ptsd Ptsd Claim

[Petty Officer W]

I just recently put a claim in for PTSD, my VA rep told me I would probably here from them in a month, and I have not so I called him today and he said oh give them another couple of weeks,

I have not been able to submit my paperwork I have proving my PTSD or been ask to see a Dr. yet to be evaluated. I have been being seen for close to 10 years at the VA hospital near here for depression, anxiety and panics and doctors at the VA have put in the reports that they felt I had PTSD in fact they were the ones that brought it to my attention, now I feel after all these years

that I should submit a claim. Is it normal to sit around and wait a month before they ask you for your paper work and to see a doctor, can someone tell me the proper steps I should take with

all of this?

[john999]

If you have any evidence of treatment or diagnosis for a mental disorder in your service records other than PTSD it is easier to get that approved than to start over with a PTSD claim. The VA has the nack to deny PTSD claims. Probably most get denied based on the stressor being verified. You need the combat awards or strong evidence of a stressor or your claim will sink. The VA knows there are waves of PTSD claims coming at them and they are working overtime to figure ways to deny them.

[vmo]

Your VA rep told you that you would hear something in about a month?? Try a YEAR.

[yoggie2]

Brother plan on waiting at least 4 month to a year. I beleave new combat vets have preference still. John999 is right on about the VA finding ways to deny PTSD claims because there is so many. As someone said here unless you have combat medals you need the "STRESSOR" this is where everything changes in your favor. I have just about been though every rout they take to deny a PTSD claim and the evidence was even listed in my denial,they VARO, ignoired evidence, did not verify evidence and went so far as to say I didn't have or provide enough evidence I even found VA correspondences where they did even try to verify my stressor, so take this time to make sure you have everything in order and have everything you need to prove your claim or it could prove fatal to your claim..Yog

[Petty Officer W]

I am new to this site everyone so please bear with me if I am posting in the same topic all the time?

I have been seen by doctors at the Va four the last 10 years, I have already been diagnosed by a Va doctor he said that I had PTSD, they are notes everywhere in the system. I have emergeny rooms visits

where I have had major panic attacks and ended up in the emergency room when I really thought I was dieing I have 10 years of that, I have had to be on constand medication for the last 0

OIF vet, so luckily for me, they want to push those cases through the quickest. Have you been in treatment? if so, get all the notes from all the VA clinics you have been to. Do you have your military medical records? you will need these as well. Have you filed a formal appeal yet? you can set one up on VONAPP yourself. This will set your effective date for when and if your claim is approved, you will be back dated to.

1. get copies of all notes (VA related, not all have each others notes, so you must request them).
   
2. get your current doctor to give you a diagnoses and copy of such.
   
3. sign up for a veteran service rep (VFW, AMerican Legion, DAV etc), they will help you out and do the leg work, but don't expect it to be super fast. If you want super fast, you do the running around and requesting.
   
4. make sure a claim was filed and get the date.
   
5. if claim not filed, use VONAPP system online yourself. Get the claim filed while you are gathering your information.
   
6. write a stressor letter (say what sysmptoms you have, what the severity of each symptoms are and the effect they have on your life and ability to work.
   
7. get family members or buddies that served with you that can talk about in a letter how you've changed before service and after becuase of ptsd.
   
8. VA will acknowledge your claim has be rec'd and will tell you what is expected next.
   
9. VA will schedule a C&P exam. (this takes a while, use the inquiry system to find out when the appt is), this appt carries most of the weight in your case. the c&P interviewer will review your case and then ask you predtermined questions.
   
10. After you exam, it takes about week or less, although some cases could be more, for the interviewer to submit a formal report and diagnosis, whether you have ptsd or not and depending on what they say is how they put you into the categories (0,10,30,50,70,100 %). I must say it is very hard to get the higher percentages. You must show prolonged problems which are chronic.
    
11. depending on your VARO it may take a few months for them to issue a decision. the key is once you get that c&P exam submitted you'll be much closer.
    
12. Do research through this site and any other sites you can. Look up criteria for ptsd, symptoms etc. Do your homework so you don't get screwed.
    

