Va Psych Exam

[Nekoiinu]

Hello,

After reading this site for awhile, I thought that maybe someone could help me understand something. Below I put what was on my MEB by my doctor while I was active duty. The ARMY retired me medically at 50% for an axis I mental disorder of Delusional Disorder. I had the DAV at Ft. Carson help me with my VA claim, and all went well and rather rapidly. I filed on 13 July, and got my exam date on 20 August. I went to The Denver clinic about a week ago and talked to the doctor there. He kept trying to tell me that my real problem is that I am bipolar. I kind of disagree with that. I have read on here of some strange things happening like that, so maybe someone with more knowledge can help me understand why they would try to change it to bipolar. Or would he be trying to say that bipolar would by default concidered in this due to the other symptoms? Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Axis I

1. Delusional Disorder, Persecutory Type, treated with some improvement, moderate predisposition, as manifested by delusions of being plotted against, poisoned, and persecuted; auditory and visual hallucinations are episodic and brief in duration

EPTS: No Line of Duty: Yes Impairment for further military duty: Marked Impairment for social and industrial adaptability: Severe

2. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, chronic, moderate, treated with some improvement

EPTS: Yes, not aggravated by service Line of Duty: No Impairment for further.military duty: Minimal Impairment for social and industrial adaptability: Definite

3. Dysthymic Disorder, chronic, moderate, treated with some improvement

EPTS : Yes, not aggravated by service Line of Duty: No Impairment for further military duty: Minimal Impairment for social and industrial adaptability: Definite

Axis II

Personality Disorder NOS (Paranoid, Avoidant, Schizotypal)

Axis III

See MEB

Axis IV

Moderate stress related to adjustment to active duty service, being accused of sexual harassment

Axis V

35

[Pete53]

Nekoiinu:

If you are unable to work the VA owes you 100%. If the Army paid you to get out that money will have to be repaid

The Personality Disorder is bogus.

[Testvet]

Pete medically retired do not fall into the repayment categories that 10 and 20% pay outs do don't ask me about CRDP or any of that other stuff but I think they will off set dollar for dollar from the VA to his retirement check but I would trade up for 100% anytime difference is he keeps his gray card (retired is gray or used to be) and us 100% get the orange cards

[Jay Johnson]

It depends on which option you take...the AF pushed my wife HARD to take the lump sum payment rather than the retirement (which is ridiculous), but if the vet took the lump sum the VA would just offset. Even if he took retirement at 50% on a monthly basis the VA would just subtract the amount you were paid from the military in the retro they pay you (at least they did with the wife, but it was only 2 months worth...).

[Nekoiinu]

Pete medically retired do not fall into the repayment categories that 10 and 20% pay outs do don't ask me about CRDP or any of that other stuff but I think they will off set dollar for dollar from the VA to his retirement check but I would trade up for 100% anytime difference is he keeps his gray card (retired is gray or used to be) and us 100% get the orange cards

Yes you are correct. I will keep the blue id card. The only thing I do not mention is that it is the temp retired list. I have to go in and get re evaluated every 12 to 18 months for a max of 5 years. Then they can either keep me the same, or lower it and then give me severance package. But by that time I will be getting VA money so any which way I am covered. You guys have been great as far as posting. I hope there is more. Not for me but for others like me. I have been reading this site for maybe 6 months or more. I am always afriad to post things because so many times there are real jerks on posting sites, and the last thing I would want to do is make a mistake in a forum like this and have someone go off on me. I messed up and my first post was in the wrong space. I was waiting for some nasty feedback. But I have found that there is a generous amount of people trying to help eachother. I kind of got off track. I was saying that for people in my situaction it is kind of hard to find pertenant information because so many posts are about service 30 years ago and finding records and such. I found it hard to find things that fit my situation. I was in a support group for behavioral health mebs and there are a lot of us out there that dont know what is going on. Even a person like myself who reads and scours finds it difficult to undersand exactly what things mean. But once again thank you.

