ptsd Where Should I Head For The Furture

[robert51]

I presently have PTSD 70% IU and PT and i have had this for about 5 years i still go to the doctor every 2 weeks..(over 7 years now ) my meds keep getting higher and higher started out with 300mg of serquol and 100 Zoloft and now i take 700 serquol and 100mg Zoloft, If there was a rating of PTSD 80% i think i could get it but i am not 100% PTSD over the years it was suggested i look into Sleep disorder and do one of those sleep test and get my hearing checked as the doctor says she can tell i have a difficult time hearing her unless she speaks load and direct.. with all this talk of IU possible stoping at 65 should i persue a higher rating and try to get 100% without IU , As a door gunner on a uh1 during nam i have terriable hearing , and tingling in one side sometimes.. as to the sleep disorder , well when i first got my IU and PT i was so burned out on dealing with the VA i just stoped the fighting but now with IU going away maybe should i persue a higher rating to be safe..??

[cloudcroft]

True, there's a big gap bewteen even 90% and 100%, let alone 70% and 100%.

Maybe at some point down the road the VA will decide to "convert" us 100% TDIU vets to 100% schdeular...and we won't have to do anything re: filing more claims to accomplish that on our own.

Yeah, I know I'm probably dreaming, but I stayed at the Fantasy Island hotel last night...

-- John D.

well i was thinking the same way i could make a claim for hearing loss and most likley win and my doctor keeps suggesting the sleep study dont know why she would but i am guessing its tied to PTSD ? I really did not want to go thru the drama and bull filing another claim and i dont want to add to the wait times.. i guess i will wait and see in the next year of so what happens... i do wish PTSD had a 80 and 90% rating instead of 70% or 100% with no between... another thing that seems to be very much in the VA favor is the amount given for 70% and even 90% is so far from 100

[sixthscents]

Yeah I have also pointed out the LARGE gap between 70% and 100%... I dont understand why they do it that way other than to save the money. I dont know. It was pointed out to me that workmans comp is done the same way, but I dont know if that is true or not.

Anyway, I dont like to speculate here... people get panicked easily so lets keep that in mind when we are discussing money issues and make sure everyone knows that this is SPECULATION - there is nothing certain at this point. Personally I think benefits are going to increase - evidenced by the new TriCare legislation and the others to follow.

Also I saw it stated that SMC "housebound" required 100% schedular... this is correct, but is NOT necessarily true for all of the other SMC ratings. For further guidance on this look up CFR 38 section 3.350

Again, please nobody get panicked over this... its not an issue right now, just people speculating on what may or may not happen in the future... further, I don't understand the logic in TDIU being more protected then a schedular rating... I'm rated over 200% schedular now, permanent and total and I just dont see how this might be less defensible than a TDIU rating. I think someone was confused.

[john999]

Until recently vets who were emotionally disabled at the 70% rate and IU were bumped up to 100% schedular. Then the VA changed it and went with TDIU for those less than 100% schedular. Maybe they will go back to the older standard.

[sixthscents]

I didnt know that John. I dont suffer from PTSD and it's not my specialty area, though I have worked with it a lot of course. I still do not understand the rate tables though...

Currently a single vet draws $2471 at 100% and $1135 at 70%.

Now in a logical world the veteran would increase 10% of $2471 for every 10% increase in disability rating so a 70% rated veteran should get $1729.7...

Thats a difference of $594.

I cannot understand why they do it any other way except to save money. The pay jump from 70% to 100% is MORE than the jump from 0% to 70%! Again, I was told that workman's comp pays similarly, but I have not verified that, and if they do, I dont understand that either....

It just makes no sense, like a wookie on ewok (sorry South Park reference)

[Pete53]

There is no logic in the VA unless you think like I do that its a cheap ass organization. ALmost everything the VA does is on the cheap.

[Testvet]

i saw it on a news program and it was said lowering entitlements was one of the ways to address the problems with the weak dollar and the ss shortfall .... When you think of it which would be the hardest to sell to the US people...raise taxes or drop such entitlement programs as IU and back it up with the .... dont worry these poor vets will still get thier FULL SS benefits just like all americans.. I think of all the ways it could go IU for a vet already collecting a percentage and SS is an easy sell by the powers to be... Its like collecting IU when your 80 years old how many people are still working at 80? I just think taking away a vets IU when he is collecting SS and is over 65 would not be hard to get passed the public. I am still 56 and just looking to the furture . I was just wondering if i should start the long process of trying to get the other 30% now instead of waiting , maybe because it does not affect bottom line the raters will be a little easy to give it ..

Robert when they discuss lowering benefits thay are talking about the people filing in the future, in my entire life I have never seen anyone lose the moeny they were already getting but newbies get lower retirement deals all the time, many automakers now have "temps" that work for half wages and they have people lined up for the jobs 14.80 an hour is better than minimum wage. I think the talking heads on TV forget to take that fact in to their speils "grandfathered" means somethign when it comes to federal checks when you are on a "fixed income" and your lifestyle is set to that it's not exactly kosher to take it away and I have just never seen it before JMHO