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Getting One More Imo

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Berta

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You all know I am waiting for the VA to finally read my Medical Opinions from Dr. Bash.

I am well satisfied with them- but have decided to go ahead an get the additional IMO I discussed with Med Opinions some time ago-

Dr. Bash fully provided a complete medical rationale in his opinions that diagnose my husband with uncontrolled and untreated diabetes mellitus (AO) which caused his Strokes,and 6 years of escalating heart disease that untimately caused his death.

The VA admitted to wrongful death but it took me many more years to find out what the real reason for his disabilities and death was.I feel my claim is very solid and Dr. Bash already knocked down a VA opinion-too.

My husband had been diagnosed with persisent oral candidia in 1992 when the VA finally realised he had suffered a major stroke-

they had first said he had MS,or labyrhinitus, and countless other diagnoses appear in the med recs-I would stop at the library everytime they came up with something new and read all the medical info I could find and go back the next day-not convinced- and by then they would have another diagnosis anyhow-I thought they had given him a CT scan upon admission and when I found they didnt I demanded an MRI- and within minutes of that-they finally knew what was wrong with him-after he laid there for 3 weeks paralysed and unable to see or swallow-

my point here

Oral candidia isnt catchy and it can occur when glucose from uncontrolled diabetes is spilled literally into the saliva-

it causes a very hot sensation in the mouth, has a visible white patchy appearance, and can be treated with Nystatin.

But the cause has to be determined too.

The medical records reveal Rod had complained of this symptom to the VA and they ignored it-but an audiologist documented it-when they kept sending him to her for hearing problems (which he didnt have)in 1988.The Syracuse VA-aware of the many misdiagnosed conditions at the Bath VA,upon his admission there for the CVA in 1992-continued to fail to diagnose and treat Rod's DMII and heart disease yet diagnosed oral candidia in the med recs,( the reason for the hot senation in his mouth) and continued the Nystatin prescription for the next two years until he died-I could never get a square answer from his doctors on this condition as they would always want to talk about his neurological problems-instead-but

obviously the prescription was continued up to his death-to treat a well known symptom of uncontrolled diabetes that they never diagnosed and could have -even 6 years before his death.

Oral candidia is in the VA's DMII training letter as a symptom of poorly controlled diabetes and it is proper DMII insulin management that corrects it- the Nystatin is only a temporary fix for it.

If anyone here has this persisent symptom that the VA ignores-a hot burning sensation in their mouth-it could be from other things too but it would pay for the VA to immediately check their glucose levels as the info I have from countless updated medical texts shows it can often be one of the first symptoms of diabetes - with glucose levels so high that the saliva is compromised and the mouth then develops this type of infection.

This candidia diagnosis in his med recs was something I paid little attention to for a decade and the doctors said they could resolve it- but never gave me any answer as to why Rod had it-

This is one more reason that it sure pays to read and attempt to understand everything your med records reveal.

Blood chem reports ,ECHOs,MRI results- medications----

unusual entries- etc-

even entries that have been crossed out-

because somewhere in all the medical documentation might well be exactly what you need to succeed on your claim.

I found a medical word- mentioned this before here -but the vet is still grateful and called me the other day-

in a BVA decision this had received long ago-that was the nexus he needed for service-

after almost 12 years he was granted service connection and no one,not even his POA, had even attempted to look up the word in the decision to see what it meant- (neither did he)

I feel that paid vet reps should do a better job of adequately reviewing our medical records- but they dont usually take the time to do it- so it is really up to us-and it can be a timeconsuming task-

but in the long run- you can understand your disability fully and often can find more evidence for your claims.

Allan posted a link to a Medical Dictionary here -

All sorts of Medical symbology also can be found on the internet.

It could be even the meaning of an odd medical symbol that could help support a claim.And dont overlook Nurses Notes either.

The VACO settlement report I have refers to the Nurse Notes and specifically states that the nurses who treated my husband were far more observant than the doctors and they documented a lot.

Med Opinions said they could have an Oral Pathologist opinion for me within a week-after they heard what evidence I had-

I was not going to do this until the VA finally addressed the IMos I have but then again- there is nothing better than 'surrounding' them with medical evidence-and of couse I will attach the VA training letter too- and about 8 treatises I have in support of this all along with the IMO from Med Opinions.

Edited by Berta

GRADUATE ! Nov 2nd 2007 American Military University !

When thousands of Americans faced annihilation in the 1800s Chief

Osceola's response to his people, the Seminoles, was

simply "They(the US Army)have guns, but so do we."

Sameo to us -They (VA) have 38 CFR ,38 USC, and M21-1- but so do we.

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