ptsd Totally Clueless

[pipeman043]

Hi All,

Kinda lost here but guess that asking never hurt too much. Hard to find a good starting place

to begin this tale so I'll begin by saying that I was in the CG from 11Feb74-10Feb78 and was

across the pond in the med on an isolated/restricted station when the broken arrow went down

between the kennedy and the belknap in Nov75. just a little stress there. returned conus and went

to a SAR station for the remainder of my tour. Been in some wicked nasty sorties plus did a lot of

LE/Interdiction work under fire. Fast forward to 2000, had spent the previous 20 plus years being

just plain miserable, moody, snappy, drank heavy for a while, most of you know the drill. 2000 is

significant cause bang out of nowhere comes this heart attack. Then all kinds of things began to

mess up, breathing, stomach pain, water retension, and the list goes on. I have no money and

no insurance so I go to the VA for help. Get medical coverage and a great NP who just wouldn't let

any crap slide by. she kept sending me for tests and what come up is a strong suggestion that

my problems are and had been PTSD related. Whatever. I know nothing about this so I ask at the DAV

and they tell me I got no case...All this crap keeps up and is getting worse. On 08Jan04 I finally decide

what the hell and file a claim. Then they start making me dig up all this stuff that I buryed deep years

ago and taking the lid off was a nightmare just beginning...I finally got a NSC in may of 05 and an

SOC and denial for S/C. I had also applied for ssd and have been tested and get a report from

that doc saying that my problems might be PTSD related and that My GAF is 51. I appeal the

Va's decision and get sent for a C&P exam by some Female at the Vet center who after

making me wait for 25 mins shows

up has me wait again so she can get a coffee and I then follow her into her office. She starts off

asking me about combat and I asked her what she knew about the CG. I'm there another 20 mins

and she says the interview is over. I'm out the door and travel back home the 60 miles or so ugly

as all getout. Couple weeks go by and I get another denial from the VA. When I read the report from

this "person" she states that I have a personality disorder, no signs of PTSD and a GAF of 65. She

is very specific in stating that I have no PTSD symptoms. I go to the AL SO who says that she went

out of her way to kill my chances for a rating. My phys at the VA mental health clinic says I have a

PTSD related problem. Next appointment he's no longer employed there. Get a new shrink who decide

I have a depression disorder....Where do I go from here? I made the case with all the verifiable

stressors and every other thing asked of me and along comes this gal who makes a one person

crusade to shaft me....What am I suppposed to do next?

[Hoppy]

PIPEMAN,

The personality disorder diagnosis will be easy to shoot down if she did not do any testing. My shrink is of the opinion that you can not make a diagnosis based on a one hour interview. The problem though is the depression needs to be linked to PTSD stressors. What is LE/interdiction under fire. I hope you don't talk to the shrinks in the same manner. They do not have a clue as to military jargon and consider your failure to explain in language they can understand as part of the personality disorder. They consider it incoherent rambling. They were taught in school that people who have specialized training and experience have an obligation to communicate to them and such failure to communicate requires treatment to unravel. I am sure the C&P examineer did not treat you.

Keep working with the new shrink. You have to have PTSD level stressors to be diagnosed with PTSD. Get both your medical records and personell file and look for changes in your performance while on active duty. If the depression is not linked to PTSD and you have no noted loss of performance while on active duty the battle for service connection will be very difficult. Get some new medical reports to take to your SO.

I expect you will hear more from other folks on hadit

[pipeman043]

Trying to clairfy what I was saying, I did produce all the

necessary evidence and the VA RO had independently

verified everything I told them. I even provided photos

of some of the search and rescue incidents. I had more

than adaquate evidence of verifiable stressors. My medical

record from the VA points to PTSD as a cause of many of

my symptoms. LE/interdiction is Law enforcement and Drug

Interdiction where you get shot at, not by design. Something

the Coast Guard does every day. You just don't know then

what it might do to you later. The female examiner was a VA

employee and obviously they acccepted her opinion in the face

of otherwise overwhelming other opinions.

