A Few Questions

[Keith85]

Three things I filed for:

1) Hernia pain - Had surgery on a naval base, scar tissue casued pain - service connected

2) Personality disorder (Reason for discharge, Honorable)

3) Hernia Scar

Granted:

1) Hernia scar - 10%

My question is why was I denied a rating on my hernia pain - They even admitted it was service connected. They said I did wear a device, so they would not grant it (Something along those lines, I have lost the paperwork during a move - Any way for the VA to get me a copy of the rating review? And also, if they admit is service connected how could they give me 0% rating. It causes pain at work as well as at home.

Also, I was denied on the personality disorder, but never spoke with a phyciatrist. I was discharged due to a service connected personality disorder.

Last, its been a year, and I didn't really know about the appeals proccess. I guess I will have to resubmit a claim? My scar has cleared up a bit, will they review that?

[Josephine]

Keith 85,

As Time said, " It is your decision, but just from my experience. I would not lay down and let the VA peg anyone with a personality disorder. It is just a game that they play.

If indeed you do have " Depression" and not the " Personality Disorder". your symptoms and illness will progress as you become older.

You are fresh out of service and you can beat the thing. Give it your best shot. I would think that you would receive much more benefits now and in the future for the " Depression". Why not collect on both?

I have been at this since 1978. I filed my first claim, but received a quick denial. It has taken me until 2004 to locate my long lost Military Psychiatric Records.

I immediately turned in a copy to the VA. This is when they starting trying to peg me with the " Personality Disorder".

I have been treated for " Anxiety with Depression" since 1964, this being in the service and I am now 62 years of age.

I have lived with this condition for 43 years and now the VA is trying to stick this " Personality Disorder" on me.

I have been in constant treatment with medication for the last 43 years for the " Anxiety with Depression".

I have been to the BVA and remanded to the Appeal Managment Center.

I am not letting them pull this one on me.

If the VA wishes to give me some " Personality" test to confirm their diagnosis, I am fine with it for I don't have one.

Fearful of your life, water running down your hands to your elbows from panic attacks is not a " Personality Disorder".

I wish that you would re-consider, as the ones on the board here are more than willing to help you with the claim.

Always,

Josephine

[carlie]

I had a beautiful post for here - but what the cable man bringeth, he also took away.

Let's get something corrected about a PD diagnosis.

Neurological Conditions and Convulsive Disorders

top

§ 4.120 Evaluations by comparison.

top Disability in this field is ordinarily to be rated in proportion to the impairment of motor, sensory or mental function. Consider especially psychotic manifestations, complete or partial loss of use of one or more extremities, speech disturbances, impairment of vision, disturbances of gait, tremors, visceral manifestations, injury to the skull, etc. In rating disability from the conditions in the preceding sentence refer to the appropriate schedule. In rating peripheral nerve injuries and their residuals, attention should be given to the site and character of the injury, the relative impairment in motor function, trophic changes, or sensory disturbances.

§ 4.122 Psychomotor epilepsy.

top The term psychomotor epilepsy refers to a condition that is characterized by seizures and not uncommonly by a chronic psychiatric disturbance as well.

(a) Psychomotor seizures consist of episodic alterations in conscious control that may be associated with automatic states, generalized convulsions, random motor movements (chewing, lip smacking, fumbling), hallucinatory phenomena (involving taste, smell, sound, vision), perceptual illusions (deja vu, feelings of loneliness, strangeness, macropsia, micropsia, dreamy states), alterations in thinking (not open to reason), alterations in memory, abnormalities of mood or affect (fear, alarm, terror, anger, dread, well-being), and autonomic disturbances (sweating, pallor, flushing of the face, visceral phenomena such as nausea, vomiting, defecation, a rising feeling of warmth in the abdomen). Automatic states or automatisms are characterized by episodes of irrational, irrelevant, disjointed, unconventional, asocial, purposeless though seemingly coordinated and purposeful, confused or inappropriate activity of one to several minutes (or, infrequently, hours) duration with subsequent amnesia for the seizure. Examples: A person of high social standing remained seated, muttered angrily, and rubbed the arms of his chair while the National Anthem was being played; an apparently normal person suddenly disrobed in public; a man traded an expensive automobile for an antiquated automobile in poor mechanical condition and after regaining conscious control, discovered that he had signed an agreement to pay an additional sum of money in the trade. The seizure manifestations of psychomotor epilepsy vary from patient to patient and in the same patient from seizure to seizure.

