brokensoldier244th

its possible, with only 4 posts, that you don't have that option yet. If you PM me I can post it for you, or you can attach it to an email and send it to me, and ill post it here. Please redact anything 'personal', ID information and all that. CAS

I went to my C and P today, and she did reflexes, tuning fork (That felt weird-parts of me could feel 'vibration' other parts of my toes just felt cold or pressure but no vibration), asked lots of questions about onset, aggrivation, impariment in quality of life, what meds I was taking. She flexed my ankles, and toes and thighs. <br style="min-width: 0px; ">...and scheduled an EMG sometime in the near future. SO...If sicatica pain and radiculopathy is dependant on the position im in (sitting or standing) and im taking major anti inflammatories, won't that 'change' the EMG reading? If its looking for radiculopathy in an extremity and ive been standing and not sitting, for example, does that make the EMG read 'false'?

I went to my C and P today, and she did reflexes, tuning fork (That felt weird-parts of me could feel 'vibration' other parts of my toes just felt cold or pressure), poked me, bent my toes, asked lots of questions about onset, aggrivation, impariment in quality of life, what meds I was taking. She flexed my ankles, and toes and thighs. ...and scheduled an EMG sometime in the near future. If sicatica pain and radiculopathy is dependant on the position im in (sitting or standing) and im taking major anti inflammatories, won't that 'change' the EMG reading? If its looking for radiculopathy in an extremity and ive been standing and not sitting, for example, and it's not 'tingling' does that make the EMG read 'false'? I'm diagnosed with radiculopathy in the right, but im trying to service the connect the left 2nd to DDD in lower lumbar spine.

*LOL* Thanks.....I think. CAS

Ive read the exam sheet from va.warms, but im more interested in the non-physical exam part, where is says "other diagnostic tests.....) .(ive had 2 SLR tests and ROM tests and xrays in the last 4 days already, so I know what those are, and I have the narratives from VA and my doc to give the the C and P doctor) What other types of tests can they do? This would be for DDD/lower extremity radiculopathy.

If you don't have a diagnosis or treatment for depression, you can' t file for it. Without a medical nexus or a doctor (better yet, a therapist) saying that your depression is the result of pain, etc, it won't happen. The SOC should tell you exactly why you were denied. Use the SOC as the map for building your rebuttal.

What did they do during the neurological part of your exam? I have a c and p tomorrow for lumbar DDD. Im rated already, but I have radiculopathy in both legs and im curious what the exam will be like. I looked over the sheet but it doesnt say much for the peripheral nerve C and P exam. thanks, CAS

Phillip--Premature ejaculation. Comm Bob-I did discuss it with her-that's why she prescribed the paxil-primarily related to nerve compression in my lower back. We discussed the side effects of the other medications prescribed by the VA, as well, but since she is not a VA doctor I couldn't ask her about filing a claim, or VA-ese. She is unfamiliar with that whole aspect of things.

Do I have ED? Is PE=ED? Its noted in 2003 directly secondary to my back by a VA doctor, but I didn't claim it becaue I didnt think I could. Can I claim sexual dysfunction as ED? My wife is awaiting an answer on this one......I'm currently taking Gabapentin, Meloxicam, Prednisone. (In the last week or so, I started). I have DDD, way down (l5-S1, L2-3, L4-5). I finally told my own doctor about the issues my wife and I have been having the other day, and asked if my back can be causing that, going back to reporting it to a VA Doc in 2003. (soft erections, now PME). She looked at my records, MRI's, and xrays, asked a lot of uncomfortable questions, and prescribed me Paxil as a means of staving off the happy ending. She said that the level of nerve/discs that I have problems with could most definately cause problems with PME, and if not that, then the medication that im taking could mess with overall libido and function as well. She said since im 33 there shouldn't be 'issues' there, normally, and she knows from both my wife and me that we had a healthy sex life-not for lack of trying, anyway.

Final, as in, am I compensated for it? Yes, I guess. I didn't start thinking about any of it again until I was looking at filing for my other leg this time around, and noted that it looked like i should have been the first time around. I have sick call transcripts and a VA doctor exam in 2002 from prior to the 2002 C and P where my complaints of both legs is noted. The 2003 C and P rating for Radiuclopathy notes that they continued my 40% for my DDD, but with a combination of Deluca and the the Examiner notes they granted 10% for radiculopathy for Rt leg.

