Mike Jansen

Depression yes... because of my situation in my mos ... Long story short .. they gave me a job i couldn't do cuz of my eyesight. So i was the Company shit job guy (cant remember the right word right now) as i couldn't get a drivers license to do my job. Applied for reclassification ... they lost my paperwork. applied again and got taken to Desert shield/storm where i got to do my job finally. Platoon seargeant said i could.. so i went. E-7's can do that i guess. Anxiety i would say i have that covered as well .. though i dunno if it got recorded or not. My platoon took pow's. Found some wounded that were still armed in a bunker just south of deaths highway in Iraq. They told us ahead of time that they would only shoot anything that moved and that if it didnt move it would still be there for us to deal with .. They actually told us that they were expecting up to 50% casualties. I guess i need to find out what are in my SMR's? I have no idea how to do that... Is it hard to do by mail ? I dont have money to go back to America. Anything i do will have to be done from here in the Philippines. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :).

Score: 3 for 3 :) applied for asthma in november of 91 ... was awarded 10% in summer of 92. Applied for increase for asthma in july of 2010 , received increase in september of 2010 up to 30% at that point. Applied for skin condition in july of 2010 and had c&p in october, and have now recieved another 10% for Atopic dermatitis, which is what they call my skin rash on my calves and over my kidneys. So Color me a happy veteran for now :). I will only try for one more issue once i can get to see a VA doc again in a month or two I'll see what they say to my having ptsd or something along those lines. I'll update as new info comes in. Hope everyone is making progress as well. Mike

thank you for the welcome Pete! and thank you for the encouragement Philip Living in the Philippines doesn't take bravery .. just some research. My area of Mindanao is safer than most large cities in America. Looking forward to making friends and hopefully eventually being able to help others here. Mike Jansen

Hello everyone: Where to start? .... I have a history of depression going back to 1999. I never connected the depression with my military time .. but the more research i do im thinking there is a connection now. I got 10% for asthma with in 6 months of getting out in november of 1991. Major depression and feelings of wanting to commit suicide in 99, 04/05, and as recently as January 2010. I spent 2 years researching and planning walking away from what i considered and still consider the waste of effort to work for a "living". Being from michigan i was working so i could keep gas in my car and paying the bills but not getting anywhere as it was hard to stay employed. So i lived like a monk and just about froze to death in the winter of 2008 so i could walk away from america in october of 2009. I moved to the Philippines with a one way ticket and 4000 dollars of savings along with my 10% disability payments. Sound sane to anyone? I would still not change anything ... but i realize many would probly think im crazy or an idiot. Prevailing wisdom says its best not to move to the Philippines unless you have at least 1000 dollars a month coming in. Anyways i no longer have to worry about freezing to death .. tropics never freeze, food is cheap here and i pay no rent... But anyways i recently (july 2, 2010) put in new claims. A new Asthma claim for an increase. I got that by sept ... increase from 10% to 30%. I applied for memory loss, hearing loss, and skin condition ( i have a skin rash ever since returning from desert storm), and unemployability. Memory loss was denied, hearing loss was denied, and skin condition was deferred, as was the unemployability. I have now appealed the memory loss and the hearing loss. My C&P was yesterday and they confirmed that i still have my rash. I'm hoping that means i should be getting an approval for a skin condition rating soon. Now from what ive been reading i'm thinking i should put in a claim for depression and/or ptsd instead of memory loss as i think the depression/ptsd are the causes of the memory loss. Ive lost work more than three times because of my not being able to remember assigned work. hearing loss is in my health records from when i got out of the army in my last hearing test that i had hearing loss consistant with being around turbo charged diesel engines, but my C&P for that was a hearing test and they said my hearing is fine now.... I simply appealed that one because its in my medical records that i had a hearing loss... not sure how the ears can heal themselves? I'm guessing i need to get statements from those that know me for long term that my memory has gotten worse over time as well as statements from ex employers that ive been fired for not remembering tasks? As far as the unemployability that was pretty much the idea of the doctor but im running with it. I have not had a job since september of 09, and i was under employed before that for some time. My next VA out patient clinic appointment in Manila is to see a psychologist for the depression... While talking to him or her i think i will see about getting tested for ptsd. I hope my rambling, too much back ground post makes sense to someone. Im kind of at a loss really as to how to explain to the VA whats going on or what to call it really. Memory loss doesn't seem to cover it really, But im unsure if ptsd is the right term either. I was with the 24th I D, in Saudi and Iraq as a combat support Engineer. My platoon took POW's but saw no combat, just lots of death, lots of stress. But nothing like the real warriors went through. Hoping someone can help me shed some light on how to explain it all to the VA with the correct terms etc ... Mike Jansen