hypertension Strange Phone Message About C&p Exam

[stillhere]

I put in for an increase in April and got the usual letter 60 days later about they are working my claim. Today I get a phone message about a appointment for exam on July 2nd. I have had two heart surgery in the past two years and while I have no problem taking an exam I really do not fell confortable doing a treadmill exam with them! Last time I had to almost show the tech which side of the stethesscope to use. can I just take my paper work and the treatment records from my cardio dr and give that to them?

I am also going to ask for an increase in my hypertension which is finally controled by medication and N&P increase due to burning pain at night. Sometimes I can hardly sleep even after I have taken my sleep medication. don't know if this s--t is really worth the bother anymore.

Stillhere

[calnight]

GO TO THE EXAM IF YOU DONT THEY MIGHT REFUSE YOUR CLAIM. IN MY VIEW ITS ALL WORHT IT. YOU HAVE EARNED YOUR BENIFITS DONT LET THOSE ASSHOLES WIN. NEVER GIVE UP BROTHER. IF YOU FEEL THAT THE EXAMINER IS NOT DOING HIS JOB ASK FOR SOMEBODY ELSE. LAST MONTH I WAS AT MY VAMC AND THIS OLDER GENT AT LEAST 60+ FIGHTING WITH A DOCTOR. HE WAS GOING OFF AND I LOVED IT. THEY ARE THERE FOR YOU,YOU ARE NOT THERE FOR THEM. GO GET WHAT YOU DESERVE AND KEEP FIGHTING.

[Pete53]

Tell them how you feel. They may consider a chemical test which is much easier. Like Calnight said go to the exam even if you refuse to take it.

[stillhere]

Had the wife listen to the message when she got home, seems they are making me aware of paper work that is coming to detail the appointments on July 2nd and wanted to give ma a heads up.

I am sure I read on the VA.gov site one time a sheet for the examinar and it stated that if there is a cardio left vent of 50% or less that no stress test is needed. Guess I will have to wait and see what they want.

Stillhere

[betrayed]

Had the wife listen to the message when she got home, seems they are making me aware of paper work that is coming to detail the appointments on July 2nd and wanted to give ma a heads up.

I am sure I read on the VA.gov site one time a sheet for the examinar and it stated that if there is a cardio left vent of 50% or less that no stress test is needed. Guess I will have to wait and see what they want.

Stillhere

I believe it states that if you have a ejection fraction of less than 50% then no stress test is required, but look it up to be sure and I will attach a tip

C&P TIPS BY JIM

When you are scheduled for a C&P examination they usually send you questionnaires, if they did not send them call the phone number in the scheduling letter that you received, tell them you have memory problems and would like the questionnaires so you may fill them out while not feeling rushed and forgetting important information. My other advice would be go to the schedule of ratings and use that as a guideline when answering the questions.

We have had many discussions on handing papers over to the doctor at C&P Physicals and whether or not the doctors must make them part of the record. An even better idea is if they send you questionnaires note on the questionnaire please see back. I just finished the one for Heart and Hypertension, now there is no question of whether or not it will be made part of the record. Below is what I am printing on the backside of their questionnaire.

Continuation of Heart and Hypertension questionnaire

ICO James M XXXXXXX, VA File XXXXXXXXX

1. At present time I am prescribed the following medications for Heart Disease and Hypertension: Imdur 30 mg once daily, Nitroglycerin .4 mg as needed, Zocor 20 mg once daily, Plavix 75mg once daily, aspirin 325 mg once daily, and Metoprolol 12.5 mg twice daily. Since my stent placement on 6/1/06 my medications have been constantly changed because of hypotension and bradycardia. I have been taken of Lisinopril, and Atenolol due to the hypotension and bradycardia. The side effects from the medications are hypotension and bradycardia, as well as constant fatigue; lightheadedness; headache, and dizziness.

2. Have you ever had a heart attack, No. Have you had a stroke, it is possible that I have had a TIA or CVA which was noted by Dr Lucian Maiden on 6/4/03 which he states “ Decreased fine motor movements of the right upper extremity which may be due to a left upper motor neuron lesion” also H. Marx Sacks, DO, LCDR, MC, USNR, Flight Surgeon noted on my retirement physical “Lacunar Disease or possible CVA” and also noted on my Report of Medical Assessment “may have had a TIA or CVA”. Have you had stent placement, catherization, angioplasty, a stress test? Yes I had a stent placement of the LAD with a J&J Cypher Stent done on 6/1/06 at providence hospital. I had three blockages one at 100%, and two at 80%. Please refer to the attached documents. Yes I had catherization done on 6/1/06 at providence hospital and catherization done at Huron Valley Hospital on 10/6/06. Yes I had a angioplasty done on 6/1/06 at providence hospital. Yes I had a Nuc Stress test done at the Ann Arbor VAMC on 4/6/06 which was abnormal and showed an Ejection fraction of 48%.