KIM, too that even with your windfall you may still qualify. Its not like you are going to make more money all the time, magically, now. Even if you invest it you aren't going to make enough off the interest (probably not, anyway....) to do much good, unless it was a huge amount. My family is 6 total, so I know what it takes to wing that and we are pretty frugal-she only works P/T so we can avoid daycare and I am lucky to have a job driving my brain around a computer server so I dont have to move or lift or anything. If you are still eligible, take them.

food stamps do not need to be repaid. They will stop them effective the month you ceased to qualify. If you lied to get them they mark your file and you cant get them again without jumping through major hoops. Congrats. Go do something nice for each other, now.

THanks for the encouragement, Pete.&nbsp;<div><br></div><div>That EED is what gets me. SInce im claiming something that Ive always complained about , and because I feel the C/P guy made an error in the old one is my main contention. The PE is something that's always been there, too, noted also in my wifes letter of support. Im just now doing something about it, but its noted in my records proiro to now.&nbsp;</div>

double post

Ive been looking more, and I found that the VA noted difficulty with erections and PE in 2003 directly worded in the docs notes as a result of my disc herniation. Does that change anything or would the EED still be now? Thanks, all!

So, I just got back from my doctor, and laid out my med history for her, for my svc. connected stuff. She'd never seen it so we spent an hour or so going over it all, starting with my C and P from 2002 when I was rated for DDD. I asked her a few questions: 1. Is it possible the C and p doctor in 2002/2003 messed up in not service connecting my left leg? 2. Is it Radiculopathy/DDD getting worse overall? 3. Do I have ED? Based on what she said i'm claiming increased radiculopathy in Rt leg, Service Connection for radiculopathy in my left leg, and amending my current claim for ED based on her examination and prescription of Paxil for it (PE). The VA doc put me on a year's load of Gabapantin and Meloxicam, and a burst of Prednisone (though im kind of liking that stuff.....) I have a claim in for the radiculopathy, but Im adding the ED to it via the 21-4138 they sent me the other day for any more information. Here is what the C and P doc said in 2002:NOTE: Examiner notes that "…he says that his left foot is basically is completely okay at this point and does not really cause him problems…." But I answered in response to his questioning about which leg was currently causing me pain and numbness at that time in the examination. A little later examiner notes "he has back pain daily, shooting pain and numbness in right leg periodically throughout the day, but he does have some numbness and shooting pain into the right leg and foot at some point at least once a day and usually a couple to a few times a day". This should have been noted for my Left leg and I believe that the examiner errored while typing the summary by typing "Right" twice. It makes no diagnostic sense, otherwise. My C& P from 2003 rates radiculopathy, and then rates it in only in my Right leg based on the notes in my 2002 C and P (above). My doc looked at the above, my MRI's, XRays, and the write ups, and said that she thinks it's possible that the C and P doctor messed up because he mentions the right leg twice. She says based on the reflexes from that exam, and his notes, and clinical notes and other things that he most likely meant to say the left leg was also experiencing these symptoms as well. So, does that do anything for me? I have a claim in now for my Left Leg radiculopathy since its not rated or service connected. They rated my Radiculopathy in 2003 back to 2002 and my initial claim for DDD, even though radiculopathy wasn't rated service connected until 2003. Why did they do that, if I didnt file the claim until later? She also prescribed me Paxil for pre-mature fireworks based on the nerves that are compressed in my spine. SO...what constitutes ED, exactly? Is it inability to get an erection, or does premature getting there count? My VA doc appt. the other day notes both legs with radiculopathy, and my new xrays confirm Disc Space Narrowing at both L5-S1, and L 2-3. My old Xrays only say "Possible disc spacing L5-S1". Is that 'getting worse' in VA-ese?

Not that I know of. "in person verification' is what they call it, and I think the only way to do it is to physically present yourself. *shrug* Sorry! Maybe a VSO could do it?

provided that the veteran does their part by not filing for everything under the sun (mud slinging at the wall) and that they document stuff the first time, or have adequate supporting documentation, I don't see why there would be any problem. Some of the responsibility resides on the vet, too. For example, if you have a year to appeal, why take the whole year unless you have some kind of extenuating circumstance? That just delays your claim another 364 days.

they have been messing with/ upgrading the site for the last few weeks, along with Myhealthvet, so there are times that it won' t log in, or it does log in but nothing works-the link behinds are not always tied together or something.