(b) A chronic mental disorder is not uncommon as an interseizure manifestation of psychomotor epilepsy and may include psychiatric disturbances extending from minimal anxiety to severe personality disorder (as distinguished from developmental) or almost complete personality disintegration (psychosis). The manifestations of a chronic mental disorder associated with psychomotor epilepsy, like those of the seizures, are protean in character.

8045 Brain disease due to trauma:Purely neurological disabilities, such as hemiplegia, epileptiform seizures, facial nerve paralysis, etc., following trauma to the brain, will be rated under the diagnostic codes specifically dealing with such disabilities, with citation of a hyphenated diagnostic code (e.g., 8045–8207).Purely subjective complaints such as headache, dizziness, insomnia, etc., recognized as symptomatic of brain trauma, will be rated 10 percent and no more under diagnostic code 9304. This 10 percent rating will not be combined with any other rating for a disability due to brain trauma. Ratings in excess of 10 percent for brain disease due to trauma under diagnostic code 9304 are not assignable in the absence of a diagnosis of multi-infarct dementia associated with brain trauma.

(The dementia as above can be a personality disorder)

I think 38 - CFR 4.124

Mental Disorders in Epilepsies: A nonpsychotic organic brain syndrome will be rated separately under the appropriate diagnostic code (e.g., 9304 or 9326). In the absence of a diagnosis of non-psychotic organic psychiatric disturbance (psychotic, psychoneurotic or personality disorder) if diagnosed and shown to be secondary to or directly associated with epilepsy will be rated separately. The psychotic or psychroneurotic disorder will be rated under the appropriate diagnostic code. The personality disorder will be rated as a dementia (e.g., diagnostic code 9304 or 9326).

Hope this helps a vet.

jmho,

carlie

[Keith85]

Thanks everyone for the support/advice.

I'm kind of in a rut here. The only rating they would give me was 10% on a hernia scar. It is only 115 a month. However, it does grant me one important thing, 10,000 for school. However, I also find it sad that the VA will not rate pain on a hernia.

http://www.va.gov/vetapp/files1/9402207.txt - Nearly the same issue. I only had one hernia.

I'm a little worried, due to the scar which isnt as visible as it was, that they would give me 0% on that and the school funds would go out the window.

A little more on the PD:

It stared from day one at Parris Island for a hernia repair. I ended up being delayed in training for over a month. I believe this is where most of the depression started. They decided not to repair it until after training, which caused a great deal of pain during training.

At Parris Island, after I had surgery on my hernia, I had severe depression and was sent to the on base physiologist. Once more, I was delayed in training over eight weeks. She was more on the side of me having depression than she was having a personality disorder. (I really would like to get a copy of a few things: Medical Records/Blue rating)

So, they sent me on my way to Camp Lejune, NC. About eight weeks into training the depression hit in once more. I was evaluated by the physiologist there. They didn't want to give any type of diagnosis, they only listed it as a personality disorder. So, they discharged me.

Even today I still have depression issues, it makes my day to day pretty bad sometimes. I also get really angry about things, much much more than I use to. Not sure if that's just because of the poor time I had in service or not.

In short, I guess I'm a little lost in the mess of the VA.

Any other questions, please feel free to ask.

Edited July 4, 2007 by Keith85

[LarryJ]

Keith, I just got home from one of my Group Therapy (Group Gropes)at the VAMC DALLAS.

Your story is starting to sound kinda familiar (even the Marine thing).

I've got some things to do this evening, but, I'll be back.

[Josephine]

Carlie,

I read what you posted, but what is a " Personality Disorder"? Epilepsy? Dementia?

Thanks,

Josephine

Edited July 4, 2007 by Josephine

[john999]

Keith

I would say you got the green weenie on that PD thing. They did not diagnose you because they did not want to pay for a mental/medical condition. I did have a lot of experience with the PD thing in the Army and with the VA. I believe with a good IMO you can get this thing changed. I did it.