Well, I went to see my Psche about my medications last Thursday. You know oneof the 15 minute meetings. I had been by and talked to my Voc Rehab counselor that morning, and she is off the opinion that I can't work, but is hoping to get me in the Indepent Living program, so that I can do some volunteer work on days that I feel only partially looney.
So I go by my Vet Center and my therapist there fills out the paper for me and is writing a letter. When I go to see the Psych. she give me the usual bullet list of questions about how i'm doing. Tell her not good, wife and I had a bad fight, a few blows were given. I informed her that this happened the week that I had to wait 10 days to get my refill of Prozac. She told me I really needed to take my medication. I explained in a somewhat heated voice, that I take it daily, but when I reordered, something that is usually in the mailbox in two day, took 10 to get there meaning ole Rob was off for 6 days straight.
Then she gets on me about missing my last two appts. I tell her I didn't miss them, the first one they called that day while I was on my way to the hospital, my wife got the message telling me that my appointment was cancelled. They call back a few minutes later, my wife is back at work, telling me they had rescheduled for that afternoon. So a no show. Second time I realized that I had a Voc Rehab testing that day, and on my Rehab letter it stated that "failure to show, would cause a reduction of benefits".
Now when I showed the Voc Rehab counselor the letter she said it should have "would not" but nevertheless at 70% I wasn't taken that chance. The Psyche tells me that they can't do that. I tell her I know that now, but I sure as hell wasn't taking chances as I needed all the money I get with the 70% rating.
So shortly later i hear the knock on the door letting her know that she needs to wrap me up as my 15 minutes are over. (I actaully gave her a list of some of the problems I've been having so she was busy writing). We discuss my meds briefly and she decides to increase the Prozac, great i'm at 60 MG a day now, but will see if that helps any. So I pull out the form the lady from the Voc Rehab gave me for her to fill out about feasibility of employment. She tells me "I don't think I can fill this out, I'll have to ask my supervisor". I tell her that she most certainly can and recite her duty to assist and the directive. Proceed to tell her to call me the next day if he says she can't do it, because my VR counselor is going on maternity leave this Friday and she needs the info before she goes on so she can help me out. Dr. says I'll call you if there is a problem. But I'm going on Vacation next week. Great. She then asks me how come I'm not running my business anymore. I tell her that I've bankrupted 3 of them in the last 4 years, since the PtSD kicked me in the tail. She asks whether it was market conditions, ie (poor business to begin with) or medically related. I assure her that people need houses to live in, and the wet basement business is pretty good to, I had all kinds of work to do, just found myself balled up in the basement on too many days, owing a lot of bills and a lot of pissed of customers who wanted their work either started or finished. LOL. She then asks me if I have filed for PTSD compensation. I looked at her very bewildered and concerend. "I've been rated at 50% since May going back to October of '04. She looks befuddled and asks if she sets an appointment with the Social Worker downstairs will I keep it. I tell her "yes, but I don't understand what good that's going to do, a couple years ago she's the one that told me about going to the Vet Center, you guys never even told me about that. " Oh your going to the Vet center? "Yes, almost everyweek for group plus individual counseling since November of 2004.
So sure enough the Psche calls me on Friday. Four times an "Unknown Caller" shows up on the caller ID from late morning through the afternoon. Finally at 4:20 pm she leaves a message that she has been trying to call me all day, and that she needs for me to come in and sign a release of information form, and that the attending needs to ask me a couple more questions with her. So now I have to wait for the counselor to come back off of maternity leave to pursue this further.
I am so at wits end with this Psche and the VA Hospitals PTSD department. I haven't been through the 6 week program yet, and I've heard some good things about that from the other Vets in my group, but we are trying to get me in either late spring or late summer. My problem is this. I was awarded the 50% based upon my C&P results. her Dr. Notes stated that she considered me PTSD from service, but we never talk about anything in there. Just the standard symptoms. They also did not contact the Vet Center for my records there, which I had included in the paperwork. I feel for certain, that if this Dr. would have been doing some type of Psychiatry with me other than asking me the Boilerplate, are you depressed, anxious, startle reesponse, Hell yes I've got all of them, and my inability to provide for my family has me on the verge of divorce and either living on the street, or killing myself. Proper treatment would have given me the 70% which with my other disabilities would have been close to schedular anyway.
It just amazes me that going through Voc Rehab and having two different couselors, one that works there and the contractor that adminsters the test tell me they think it's pretty much useless for my attempt at a "daily Job" yet I'm gonna get stonewalled by the other part of the system.
I'm looking for advice on what I can do, but I alsso appreciate the chance to get this off my chest. Like my therapist told me yesterday, at least in group, i can tell the other guys, that I snapped over something stupid and had my wife pinned up on the wall by her neck, and not have them look at me like I was crazy. They understand, but my Psych doesn't want to hear about my issues, just ship me out the door so she can get 4 people in in the hour.
