever has to file for an increase for anything, as there will be a sizable gap in the treatment record.
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Thats why I carry it in, though im lucky that my office is here in Lincoln. Ive heard that sending it certified with an electronic or physical receipt helps 'date' the material you send in, but Im not sure about that.
CAS
Just noticed on the eBenefits "C&P Claims Status" tab under "What We Have Received?" :
"Please be advised that it may take up to 21 days to receive, process, and annotate in our system any information that you mail to one of our Regional Offices."
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I submitted a claim on 21JUL, it showed on Ebenefits in 2 days. My supporting documentation after my C and P on the 10th showed on the 12th. Its just not consistent and if your RO isn't on the boat putting stuff in you'll stare at it all year. Their maintenance window is a PITA but they have to sync up the VA records with the DEERS records, most of which probably don't match.
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That's where I know im blessed. I pass the RO every day on my way to work, and the VAMC in Lincoln, while not huge (no surgery) has its own imaging clinic and PTSD (for those guys) and PT/ambulatory onsite. Im really right at the center of where I need to be. I couldn't imagine living in TX or FLA or GA. YIkes.
I did my inperson at the RO, corrected my DEERS info to match up with my VA stuff in about 40 minutes. The system works great, when it works-its the getting it to work that is a PITA> As a System Analyst I look at it and shake my head. More than once ive contemplated applying to work at VA in their IT section.......
I also got my access before the MHV/DS2 link went down for permanent maintenance. It was a nightmare of daily and evening phone calls. Their level 2 supervisor eventually was relaying messages between me and their programming staff because I was talking way above his head in computer-ese. My understanding is that MHV and ebenefits are separate systems which require a lot of handshaking and validation during the MHV to DS2 upgrade. I found out that my DOB was wrong in DEERS. I pointed this out and they were able to fix their code, which was not catching an error, after I got my DOB corrected. Somehow, I still doubt they have added a feature which lets the user know that the personal data in MHV does not match what's in DS2.
The MHV and ebenefits help desks kept originally just telling me to drive to the RO for in-person authentication. That's over 100 miles each way, so I decided to wait it out instead. If they would have agreed to pay me travel for the trip, I would have been out the door and on the road to the RO asap...
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Thats probably because the copy they are referring to was a journal/letter page from a letter to my wife about three weeks after I was hurt and had gone to AIT. I list in it some of my frustrations trying to get care at the BAS, to get my command to not think I was another malingering trainee. Its not on an official form, and its handwritten just as I did it then, in the dark, in my bunk, after CQ and FireGuard (right before about 3 hours of sleep). Its in there mainly as really anecdotal supporting info and other than my name at the bottom, doesn't look official at all. Its already in my Cfile, I just tacked it on with some of the other stuff I sent in to help establish a case for left leg service connection for the same thing as my right (that they rated after I discharged)
Brokensoldier,
This line from your screenshot really says a lot about how much the VA cares about what we send in:
"Copy of handwritten statement, believed to be from veteran."
I also got my access before the MHV/DS2 link went down for permanent maintenance. It was a nightmare of daily and evening phone calls. Their level 2 supervisor eventually was relaying messages between me and their programming staff because I was talking way above his head in computer-ese. My understanding is that MHV and ebenefits are separate systems which require a lot of handshaking and validation during the MHV to DS2 upgrade. I found out that my DOB was wrong in DEERS. I pointed this out and they were able to fix their code, which was not catching an error, after I got my DOB corrected. Somehow, I still doubt they have added a feature which lets the user know that the personal data in MHV does not match what's in DS2.
The MHV and ebenefits help desks kept originally just telling me to drive to the RO for in-person authentication. That's over 100 miles each way, so I decided to wait it out instead. If they would have agreed to pay me travel for the trip, I would have been out the door and on the road to the RO asap...
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I know. It frustrates me because I DID get in and so many others didn't. I got in at the end of July right before their maintenance window closed the portal again. I check it periodically for others that post about it, and its down. The only thing I can think of is possibly a capacity issue with the Authentication database. Moving something like that, and making sure it's all in one piece and not truncated or the primary and secondary keys don't get farked is a Huge Endeavor (think, taking North Africa). I don't know why its taking so long, but I understand some of the concepts to apply even if I don't know what their specific hardware/software setup is.
Wow, brokensoldier! I can't even get Ebenefits to let me set up a premium account. I keep clicking on the link to set up a login via my MyhealtheVet account, but have been getting a maintenance page for over a month!
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I have. KIM my RO is in Lincoln, NE, not exactly a hotspot of veteran activity, but still.....I submitted my initial claim on 21JUL. I submitted supporting docs 10AUG. SO...it gets up dated, but I think it probably depends on the RO in question.
quote name='justrluk' timestamp='1282151823' post='214712']
LarryJ -
You've actually seen changes/documents show up in eBenefits? I've been waiting months for movement of any sort on two claims, and have seen no change in the way the system reports status yet my VSO says I should be seeing something soon....
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Well I thought it sounded weird, but the VA did send me the 686c with my decision letter. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about this.
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IF you go the chronic pain route you will have a better case if you are currently being seen for depression/pain mgt, rather than just saying 'you are depressed'
I second the no - cutting thing. I watched my mom get worse faster over the years after her surgery-id rather not have them go in adn then have to go in again in 5 years (my doc's words).
That complaining about everything is the worst. I keep a journal-not at regularly as I probably should, but it goes back almost a year. It is specifically for 'how im feeling' and 'how my back/pain feels'.