[Guest Berta]

"and get sent for a C&P exam by some Female at the Vet center who after"

I used to be a female vet center volunteer- the PTSD team director was the only medically trained person there-

Was she really a shrink? I didn't know C & Ps were being done at vet centers-something seems really wrong there-

Do they know this?

"I had also applied for ssd and have been tested and get a report from

that doc saying that my problems might be PTSD related and that My GAF is 51" HAs the SSA made an award yet? Their findings could be crucial to this claim.

Has the VA given you the MMPI or any other real shrink test at all?

What disability did this involve?

"I finally got a NSC in may of 05"

[pipeman043]

Hello Berta,

To answer your questions:

The report that I got out of the Americal Legion SO was not

provided by the VAMROC, I had the SO find it in his files

and give me a copy. At the top of the report it said...

Comp and Pen Exam Report for Initial evaluation for

PTSD Exam. In the exam provider block it has her

name. The report says it was done at VAMC Togus

but it was not done there. At no time have I ever been

tested at the VAMC with any shrink tests. The neurologist

at the VAMC told me that I most likely had a stroke

along the way while my outside cardiologists were doing

a cath to place another heart stent.

I got the NSC because of my combined heart/lung issues

and the shrink I talk to at Togus says I have a depression

problem. I haven't really been able to work since the heart

attack more that just part-time due to fatigue and loosing

my balance and stuff like that.

About the test that was done, that was at the request of SSA

and was three months BEFORE the C&P so the AL SO told me

that it was worthless unless I could get two more Doc' opinions

that I has PTSD related symptoms to upset the C&P report.

Without money it's hard to get an outside doc to do anything.

As yet the SSA has not awarded me anything, the last time I

applied they rejected me and I didn't bother to appeal cause

I was so depressed and fighting to maintain... I just didn't

want to uncover all that crap all over again. This Jan I did

make a new app for SSDI and SSI. I'm still waiting for the

results...

[Hoppy]

pipeman,

I figured it was drug intervention. I have a boat on a Navy base right next to a Coast Guard base and there are a couple of guys who own boats there that are still on active duty doing those interventions. One of my biggest questions after reading your first post was employment prior to the heart attack. You went over the period of time prior to 2000 really fast.

PTSD involves both a loss of function in employment and personal relations. I think at this time to have it rated either type of loss in and of itself can qualify. There was a time when it had to involve both. You do not really mention major loss of function until the heart attack. The shrinks that the VA sent me to for C&P made it a point to tell me that they thought that I had other problems that were causing my loss of function other than symptoms of PTSD. Fortunately, in my case that actually made it easier to get rated because the other conditions were already service connected. I guess the big question they will look at in somebody who had a stroke and heart attack is what really is causing the GAF of 51, is it depresion and PTSD associate with service or is it subsequent to major medical problems. As you move up the chain and get more qualified people to do the exams they are probably better at structuring the reasons for a denial than the lady who did the first exam.

I am glad to hear you are getting something. Keep on the SSI. Get an attorney if they deny you. You can get both SSDI and VA compensation. However, A VA NSC pension and Suplimental Security income from Socialsecutiry cancel out. You can only get one of those at a time.

[betrayed]

LE (law Enforcement) and PTSD..........I am kinda in the same place. Over 20 years military law enforcement and 6 years of civilian LE (Virginia Beach PD) . The civilian LE was while I was on active duty. During that 6 years I saw numerous dead bodies, ever see someone shot point blank in the chest with a 12 gauge, I have!, then there are the car accident fatalities and oh yes a suicide where a guy ran his motorcycle into a cinder block wall. Then all the crimes against humanity I saw as a MP. Then lets talk about while at Commander in Chief U.S. Atlantic Fleet I got to read the violent crime reports every morning.......................... then there is the two shipmates lost over the side, the dead pilot whose body I guarded. So Iam exploring the idea of filing a claim for PTSD. Good Luck and dont give up!!!!!!!!!!!!