Difference Between Mild And Moderate And So On

[rgero311975]

for example i have siacitia secondary to ddd back ...its rated 10% mild..lol how do i get moderate or moderate severe.. is it just the c&p choice thier no discription about this under some disiabilites

[Jayg]

I do believe that complaining like hell does get results. You want to go to your VA appointments and tell them about falls etc. I got a cane because I fell at home due to foot problems and to the pills I take. I don't know how they can say a vet has a mild or even moderate condition if he is in a wheelchair or scooter. Obviously you have lost ability to walk and that is a big deal. At my VAMC I have found that the VA has a hard time getting doctors like neurologists to do C&P exams. The ones they do have seem quite willing to give the vet the benefit of doubt.

The problem doesn't end there. Too often the examiner, PN, PA, Dr. Cheetah, Whomever, isn't the one who writes the final report or has the last word in what goes in it.

At my VAMC the person in charge is a real killer. The last report I had on my last C&P bore little actual resemblence to what went on in the exam room, and was no help at all.

[rgero311975]

The problem doesn't end there. Too often the examiner, PN, PA, Dr. Cheetah, Whomever, isn't the one who writes the final report or has the last word in what goes in it.

At my VAMC the person in charge is a real killer. The last report I had on my last C&P bore little actual resemblence to what went on in the exam room, and was no help at all.

im sorry but what i learned from this web site and my own expereice is this...you have to be patient and your own lawyer..what i mean to say is you have to watch what you say word it just right and dont give to much good news for the va doctor or other outside dr.. to use against you.. and check your mediacal records i did and i was surprised my va doctor put down that i was doing better that i was walking fine ..i told him i was having a good day and my wheel chair was outside in wiating room...thye dont care the vqa doesnt care i am sorry but i just use my wheeel chair and make everything seem like i am going to die...

[c&p man]

yea i see where you guys are coming from..next time i go i am asking for a wheel chair...and like this other guys told me to start getting my medical records once a month to see what my va dr is saying.... i think next time i going to just type out what going on and say here is what i go through every day...

brother i have siacticia myself and rated at 10% you need an nerve conduction test or emg and get some more medical eveidence dont wait for them

[deltaj]

"Mild" = You don't get your rating.

"Moderate" = Never gonna happen and if it should they'll change it.

I got a "moderate" on an MRI on my knee and the report was "amended" stating it was in error and should have indicated a "mild" abnomally. :o

My IMO doctor said they really low balled me and refuted it calling in a radiologist for a second opinion.

In one C&P, they recorded "gait steady" then shortly after in the report said 'could not raise on feet sufficient to test gait.' So how do you report "gait steady"? B) :o :D Oh. I have had canes, walker and a scooter provided by VA. Odd that they provide such equipment to folks with "mild" conditions.

But, on the practical side, they're right about getting the need or better yet, issue of, ambulatory aids. Until that is done, there is no "record" that you actually have need of such devices. Just ask for it. I went through hell at an airshow even with my walker so asked for a wheel chair to attend sporting events and such like and they set me up with the scooter! :D

Sometimes things work out good. But the point is, if I hadn't asked for something...

Make sure to gripe about every ache, pain, grind, creak and pop whenever you show up at VA. You have to establish a "record of complaint" or a "history" of your condition. I know I nursed mine along for years on my own with my own cane, and swallowing ibuprofen by the handful (or so it seemed at the time). So when I first filed, my first denial said, "no history of Complaint."

Make your condition known and establish a paper trail.

See 38 CFR 4.7 requiring V.A. to assign the higher of two evaluations.