What If Symptoms Are Under Control By Medication?

[nonischemic]

Paul is scheduled for a new exam after several years, this one at QTC.

Are they legitimately finding out how you are currently functioning? So if a symptom is not currently happening as long as you take the medicine, it doesn't count?

He had a problem with his first c&p. The doctor wrote it down as "Patient says he does not have service-connected heart trouble". We understood the doctor to be asking whether he was having symptoms that day and he said no, but did not say that it was because medications were working and had helped the symptoms.

How do we avoid this sort of problem in the up-coming exams?

[Pete53]

Welcome to Hadit. Controlled with medication is still compensated.

[sharon]

The exam is of his overall condition (not just the day of he exam). That includes what happens if he doesn't take his medicine.

[nonischemic]

Thanks for the info.

At the upcoming exam, if the new doctor asks the same sort of trick questions, how do we counter them?

[LarryJ]

Tell them exactly what you just told us:

"He is on prescribed medication that, at this time, is controlling his symptoms.

Without this prescribed medication, his symptoms would be life-threatening (or whatever his symptoms, uncontrolled, would eventually lead to). At the last C&P he misunderstood the examiner's question to be "Is he having any symptoms AT THIS TIME?", which, of course he wasn't because he was being a good boy and taking his pills."

or sumpthin to that affect........

Edited March 23, 2009 by LarryJ

[cowgirl]

Great advice here! Not medically trained more than the next monkey(?), but here is a website that can help you understand that cardiac conditions are rarely if ever 'cured' because of some damage to the heart. http://www.chfpatients.com/CHFinfo.htm Caution, as with any va interaction, strong well supported medical statement is needed.

Feel free to discuss the exam checklist here to know what to expect. The VA website has exam checklists to describe how a condition is 'supposed' to be evaluated for consideration. (covers pretty much every condition... I think). Myself, I had few clues prior to my coming to Hadit about what to expect.

Best to ya,

Cg'up2009!

Paul is scheduled for a new exam after several years, this one at QTC.

Are they legitimately finding out how you are currently functioning? So if a symptom is not currently happening as long as you take the medicine, it doesn't count?

He had a problem with his first c&p. The doctor wrote it down as "Patient says he does not have service-connected heart trouble". We understood the doctor to be asking whether he was having symptoms that day and he said no, but did not say that it was because medications were working and had helped the symptoms.

How do we avoid this sort of problem in the up-coming exams?

[Stretch]

Also many medications, for conditions, have side effects of there own that you might want to discuss.