C&p Coming Up

[DeeDee]

Anyone have any idea what exam of what the doctor might be looking for? I was in the NG, my wrist was injuried when some equipment fell on me. I have a LOD for the accident. At the time my wrist did not bother me, I was just shook up and sore all over. Well 2 months later the pain was so back I had to go to my civilian doctor, its almost impossible to get the guard to pay for anything. She did some tests and said I had been in an accident and I had trauma induce arthritis. I had 3 cortizone shots and the pain went away for the most part. I submitted all this with my claim. That was 15 years ago, now the pain is back in my wrist and runs up to my elbow. Things hurt alot worse at 40 than 25, LOL. It's pretty painful at times. Lifting a glass is painful. I type all day long, which is not fun. I kinda figure since I was in the guard (now retired) the VA may blow me off. I was kinda wondering if anyone out there has advice.

[Scottyp65]

DeeDee,

I am not sure how your regional VA office will respond with a guard type claim but just the fact they have scehduled a C&P for you is good. My wife is doing the same thing and later this month she will have her apt. She was both active and guard.

I posted the following from another C&P question. I apoligize for it being long and such.

If you put in a claim then this is the VA's action to gather information on your condition. They will have you interviewed by an examiner who will ask questions on your stated claim. So if you claimed you had sore knees, they will ask you to extend and flex your knee and then maybe grab your leg and check for stability etc. Then they will have you get x-rays to see what is going on in the joint etc. Of course if it is a different area you can apply the concept.

Now it is critical you tell them the worst condition you have. So using the knee as an example again you want to tell them how it hurts on your WORST days. And do it as if at the exam is your worse day. If it is your back that hurts and it keeps you from sitting longer than 20 min at a time, then be sure to stand up at the 20 min point. The issue here is to of course always represent the truth but at the same time DON't Be a HERO.

Some of the determining factors are:

1. How often does it hurt

2. How bad does it hurt

3. How long does the pain last

4. WHAT IS YOUR PAIN FREE RANGE OF MOTION!!!!

So if it is your shoulder and you can lift your arm to above your head but it hurts when your arm is paralell to the floor then stop lifting your arm when if FIRST starts to hurt. Remember no HERO stuff here.

If your knee hurts when you bend down to pick something up off the floor tell them if hurts EACH time you bend down to pick stuff up, or when you do stairs. Again always the truth but never a hero.

Then finally the one question that had me stumped the first C&P, which lead to a 6mth delay in my rating of 90% from 60%, was how does it affect your life and or work. So in my case my ankles are pretty bad off as are the feet. So when asked the question I had a deer in the head light look = 0%. On my 2nd C&P I had been fortunate to have just had the question answered for me by my son. He had a night terror, no fun, and I popped up out of bed to run find out what the heck was going on. Okay so I didn't run, instead the shooting pain in my feet and ankles sent me in to a wall smacking my head and then down to the floor making a glancing stop at the footboard of the bed. The wife stepped over me and took care of things (as usual). So we determined there was no more popping out of bed for me anymore. So I told this to the C&P examiner, the same one I had on the first exam, and low and behold 2 10%s, a 30%, and a 20%.

All the time the same conditions for all areas BUT now I knew the right way to respond to the questions.

Sorry for such a long post. I hope it helps some.

[Guest Berta]

Dee Dee-this is the C & P exam I believe you will get:

http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Benefits/exams/disexm34.htm