3. Do you have chest pain? Describe pain? Intensity of pain? How long does pain last? Do you take nitroglycerin pills for this? Do they help? How often? Are you short of breath? Do you have fatigue? Do you have dizziness? Do you pass out?

Yes I have chest pain I have been hospitalized 3 times for chest pain since September, SEP21-22, OCT 4-6, and OCT31 - NOV01. Crushing pressure in the center of my chest. The pain lasted until the administration of Nitroglycerin pills or paste. I am prescribed Nitroglycerin pills and Imdur for the chest pain. It was explained to me the Imdur is the same thing as Nitroglycerin pills but it was time release. I have not had chest pains since I started taking Imdur November 1st on a daily basis. I am short of breath after doing simple task as walking up a flight of stairs, I am constantly fatigued and have been told that is a result of the bradycardia and hypotension. I have dizziness and light-headedness, I have never passed out but have come close on several occasions. I was seen in the emergency room at the Ann Arbor VAMC on 12/14/06 for renal colic and also mentioned to the doctor about the dizziness.

4. What medication do you take for your heart? See paragraph 1.

6. What is your occupation? I am unemployable; the Veterans Administration has determined that I have a serious employment handicap. I applied for Vocational Rehabilitation with the Veterans Administration. The Veterans Administration denied my application for vocational rehabilitation on 6/1/06. In their letter dated 6/1/06 they state “ It does not appear feasible for you to obtain suitable employment through your Vocational Rehabilitation benefits at this point in time because of the severity of your disability.” “After carefully reviewing the evidence I have determined that it is not reasonable to expect you to be able to train for or get a suitable job at this time”. “In reaching my decision I considered the following evidence: Medical records from VAMC and private physicians: independent living evaluation: vocational and independent living interviews, rating decisions, personal documentation”.

My former occupation was police officer. When did you last work? My last job was delivering pizza; I did this for approximately four hours a night, three nights a week. I left this job in May of 2006 because of the stress of it. How does this condition affect your daily activities and your recreational activities?

I am only able to do light activities around the house a simple task as vacuuming leaves me short of breath and fatigued. I have no recreational activities. As of today Dec 21st 2006 I have had 105 medical appointments in 2006 and this appointment makes number 106.

They sent me 5 questionnaires

Heart and Hypertension

Respiratory

Diabetes

Genitourinary

Neurological Conditions

I plan to answer as few as possible questions on each questionnaire and have written see back. I plan to type up my history and everything I can and print it on the back of these forms.

Below is what is going to be printed on the back of the genitourinary questionnaire

Any input is appreciated.

4. Have you had urinary tract infections in the past year?

Yes Chronic Non Bacterial Prostatitis, I have been diagnosed with Chronic Prostatitis. 6/12/2002 Dr Stephen Rostand Professor of Medicine “H/O Prostatitis treated off and on with levaquin or bactrim” and “the patient has chronic Prostatitis”. 5/16/2002 Dr Stanley Wade “he has calculus Prostatitis” “He will also be put on bactrim DS one b.i.d. #60 with five refills” 5/1/2002 Dr Beland “acute clinical prostates” The term Chronic Prostatitis is listed on my physical (12/08/03) it is also listed on a Report of Medical Assessment. November 2001, Kartik Boorgo MD, “prosthetic calcification” September 13, 2000. Donald Olofsson MD “Prostatic calcifications” 1997, Scott Bildstein MD “findings consistent with chronic Prostatitis”

How many infections in the last year? Three or four.