[Nekoiinu]

It depends on which option you take...the AF pushed my wife HARD to take the lump sum payment rather than the retirement (which is ridiculous), but if the vet took the lump sum the VA would just offset. Even if he took retirement at 50% on a monthly basis the VA would just subtract the amount you were paid from the military in the retro they pay you (at least they did with the wife, but it was only 2 months worth...).

What would happen in my case with the retirement is that once I am awarded VA compensation I would have to relinquish my retirement pay. Which would be fine, because it is tax free. I dont know about the AF, but the way it happened to me in the Army is that the MEB papers went up and the PEB made the decision to give me 50%. I was not offered an option. But it is true that had I recieved 20% or below then they would have given me the severence package, and then I would have to in essence wait until I had paid that off before receiving my compensation. However, I also have some physical things that are being evaluated as well. If I had recieved the severance package, the amount that they would have held back would only be for what the VA was going to give me for the condition that got me the severance. So if I got the severance for the delusional disorder, then the va evaluated my case and gave me compensation for the delusional disorder, my neck and tinnitus, they would hold back the delusional disorder portion and give me the neck and tinnitus money. That way I would not be getting paid twice for the same ailment.

[Berta]

The Schedule for ratings for mental disorders is at:

http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/bookc.html#q

Also -you can receive both VA comp and SSA disability at the same time-

I think you have to apply for SSA disability within five years of leaving service or last employer-

Veteran- you should NEVER be ashamed of whatever they diagnose you with.

I sure honor your service and this is a bonafide service connected disability- a sacrifice you suffer with due to your service.

Do you have a copy of the MEB report? If so how did you get it? from NARA?

The Mil sure dont pay and rate anyone at 50% MEB for a personality disorder-Axis one part one is your main disability.

I agree with John and Jay too-this seems more like schizophrenia, paranoid type and possibly with PTSD as well-

but whatever the VA diagnosis is -

it happened during service and they owe you compensation.

It saddens me that a diagnosis itself can get a vet down-

Most of the vets I know well here in NY are combat vets-not all are combat -but just about all of them have schizophrenia, manic bi polar, or PTSD, or depression and are all service connected for these disorders and some physical problems too.

And they are all brilliant and wonderful and should -in my opinion- like many of the men and women here with mental disorders-

be running the Veterans Administration and they could shape the place up real quick.

Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of.

Lewis Puller (CHesty's son) was a VA Central Office lawyer- catastrophically physically disabled from Vietnam and also the first to say he had major mental problems from the war.Audie Murphy- the decorated war hero had a fabulous movie career too- he also had Major issues due to PTSD.

One of my best friends is Bi polar manic-

when he finally won his VA claim after 12 years-

he wanted to thank me for my help by taking me to lunch -

in Ireland-!!!

Luckily the VA gave his wife control of his comp- otherwise he would have spent almost 200,000 in retro in a weekend

We laugh about his manic symptoms- he has learned to deal with them as well as the hesitance many have to get to know him- they think he is nuts-he is

far from nuts-----

the best kind of friend anyone could have.

I guess my long point is that-

mental disorder is not ones fault and it is nothing at all to be ashamed of.

No disability is.

Years ago one of the national magazines did a full photo story of Max Clelland in the nude-

This former Vietnam vet wanted people to see how his amputations looked and also how difficult it can be for amputees to do simple things sometimes-

it took him 2 hours to get ready to go to work everyday-

he worked as the Secretary of the Veterans Administration.

We should go back to Julius Caesar's times and treat all disabled veterans with the honor and respect they deserve.His disabled war vets often didnt want to even leave his military service.They never paid taxes again after the war campaigns,and their communities provided their food and all of their medical needs and extended them Honor their whole life.

Things sure have changed.

Mental illness is not a mark of lack of intelligence or anything else- it is just mental illness-

But A lot to deal with -especially when others dont have a clue about it.

We do have a clue here.

You found a good place to come to.

Edited August 24, 2007 by Berta