Claims 101 Question

[betrayed]

Would you be better of when filing a claim put down asbestosis or lung disease?

Seems like the VA plays the name game to their advantage when they can...........

[betrayed]

never mind, dont explain. Holy sh1t batman, I did a search of vertigo and herniated disc and dam am i :)

THANK YOU

[Hoppy]

FLHRCI,

I take it you found info about the link from disc herniation and vertigo. The doctors at the VA use strange terms for things. In my case they call vertigo - giddyness, My spelling might be wrong. If it is so severe you fall over it is one thing. If it is less severe it is another. I would tell them I get dizzy and and feel drunk. They say I am giddy. Now they do not tell me to my face what they call it. I learn about it by reading my consults. I have so many things wrong with my body, that I always get a copy of the appointment notes the next day to see what they call things. Sometimes they leave the room after they type up their note and I lean over and read their computer screen to save me a trip back to the hospital just to nsee what they said. Oh yea, I noticed I said they did a brain scan and did not find anything, I should read the consult to see if my brain was missing.:)

Hoppy

[betrayed]

Hoppy thank you so much, yes I found numerous web pages that talked about the connection of the two. I have had the vertigo since 1993, documented in my SMR. Most times it was minor. In 1997 I had my first major attack. I thought I was having a stroke. I was on bed rest/off work for a total of two weeks. I am allergic to meclazine so when I get it they use valium to treat me. I have had numerous attacks like that all documented in my SMR. If I look in the CFR this best describes me

attacks of vertigo and cerebellar gait 60%

occurring from one to four times a month,

with or without tinnitus.........................

The VA combined my vertigo with tinnitus and gave me SC 0%

Stupid :) B)

[Guest jstacy]

Did the VA say the Vertigo is related to the Tinnitus, Vertigo can also be caused by an ear problem. It effects balance and makes you dizzy. I hope they did not sweep the Neck herniated disks under this Vertigo claim.

Perhaps you should ask them to separate the ratings for the Neck and the Vertigo. Have you had a C@P for your neck. You have the evidence of ruptured disks. Do you have any arthritis int he neck? Most importantly do you have problems turning your neck or looking down? The VA rates IVDS on incapacitating episodes requiring bed rest. But they also rate Arthritis of the Neck as Range of motion. Usually IVDS is caused by spondylosis. ( Cervical arthritis) The Disks are destroyed by bone fragments or suprs of the vertabrate.

It seems to me that the way the Regional office rated this claim is not in favor of the Vet.

[betrayed]

Did the VA say the Vertigo is related to the Tinnitus,

No they did not say that, When I filed for compensation I listed vertigo and ringing in my ears as seperate issue. When my claim was adjudicated it came back tinnitus with vertigo SC 10%. (whoops I know earlier I said 0% I was thinking of my hearing loss.)

In my NOD I stated these were seperate issues and needed to be addressed seperate. When the DRO review was done, they blew it off and still listed them together and stated 10% was the most you could get for tinnutis.

Here is some good info relating vertigo to herniated disc

A considerable amount of both medical and chiropractic research has recognized trauma, arthritis, and other cervical (neck) spine related disorders as potential causes of imbalance, vertigo, dizziness, tinnitis, and other seemingly manifestations of inner ear problems (1). The upper cervical region has been cited repeatedly in the literature as the predominant area that causes these symptoms (5-7). This is due to the enormous amount of neurologic input from the upper cervical spine to the central nervous system (2) combined with direct connections to regions of the brain involved with balance and integration of vestibular information (3). Studies have shown up to 90.2% of patients treated for vertigo with cervical chiropractic care were discharged symptom free (4).

1. Leach, Robert A. The Chiropractic Theories: Principles and Applications 3rd Edition. Williams and Wilkins. 1994:157-158

2. Brink E, Jinnai K, Wilson V. Patterns of Segmental Monosynaptic Input to Cat Dorsal Neck Motoneurons J Neurophysiology 1981A;46:496-505.

3. Fitz-Ritson D. Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of the Upper Cervical Spine. In Vernon ed. Upper Cervical Syndrome. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1988:48-85

4. Fitz-Ritson D, Assessment of Cervicogenic Vertigo. JMPT 1991; 14: 1930198

5. Hinoki M., Vertigo due to whiplash injury: a neurotological approach. Acta Otolaryngol Suppl 1985; 419:9-29.

6. Igarashi M., Miyata H., et al. Nystagmus after experimental cervical lesions. Laryngoscope 1972; 82:1609-21.

7. De Jong P., De Jong V., Jonkees L., Ataxia ans nystagmus induced by injection of local anesthetics in the neck. Ann Neurol 1977; 1:240-6.

[Hoppy]

FLHRCI,

It sounds like you are getting really focused and have a good understanding of how to retreive information. Isn't the internet empowering. I am of the opinion that if it was not for the internet i would be homeless living in the street. With the internet I am now 100% SC. With hadit and all the information so readily available I kept my confidence and fought them for eight+ years.

My first break was finding out in a support group for people with hereditary angioedema that the military's decision that my disease was hereditary was BS. The folks in the group explained to me that I did not have the hereditary form and that blood tests would tell the difference. The Navy never gave me any blood tests.