I wanted to thank everyone so much for the advice in my prior posting. Well I had the mental exam this morning.
To make things a little worse for my back I actually did yard work yesterday so needless to say I was hurting. I came in wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt with back brace and cane. The examiner was the same I had for initial mental secondary sc to back. I believe it was early 2005 when I saw him last. Since then everything hit the fan. I think the exam went very well. I was finally able to lay it all on the line. He kept making comments about how the VARO should be looking at my back again because I was rated so low (actually at the court of appeals now).
I turned it on. I cried, I showed anger. Told him about all the firings and quitting of jobs. I told him it was actually a plus because my responsibilities have been decreasing with every new job I get. He came back and said that you may think it's making your life easier but it's actually showing that you mental situation is deteriorating because you can't handle the responsibility. He said that it sounds like you should not be working and why couldn't I stay home with the kids and my wife work? I told him I don't have the capacity to watch a 2 and 3 year old.
He asked about suicidal tendencies and I said yes. He asked why I left my last job. I told him because of my outbursts I kept getting written up. He asked about sex life and I told him I couldn't because of the meds and that I had no drive. He asked if anything gave me pleasure and I said no. I told him in addition to Zoloft 100mg, 4 OXIs, 3 ativans, and 8 buspars daily I drank 4 to 5 beers a day. He looked at me like I was nuts. He asked if I was laying flat on the floor after all that. I said nope. He then commented that it was a good thing I wasn't crashing a car or passing out but that it was a bad thing that I could intake all those drugs and alcohol and still be coherent. He asked if I thought driving home and drinking was a problem and I said no it helps with the anxiety and panic attacks.
He asked if I thought I should see a new shrink over the VA one because he wasn't changing my meds and my symptoms are still intense and the meds are not controlling them. I said no because I have too many appointments and I didn't think anyone could help me. He asked about violent outbursts and I told him I have many holes in my walls at home. He said recently and I said yes. I told him my wife has told me she would leave with the kids if I couldn't learn to control my yelling, etc. He asked about friends or doing anything outside of work I said no. He asked what the date of my marriage anniversary was and I said I couldn't remember.
He asked about my panic attacks. He wanted to know if I was still having them. I said yes 4-5 times a day. Wanted to know when they starte (2001). He asked me to explain what they felt like. He asked about sleep. I told him I could only sleep 2-3 hours at a clip because of pain and or panic attacks. I gave him some documentation from pain clinic showing they gave me the 4 oxi because of the sleep problems. There may be a few more items we talked about but that’s all I remember for now. The kicker I guess which made me feel his report should be good (hopefully) was that he ended with advice. He said I am a C&P examiner and we are supposed to be independent and not give any medical advice. However, being a mental health practitioner he felt compelled to tell me that he recommends I get some help ASAP. He stated that mentally I have deteriorated significantly since the last time I saw him.
Question
dav_marine72
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to thank everyone so much for the advice in my prior posting. Well I had the mental exam this morning.
To make things a little worse for my back I actually did yard work yesterday so needless to say I was hurting. I came in wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt with back brace and cane. The examiner was the same I had for initial mental secondary sc to back. I believe it was early 2005 when I saw him last. Since then everything hit the fan. I think the exam went very well. I was finally able to lay it all on the line. He kept making comments about how the VARO should be looking at my back again because I was rated so low (actually at the court of appeals now).
I turned it on. I cried, I showed anger. Told him about all the firings and quitting of jobs. I told him it was actually a plus because my responsibilities have been decreasing with every new job I get. He came back and said that you may think it's making your life easier but it's actually showing that you mental situation is deteriorating because you can't handle the responsibility. He said that it sounds like you should not be working and why couldn't I stay home with the kids and my wife work? I told him I don't have the capacity to watch a 2 and 3 year old.
He asked about suicidal tendencies and I said yes. He asked why I left my last job. I told him because of my outbursts I kept getting written up. He asked about sex life and I told him I couldn't because of the meds and that I had no drive. He asked if anything gave me pleasure and I said no. I told him in addition to Zoloft 100mg, 4 OXIs, 3 ativans, and 8 buspars daily I drank 4 to 5 beers a day. He looked at me like I was nuts. He asked if I was laying flat on the floor after all that. I said nope. He then commented that it was a good thing I wasn't crashing a car or passing out but that it was a bad thing that I could intake all those drugs and alcohol and still be coherent. He asked if I thought driving home and drinking was a problem and I said no it helps with the anxiety and panic attacks.
He asked if I thought I should see a new shrink over the VA one because he wasn't changing my meds and my symptoms are still intense and the meds are not controlling them. I said no because I have too many appointments and I didn't think anyone could help me. He asked about violent outbursts and I told him I have many holes in my walls at home. He said recently and I said yes. I told him my wife has told me she would leave with the kids if I couldn't learn to control my yelling, etc. He asked about friends or doing anything outside of work I said no. He asked what the date of my marriage anniversary was and I said I couldn't remember.
He asked about my panic attacks. He wanted to know if I was still having them. I said yes 4-5 times a day. Wanted to know when they starte (2001). He asked me to explain what they felt like. He asked about sleep. I told him I could only sleep 2-3 hours at a clip because of pain and or panic attacks. I gave him some documentation from pain clinic showing they gave me the 4 oxi because of the sleep problems. There may be a few more items we talked about but that’s all I remember for now. The kicker I guess which made me feel his report should be good (hopefully) was that he ended with advice. He said I am a C&P examiner and we are supposed to be independent and not give any medical advice. However, being a mental health practitioner he felt compelled to tell me that he recommends I get some help ASAP. He stated that mentally I have deteriorated significantly since the last time I saw him.
Now I wait and see what the report says…………………………
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Top Posters For This Question
5
3
2
1
Popular Days
Sep 29
14
Sep 30
2
Top Posters For This Question
dav_marine72 5 posts
SouthernBelle 3 posts
1994andcouting..... 2 posts
Josephine 1 post
Popular Days
Sep 29 2008
14 posts
Sep 30 2008
2 posts
Posted Images
15 answers to this question
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now