Diagnosis Change Or Not

[Rockhound]

Veteran has a current sleep apnea diagnosis supported by a sleep study. Veteran submits a claim for sleep apnea and was scheduled for a C&P examination;

The results of the examination are as follows The VA examiner states, at this time my prefered opinion is that Veterans represents as having Nocturnal Hypoxia and based on the history given, it would be difficult for this examiner to fully support a diagnosis of sleep apnea.

The VA Adjudicator then denies claim stating that a diagnosis change was made and that the Nocturnal Hypoxia was the correct alternative diagnosis.

thus a claim for sleep apnea is declined, since the correct diagnosis was for Nocturnal Hypoxia and veteran's medical hystory is mute on this issue.

Is this a change in a diagnosis and/or was it properly changed?

Yea it's a twist on my claim, but some people just don't get it.

[Rockhound]

Yes I could use the money, that is why I am conituing to seek out tests and discriptive statements for my medical records. The tests I am hoping will help show an existing disability that can be related to my inservice Psychotic episode and/ acute schizophrenic episode, or the TBI, or dismiss the PD.

I already have a statement from my psychiatrist that I do not now have a personality disorder per DSM listing. How can I not have a PD now when it is supposed to a develpmental disorder of long standing. PD just don't disappear do they?

This Friday will tell me more as it may relate to my TBI and possibly the acute psychotic episode, I'll let you all know how that went.

Yes I could use the money, but at this point, I have neither the funds nor the ability to acquire the funds to get a proper IMO. This is apparent that even as we speak, The IMO I got from my ENT specialist is insufficiant for rating purposes and I can not get him to clarify his report so that it would. At least he has done nothing to date to do so, even after I presented to him what needs clarification and such and showing him the criteria that the C/P exam must cover. His statement saying that my SC nasal bone fracture was related to present breathing difficulties was to broad and needed clairfication as to how and why supporting his opinion.

But from the beginning, I have always said it is more about the prenciple of the matter and not the money, although the money would be nice.

What all you must understand, a current diagnosis does nothing for my CUE claim of 30 plus years ago. Forget the diagnosis change. The CUE claim is the VA's failure to provide the proper certification that the Acute Schizophrenic episode was erroneous and that the PD was alternate diagnosis that corrected it. You are all correct that a change of a diagnosis is not a basis for CUE. Failure to certify a diagnosis is clearly and unmistakenly in error and that another corrects that error is. an opinion that a PD exists does not show facts to support the conclusion. If the examiner had at the very leasts conducted an MMPI and it supported his opinion, that is fact, but their is nothing but broad references to the history and the examiners own opinion. where is the statement by the examiner that states one diagnosis is wrong and the other corrects it? Not there.

Money makes lifes liveable. Showing your right makes life worth living.

Rockhound Rider B)

[carlie]

I think I'm deciding to stay out of this thread but I do wish you lots of luck.

carlie

[Rockhound]

I think I'm deciding to stay out of this thread but I do wish you lots of luck.

carlie

Thank you calie, your input and opinions are alwasy appreciated. I know my pation and one sidedness can be a bit extreme at times. As I research my condition along with my claim, I have found this may well be as a result of my TBI and/or psychotic episode. It may well be that a good IMO for both these problems will be my only salvation that leads to a final correction on my claim and SC.

If my CUE claim does not fly, I may well have to sell my home at a lose in this down trend home market to come up with the funds for such an IMO, but that is a last resort, because that will leave me basicaly homeless from then on, until I become elligible for low income housing.

Thank you once again.

Rockhound Rider B)

[Josephine]

Rock,

Have you been treated for " psychotic episodes" since your discharge from service? I try to read your post, but have never caught the answer to this one. Do you take continous meds for the condition?

Betty

[william n]

rockhound, check if u need too with your local housing authority they have a program for vets , under the "Housing Choice Program" which will put in front of others..took me 3 weeks and im in a nice condo here in Florida..It was a blessing...They got tons of money for homeless vets. Peace, William

Edited June 25, 2008 by william n

[Hoppy]

Rock,

There is more to nexus statements than the directive you are reading. Yes C&P's are now the way nexus is addressed. The congress lowered the requirement that would cause the VA to schedule a C&P to address nexus. The old requirement was that the veteran had to obtain a favorable nexus letter on there own before the duty to assist kicked in. The new requirement is that there only needs to be an in service diagnosis and a post service diagnosis with "evidence" of a link (see the VCAA). The C&P examiner does not have to say there is a nexus. However, they are required to do the exam and fill out the form.

The VA is diagnosis driven. That is the raters look at diagnoses. You need to have an inservice diagnosis and a post service diagnosis. A C&P examiner cannot change a diagnosis made by a military physician unless it is absolutely obvious that the military physician was wrong. I can find you the case law if necessary. I used it in my angioedema claim. It sounds to me like the C&P examiner might be saying that your current diagnosis is PD. Did the C&P actually say that the inservice diagnosis was made in error or is it merely that the only current disabilty is PD. What exactly was the inservice diagnosis.

Psychotic episodes can be diagnosed as "brief psychotic disorder". This condition can only be diagnosed if all the symptoms resolve and you return to the level of functioning prior to the onset of the episode. If this was the inservice diagnosis then nobody is changing the diagnosis. They could be saying that you no longer have the psychotic condition.

We had another veteran here many years ago with a similar claim. He had the episode and a month later he was back working at his regular job in the military. The longer you go back to work without any residual symptoms the harder it will be for a shrink to tie the psychotic episode into any long term condition. I am not trying to play shrink. However, I have had many communications with veterans and read many of their reports. I am just telling you what I have read in other cases. In the case of the veteran who posted here the C&P examiner stated that there was no ongoing disability in proximity to military service and that the event in the military could easily be explained by somebody giving the guy LSD without him knowing it. The important thing is the statement that there was no ongoing disability in proximity to service.

If you have a way of showing ongoing symptoms or can get an opinion that the symptoms in the military are related to or early symptoms of a current service connectable psych condition then your claim will be much stronger.

When I studied abnormal psych at UCLA. There was a question on a test "If someone is really out to get you, are you paranoid"?

Edited June 25, 2008 by Hoppy