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Im not trying to ruffle.
I still don't understand the rationale though-both partys are supporting the same dependents. Maybe regular(civilian) disability comp is like that, too, I don't know. Do you know why they wouldn't consider it doubling up, like they do retirement and SS offset?
*shrug*
It is legal and it is allowed. I specifically asked the VA about that when they began paying me comp for my wife. They told me I was entitled to it.
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Ive researched this a bit outside of hadit, and it seems that you each CAN claim each other. And each claim the kids.
*shrug*
Learn something new every day.
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For CHAMPVA purposes, but are you both being comped at the Married with Spouse rate as well? SInce you are both supporting each other with the same money it seems be in disingenuous, regardless of whether or not its 'allowed'. If it's legit, so be it, but I have to wonder if that Reg. slipped by someone in the past.
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A copy of a doc to a VSO should be good enough-i've never given originals to mine-I scan or xerox them as necessary. THe only originals I ever gave them of anything was two signed statements on 21-4138s.
Faxes and scans hold up on court all the time, and I send in copies all the time. They want the original then can get it off their own server (VA) or request it with some sort of compelling reason. I scan or xerox the form in it's entirety so there is no question what it is, and send it on.
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I would think that you could only get compensation for dependents of one or the other, but not listed as each others-youd be getting it twice.
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Your sciatica and radiculopathy are part of the same thing, I think. They may be able to rate each affected nerve plexus, but what you are experiencing is already rated bilaterally at 10%-not everyone has the sciatic pain along with the radial numbness. They may up the rating to 20% but only if you have partial paralysis or foot drop. Ive seen the occasional rating for sciatica, but I don't know if it was independent of radiculopathy. *Clear as mud?* :-)
Your DDD could be rated higher, if your range of motion has diminished. No one prescribes bedrest anymore, though, so 40% is probably the highest you'd get there, unless you have anklyosis or fusions.
You could also look into issues with neurogenic (over or under active) bladder due to those disc/nerve junctures, and also issues with the 'little you' in the extracurricular activities department. There is a lot going on in that part of your back, nerve wise.
Good luck! Im rated 40% ddd and 10% radiculopathy right like, and currently claiming for svc connection in my left leg, and guy issues. I feel (literally) your pain.
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Pretty much anyone on IRC can create a room, it would just have to be on a stable server, and you'd have to make sure people knew how to use IRC so they didnt' stumble into some Gorean MUD room in the dark corner of the intarweb somewhere.
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So, PME wouldnt be failure to attain erection or failure to ejaculate-its more 'hyper ability' in about a second to ejaculate so does that count, or is it only inability to attain, or am I being too literal? She (doctor) has opined that it is most likely due to the nerve compression since I had no history prior to my injury in 2001. Of course there is the Paxil she prescribed for the PME and the neurotnin and gabapentin that VA has been prescribed for my back pain that have their own issues.
I don't want to claim or appeal something that isn't, but then again, I never had a problem with it until after my back injury. Im 33 and my wife and I are pretty physically active in that respect, as much as we can be. I have a statement from a VA PA-C stating that I complained of urinary urgency and difficulty with ejaculation in 2003 as" being the result of my lower lumbar DDD" (but prescribed for pain only), and my doctor's statement from last week where she opines the same thing based on what disc/nerve it is, and after we spent an hour going over my service records, MRIs, and Xrays, and she actually prescribed something for it.
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*DING DING DING DING DING* FTW! Pete992
Yup-if you don't ask, or think to ask, they won't either. Good luck!
Don't get confused, it appears that the new VA form 21-526EZ is "supposed" to allow your claim to move faster "if" you have all the documents the rater would need to award your claim. If you have all that information, then fill the form out and wait and see. If you are not sure you can just fill out the regular VA form 21-4138 and wait for VA to contact you. I still have to ask my question again. Did you ever file a claim for your right ankle? Just because a condition is in your records does not mean that VA has to rate it and compensate you for it. You had to ask them because if you don't they will not award you anything.
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But you have been rated before-so a lot of what was on the original -526 you wouldn't fill out again. The 526EZ says you are filing a new claim or an increase claim AND you have provided them with EVERYTHING they would normally expect to get, other than their own records, which they should get anyway. Id use that one, 1. because it's new, and looks really well thought out, and 2. if you don't (and no one else does) they will go back to doing it the other way because they couldn't show any gain with the new forms.
The old way was: Fill out 21-526 All 15-20 whatever pages of it......wait.....fill out 21-4138 if you had anything else to submit......waaaaaiiiiiittttttttt.........etc. and if you were doing an increase, just do a 21-4138 (since you are asking for an increase to something they already have you rated for).
I did it the old way since I didnt know about the new forms. Im already rated, so I did a 2 page 21-4138 with my claim, statement of how im affected, statement noting which documents are highlighted where with dates/names etc of treatment providers, and then an enclosure list of everything in there so they don't lose anything.
*shrug* same as the new form, I just didnt have a form to tell me how to do it that way , and a lot of people might not think of being that detailed. I have all my SMR's though-first thing I did while outprocessing, and I have a copy of my Cfile prior to this current claim so I know what they are looking at. Many don't .
CAS
Pete992, I was NEVER rated for this condition by the VA. All of the information about my right ankle is listed in my SMR upon my initial rating in 2001. I don't know how they overlooked it!
With that being said, which form should I use? <getting confused>
B6
Radiculopathy Lower Extremity Percentage Question!
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted
that is how it seems, yes.