I hope this helped a little

[Petty Officer W]

Sorry I had to start over again, I have a stack of papers a foot high I am going to be submitting with my claim, maybe this is a waste of time, I dont know all I know is I am not the same person I was before I left here to go in the service and I want my life back and for some reason it just doesnt seem to be happening, I do have documents supporting how bad I have had panic attacks for the last 10 years

since I have back home, I am also a widow of a Chief Petty Officer and the mother of his two children I raised by my self because he died when he was 36 years old, my son has been diagnosed with PTSD as well due to the trauma of his fathers death. I met my husband while I was in ther service. Maybe they will not approve my PTSD I am going to submit my paper work. I am currently in treatment. I have all the notes from the treatment I am currently seeing a person who said I had PTSD and she gave me a GAF score of somewhere around 40. I did hear from them today and it only took 8 weeks it was just a letter telling me they wanted all my paperwork.

I can try and give you some advice. This is what I did and was successful. I must warn you that this can sometimes be a long arduous task. You mentioned that this has been about 10yrs? Am I wrong for assuming you are a desert storm vet? I am an OIF vet, so luckily for me, they want to push those cases through the quickest. Have you been in treatment? if so, get all the notes from all the VA clinics you have been to. Do you have your military medical records? you will need these as well. Have you filed a formal appeal yet? you can set one up on VONAPP yourself. This will set your effective date for when and if your claim is approved, you will be back dated to.

1. get copies of all notes (VA related, not all have each others notes, so you must request them).
   
2. get your current doctor to give you a diagnoses and copy of such.
   
3. sign up for a veteran service rep (VFW, AMerican Legion, DAV etc), they will help you out and do the leg work, but don't expect it to be super fast. If you want super fast, you do the running around and requesting.
   
4. make sure a claim was filed and get the date.
   
5. if claim not filed, use VONAPP system online yourself. Get the claim filed while you are gathering your information.
   
6. write a stressor letter (say what sysmptoms you have, what the severity of each symptoms are and the effect they have on your life and ability to work.
   
7. get family members or buddies that served with you that can talk about in a letter how you've changed before service and after becuase of ptsd.
   
8. VA will acknowledge your claim has be rec'd and will tell you what is expected next.
   
9. VA will schedule a C&P exam. (this takes a while, use the inquiry system to find out when the appt is), this appt carries most of the weight in your case. the c&P interviewer will review your case and then ask you predtermined questions.
   
10. After you exam, it takes about week or less, although some cases could be more, for the interviewer to submit a formal report and diagnosis, whether you have ptsd or not and depending on what they say is how they put you into the categories (0,10,30,50,70,100 %). I must say it is very hard to get the higher percentages. You must show prolonged problems which are chronic.
    
11. depending on your VARO it may take a few months for them to issue a decision. the key is once you get that c&P exam submitted you'll be much closer.
    
12. Do research through this site and any other sites you can. Look up criteria for ptsd, symptoms etc. Do your homework so you don't get screwed.
    

I hope this helped a little

[USMC_HVEQ]

Petty oFFICER w,

No worries about multiple postings. I'm glad you are getting treatment. All the previous posts added some light on the burden of proof for you, at least I hope it did. You very well may have PTSD, but not have it service connected. The key to getting it service connected is to have a stressor (specific event usually, rather then took IDF my entire deployment and was traumatized). If you have a purple heart or combat medal (bronze star, NAM with "v", etc) or CAR/CIB/CMB then in leui of a stressor they take presumption of stressor. What I mean is, you don't have to prove anything other then the severity of your symptoms. The key is establishing service connection. For this, you will need to produce your service medical records. You can request those online at the natioanl archives if you don't alreayd ahve a copy using SF-180 form. As for having progress notes and emergency room notes with the VA, you must request copies through each clinic/hospital. Now you need to gather any diagnoses (they might be in the progress notes) and any civillain notes on this subject only. Once you have all these things (make copies for yourself), go to a Veteran Service Rep. This is free. They should be able to go through your info and make sure you have everything. If you still need things, they can guide you in this process. Once you ahve everything submit it to the VA regional office with your claim. Send a copy in once this is done. Make sure you get a delivery recp't so there's no question that they rec'd it. Yes, they tend to lose stuff or "misplace it". The key is to make a list like I suggested. Check off each one, once it is completed. Read other people's topics, it can shed light on your own situation sometimes. Look up the categories for rating on PTSD and have that. I suggest you write a letter and have your counselor write one for you as well. In your letter, you can talk about each symptom, the severity of each and the effect of each on your life today. Explain how you believe you ahve PTSD and how it is related to the service.