5. Have you had Kidney stones? Describe Treatment. Yes I have chronic kidney stones, I began passing kidney stones at the age of 21 and continue through today. Dr Peter Fisher (ANN ARBOR VAMC Urologist) stated on August 4th 2005 “he has a vile of >1000 pale CaPO4 stones from <1mm to 3mm.” These are the stones I have caught there have been twice as many lost in public restrooms when I have not had a strainer with me. This condition causes me pain 24/7. I have had over seventeen Electro Shock Wave Lithotripsies (ESWL) as well as numerous basket retrievals on my left kidney. On 10/31/06 I had a KUB, which showed multiple large stones in my left kidney. On 11/16/2006 I had a renal scan conducted at the Ann Arbor VAMC which showed that my right kidney is filtering 68% of the blood and my left is filtering 32% of the blood. On 12/4/06 I had a renal ultrasound which I am unaware of the results. On 12/5/06 I had a appointment with DR Kim in the urology clinic where we discussed Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy and the removal of all stones from my left kidney. On 12/6/06 DR Kim called me and told me he couldn’t do the Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy stone removal, as it was too dangerous. He suggested Laser Lithotripsie, I asked him was there any urgency and he said yes my kidney function was sub optimal at best. I told him I had a appointment with the renal clinic on 12/21/06 and we would see what they say. The Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis has been conducting a research program on The Pathology of SWL Injury http://anatomy.iupui.edu/lithotripsy/swlpath.html the opening statement states “SWL has been widely viewed as one of the most effective means of removing kidney stones since it was introduced in the early 1980's. In contrast, views on the safety of SWL have changed as clinical experience with it has increased. One of the first clinical reports on SWL expressed the view that shock waves "do not cause damage in passing through body tissue,” but less than a year later another reported that renal damage occurred in 63-85% of all SWL patients and that 30% of SWL patients experienced immediate post-SWL reductions of effective renal plasma flow. Since then, there have been many reports of SWL-induced renal injury and impaired function in human patients and experimental animals. The more current view on SWL-induced renal injury is summed up in the lead sentence of a 1992 Journal of Urology editorial that referred to SWL as "a form of renal trauma, and went on to assert that "some degree of renal injury occurs with virtually every SWL treatment ”. A recent Mayo Clinic study which appears in the May 2006 issue of the Journal of Urology states that Nearly 4 Times Higher Diabetes Risk After Shock Wave Treatment For Kidney Stones. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/10/...in1487112.shtml it’s a well known fact the scarring causes hypertension. Its my belief that my kidney disease has caused my hypertension, my heart disease and now I have to worry about diabetes.

8. Erectile Dysfunction Date this began: DR Berry started treating me for ED on 2/28/05 with Viagra. Dave Bialy from the Ann Arbor VAMC started treating me with Viagra around July 05. On 1/25/2006 during a C&P Exam I was diagnosed with ED. I continued to use Viagra until recently when I was prescribed Nitroglycerin and Imdur. My prescription for Celexa has pretty much chemically neutered me.

10. What is your occupation? I am unemployable; the Veterans Administration has determined that I have a serious employment handicap. I applied for Vocational Rehabilitation with the Veterans Administration. The Veterans Administration denied my application for vocational rehabilitation on 6/1/06. In their letter dated 6/1/06 they state “ It does not appear feasible for you to obtain suitable employment through your Vocational Rehabilitation benefits at this point in time because of the severity of your disability.” “After carefully reviewing the evidence I have determined that it is not reasonable to expect you to be able to train for or get a suitable job at this time”. “In reaching my decision I considered the following evidence: Medical records from VAMC and private physicians: independent living evaluation: vocational and independent living interviews, rating decisions, personal documentation”. My former occupation was police officer. When did you last work? My last job was delivering pizza, I did this for approximately four hours a night, three nights a week. I left this job in May of 2006 because of the stress of it.

How does this condition affect your daily activities and your recreational activities?

I am only able to do light activities around the house a simple task as vacuuming leaves me short of breath and fatigued. I have no recreational activities due to my depression I don’t leave my house. As of today Dec 21st 2006 I have had 105 medical appointments in 2006 and this appointment makes number 106.

I think you get the picture!!!!

Also

1.) Index to Disability Examination Worksheets

These 57 Disability Examination Worksheets are in use both by the doctors of VHA (Veterans Health Administration) who do the disability examinations and by the rating specialists, hearing officers, and Decision Review Officers of VBA (Veterans Benefits Administration) who do the disability evaluations. Found at

http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Benefits/exams/index.htm#bm01 get the worksheets that apply to your conditions and study them.

2.) My other advice would be go to the schedule of ratings and use that as a guideline when answering the questions.

Edited June 21, 2007 by BETRAYED

[stillhere]

Thanks Betrayed that is the exact paper I was looking for, from the way it reads I should be able to decline the stress test and just give them my paper work that shows a left vent of 47%. Also your paper work on the questioneire is great and very helpful.

I still will be glad when this is all over I am not going for PT or IUID but I do feel I should stand an increase because of the changes in my SC conditions.

Thanks to all and I hope by posting these things to help other vets that have diabetes related heart problems.

Stillhere

[stillhere]

OK update on the 2 appts that QTC wants me to do C&P head to toe exam plus blood work and xrays. No problem, but they had me scheduled for a stress test and I called and told them my cardio dr did not want me doing one until after 6 months from the date of my last stent implant. They said no problem just to make sure and bring all my paper work with me. Whew! I really do not feel comfortable as I mentioned before doing stress test with them and quite honestly very nervious when I do it with my cardio doc. I will post what happens afterward.

Stillhere