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10thFO
Well, I went to see my Psche about my medications last Thursday. You know oneof the 15 minute meetings. I had been by and talked to my Voc Rehab counselor that morning, and she is off the opinion that I can't work, but is hoping to get me in the Indepent Living program, so that I can do some volunteer work on days that I feel only partially looney.
So I go by my Vet Center and my therapist there fills out the paper for me and is writing a letter. When I go to see the Psych. she give me the usual bullet list of questions about how i'm doing. Tell her not good, wife and I had a bad fight, a few blows were given. I informed her that this happened the week that I had to wait 10 days to get my refill of Prozac. She told me I really needed to take my medication. I explained in a somewhat heated voice, that I take it daily, but when I reordered, something that is usually in the mailbox in two day, took 10 to get there meaning ole Rob was off for 6 days straight.
Then she gets on me about missing my last two appts. I tell her I didn't miss them, the first one they called that day while I was on my way to the hospital, my wife got the message telling me that my appointment was cancelled. They call back a few minutes later, my wife is back at work, telling me they had rescheduled for that afternoon. So a no show. Second time I realized that I had a Voc Rehab testing that day, and on my Rehab letter it stated that "failure to show, would cause a reduction of benefits".
Now when I showed the Voc Rehab counselor the letter she said it should have "would not" but nevertheless at 70% I wasn't taken that chance. The Psyche tells me that they can't do that. I tell her I know that now, but I sure as hell wasn't taking chances as I needed all the money I get with the 70% rating.
So shortly later i hear the knock on the door letting her know that she needs to wrap me up as my 15 minutes are over. (I actaully gave her a list of some of the problems I've been having so she was busy writing). We discuss my meds briefly and she decides to increase the Prozac, great i'm at 60 MG a day now, but will see if that helps any. So I pull out the form the lady from the Voc Rehab gave me for her to fill out about feasibility of employment. She tells me "I don't think I can fill this out, I'll have to ask my supervisor". I tell her that she most certainly can and recite her duty to assist and the directive. Proceed to tell her to call me the next day if he says she can't do it, because my VR counselor is going on maternity leave this Friday and she needs the info before she goes on so she can help me out. Dr. says I'll call you if there is a problem. But I'm going on Vacation next week. Great. She then asks me how come I'm not running my business anymore. I tell her that I've bankrupted 3 of them in the last 4 years, since the PtSD kicked me in the tail. She asks whether it was market conditions, ie (poor business to begin with) or medically related. I assure her that people need houses to live in, and the wet basement business is pretty good to, I had all kinds of work to do, just found myself balled up in the basement on too many days, owing a lot of bills and a lot of pissed of customers who wanted their work either started or finished. LOL. She then asks me if I have filed for PTSD compensation. I looked at her very bewildered and concerend. "I've been rated at 50% since May going back to October of '04. She looks befuddled and asks if she sets an appointment with the Social Worker downstairs will I keep it. I tell her "yes, but I don't understand what good that's going to do, a couple years ago she's the one that told me about going to the Vet Center, you guys never even told me about that. " Oh your going to the Vet center? "Yes, almost everyweek for group plus individual counseling since November of 2004.
So sure enough the Psche calls me on Friday. Four times an "Unknown Caller" shows up on the caller ID from late morning through the afternoon. Finally at 4:20 pm she leaves a message that she has been trying to call me all day, and that she needs for me to come in and sign a release of information form, and that the attending needs to ask me a couple more questions with her. So now I have to wait for the counselor to come back off of maternity leave to pursue this further.
I am so at wits end with this Psche and the VA Hospitals PTSD department. I haven't been through the 6 week program yet, and I've heard some good things about that from the other Vets in my group, but we are trying to get me in either late spring or late summer. My problem is this. I was awarded the 50% based upon my C&P results. her Dr. Notes stated that she considered me PTSD from service, but we never talk about anything in there. Just the standard symptoms. They also did not contact the Vet Center for my records there, which I had included in the paperwork. I feel for certain, that if this Dr. would have been doing some type of Psychiatry with me other than asking me the Boilerplate, are you depressed, anxious, startle reesponse, Hell yes I've got all of them, and my inability to provide for my family has me on the verge of divorce and either living on the street, or killing myself. Proper treatment would have given me the 70% which with my other disabilities would have been close to schedular anyway.
It just amazes me that going through Voc Rehab and having two different couselors, one that works there and the contractor that adminsters the test tell me they think it's pretty much useless for my attempt at a "daily Job" yet I'm gonna get stonewalled by the other part of the system.
I'm looking for advice on what I can do, but I alsso appreciate the chance to get this off my chest. Like my therapist told me yesterday, at least in group, i can tell the other guys, that I snapped over something stupid and had my wife pinned up on the wall by her neck, and not have them look at me like I was crazy. They understand, but my Psych doesn't want to hear about my issues, just ship me out the door so she can get 4 people in in the hour.
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