So, I just got back from my doctor, and laid out my med history for her, for my svc. connected stuff. She'd never seen it so we spent an hour or so going over it all, starting with my C and P from 2002 when I was rated for DDD. I asked her a few questions: 1. Is it possible the C and p doctor in 2002/2003 messed up in not service connecting my left leg? 2. Is it getting worse overall? 3. Do I have ED? Here is what the C and P doc said in 2002:NOTE: Examiner notes that "…he says that his left foot is basically is completely okay at this point and does not really cause him problems…." But I answered in response to his questioning about which leg was currently causing me pain and numbness at that time in the examination. A little later examiner notes "he has back pain daily, shooting pain and numbness in right leg periodically throughout the day, but he does have some numbness and shooting pain into the right leg and foot at some point at least once a day and usually a couple to a few times a day". This should have been noted for my Left leg and I believe that the examiner errored while typing the summary by typing "Right" twice. It makes no diagnostic sense, otherwise. My C& P from 2003 rates radiculopathy, and then rates it in my Right leg only based on the notes in my 2002 C and P (above). My doctor looked at the above, my MRI's, XRays, and the write ups, and said that she thinks the C and P doctor messed up because he mentions the right leg twice. She says based on the reflexes from that exam, and his notes, and clinical notes and other things that he most likely meant to say the left leg was also experiencing these symptoms as well. So, does that do anything for me? I have a claim in now for my Left Leg radiculopathy since its not rated or service connected. They rated my right leg SC for Radiculopathy in 2003 but dated it back to 2002. So what are the chances that since I have other records besides just these that show both legs suffered from it back to 2002, that they will rate the left like they did for the right, and go back to when they rated the right-2002? She also prescribed me Paxil for pre-mature fireworks based on the nerves that are compressed in my spine. SO...what constitutes ED, exactly? Is it inability to get an erection, or does premature getting there count? Does this count as ED? I have a VA doc noting that I have difficulty with erections and sexual dysfunction caused by my back/nerve issues going back to 2003. My VA doc appt. the other day also notes both legs with radiculopathy, and my new xrays note Disc Space Narrowing at both L5-S1, and L 2-3. My old Xrays from 2001 only say "Possible disc spacing L5-S1". So, I interpret that as getting worse. On a related note, I have my Xrays on a CD that I got from the radiology dept. They gave me the write up, but the ACTUAL xrays, too. It's awesome-a digital copy of the actual films. Pretty neat.

From what Ive read, Ray, once they assign a code to something its really hard to get it undone, especially if its outside of the presumptive period (1 year out) or appeal period. I think backs due to arthritis can only go to 40%, vs DDD (what I have) going to 60% (I feel your pain) Someone with more expertise will come in, but i think, at 80% you can get IU since anyway, since your combined rating is 80%. You could look at ratings for neuropathy or numbness, loss of feeling, etc-that could get you to a higher schedular, even maybe 100%-then if you want to putter around making fishing lures or something and get paid they can't say "but you are working" and take away IU if you get it. There is also 'extra-schedular' evaluations where you can get IU even without the 60% single disabilty, but that doesn't seem to be you. "Veterans can be considered for IU if they have one disability of at least 60 percent or two disabilities with a combined rating of at least 70 percent. One of every four veterans with a 60 percent disability is now IU and paid at the 100 percent level. Likewise half of all 70 percent disabled veterans, two thirds of all 80 percent disabled veterans and three-quarters of 90 percent disabled veterans are considered unemployable." http://www.stripes.c...iu-vets-1.33491 Can you even receive Post Office retirement and military at the same time? ( I would speculate yes, but USPS is a govt. employer, so you might want to make sure. Sorry I can't be more help.

If you click the "Choose File" link under the window when you post then you can just attach from your computer directly to the posting. I would edit anything you attach for personal stuff as well. Im in IT and I see a lot of people that post "belarc advisor" software logs of their computers while trying to get help fixing things, but they just post the whole thing-which inventories your licensed software and it's associated keys, too. Can't be too careful. Megaupload may be 'free' but its not 'private' unless you pay for it, otherwise it is ad sponsored. Id feel safer granting access to one of my Google Document folders as a share before id host a document like my C and P on the internet.

Zombie thread resurrection. Is PN the same as radiculopathy? I am rated 10% for radiculopathy in one leg, but I have it in both now, 2nd to DDD (40%). Ive put in an increase for the one, and requested Service Connetion for the other since it's unrated. Would they change it to PN, or call it bilateral radiculopathy, or is it the same thing? CAS

Got it. NO Big Nuts, All Go, NO quit Harry Stamper. 10-4. My wife would laugh. I talk to her about stuff and she said the other night, "So, you want me to go for you, since if YOU go, you'll just get your meds or whatever, and then just go back to work or come home?"