ptsd Newbie To Forum And Looking For Help

[ssg_rw_brown]

My husband got out of the military in 05. He spent 12 years active duty with a total of 21 eyars with his reserve and guard time. he spen over a year in Iraq in from Feb. 04 to March. 05.

He initially received a rating for a knee injury he recived from and explosion in Iraq but several months later after passing out (I thought he had a stroke!)at our dinner table and being hospitalized for over a week, and numerours testing he was diagnosed with "neurocardiosyncope". Told him nothing he can really do just make sure he eats 3 meals a day , drinks a lot of gatorade, avoid stress, caffeine, and plenty of rest. Then to make a long story short we ended up at the Va and not sure how it happened but he was finally diagnosed with " mild traumatic brain injury". this was kind of a releif because we now had and answer. They did a tilt test there, and sent him to speech class to help with the memory loss.

From my prospective I had noticed a change in him since the day he returned from Iraq...I chalked it up to the war and things he had seen and done...never sleeps, when he does its on the coach because any moves in the bed wake him up, personality change, irritability, forgetfullness, changes in taste, wanting to stay alone or just with me and the kids (antisocial behavior) little subtle things that I knew were different but never occured to me what or that it was a brain injury.

Fast forwarded he received rating for 10 % for the brain injury. So total he gets 10% knee, 10% tintinus, 50% PSD, 10% Mild Tramatic Brain injury.we have put in claims for different things that came up but were denied. Chronic back pain, tried to increase the knee because of the chronic pain but they say it's nothing and he has full range of motion so no increase. Vision problem, he had 20/20 vision his whole life with no problems and now needs glasses which they say is probly from sun exposure (focusing problem and light sensitivity). I have just stumbled across this site and read with interest the new changes with the brain injury. he was rated for the TBI in September of 2008 and when we received that rating I thought it was crazy. He has a combined rating of I think 60 or 70 percent (we get like 1200 per month with 3 kids under 18). Recently we received a letter saying they were decreasing his compensation to 900 because at his last compensation visit they felt he was "improving" (PTSD) which I thought crazy because he's on meds! that's why he seems better! so i talked to a VA guy and he said to send in a letter to say we were appealing it which I got a reply last week that said because it was only a "proposal" they were not accepting it and that now since we hadn't sent in evidence to contradict these claims it was now official and if we wanted to appeal it we coud. I'm so frustrated! I don't feel that we can find any help to wade through these VA paperwork. I really feel like he should be getting more compensation but not sure how to go about it.

We did talk to a VA guy a month ago who felt he should be getting 100% and pushed him to try, and told us the form to submit but yet i'm at a loss what else to do. I feel that there should be someone to help him wade through his medical papers and find out what he needs to send in and what claims he needs to file. So far we have submitted individual claims in the past for the passing out, back pain, vision problems but all got denie....but I kind of feel that maybe it should be compiled because basically I think it all goes back to the brain injury. He passes out for no apparent reason, we never know when it is coming on but i can usually trace it back to heat, stress, pain, didn't eat that day. he passes out and then when he comes around the first time he thinks he is back in Iraq, and needs a medic, he says he has sand in his mouth and needs a drink...then he starts to cry and without going into detail goes through a lot of guilt ...eventually he will pass out again and the 2nd time he comes around he's back in the real world....i worry he will do this driving or somewhere that he will get hurt so I have always felt he should be getting more compensation but just am at a loss on how or what do do to obtain it. He does not do good with people and public situations, to much anxiety and gets very agitated very quickly but the main fear for me is the passing out. I know this is getting very long and there is so much more I would love some input on but don't want to bore everyone but plese could someone give us some advice on what do and how to go about it. Thank you for listening.

[ssg_rw_brown]

Thank you all for your much needed advice. We went to the C & P today one was for TBI and the other for his knee. I was rather disappointed with the TBI doctor he seemed to ask a lot of questions and write a lot of stuff down but at the end he said I don't see and increase in your symptoms and he discounted a lot of the symptoms and said he felt they were associated with the PTSD and not the TBI and that he definately had PTSD bad (this is the same doctor who helped reduce his PTSD because he said he seemed to be doing better). The memory loss, the change in his taste (he said was just a change in his appetite not anything to be associated with the TBI, even though this is a symptom), sleep disturbances, ect, everything I was armed with and told him about he felt were all the PTSD and nothing to do with the TBI!

Someone asked if we have had a neuro work up and I don't think so. The TBI doctor mentioned it last time he saw her. She said last time he was so ademate about workign that she didn't push it but now that he seems to be doing worse she felt they could move forward with it. And he was determined to work but now he knows that he just can't take the stress and dealing with people and the memory issues it just realy limits his ability to be employed. So I will look at the websites suggested and tomorrow I will try to scan and upload any documents we have from the VA to see if I can get some feedback on those. We have limited internet at home and if I try to upload anything we end up using all our internet for the month so I will do it from work tomorrow.

I am trying to stick in there because I know it is up to me to get this going but it's hard when you have 3 kids, a full time job and a depressed husband. Trying to balance all that but this forum gives me encouragement that I am not in this alone. Thank you again...

Wife of SSG_RW_Brown

[ssg_rw_brown]

What is his PTSD rating?

Did he start passing out before or after they gave him meds?

You need to determine the side affects of the meds he is on and this can be referred to under Remarks (#25) on the TDIU form- state you are attaching additional evidence and tell them anything such as side affects of Do not take and drive, can cause confusion, drowsiness or sleeplessness-etc and any other information they should consider as to the TDIU claim.

To answer our questions:

His rating is now 30 it was 50 but they decreased it last month.

He didn't take medicine until after her starting passing out.

[ssg_rw_brown]

I was asked by someone to post the letters I have received from the VA these are all the letters I have received since my original claim in 2005. Which I don't know what I'm doing (his wife) and he went to all the meetings when he was outprocessing from the miltiary so I'm going on what he does or doesn't tell me on how to do things. Thank you for any advice or comments they are all appreciated.

Nov 28 2005

July 11 2007

April 23 2007

Oct 24 2007

Sept 10 2008

June 16 2008

May 22 2009

Aug 13 2009

Misc VA doc

Wife of

SSG_RW_Brown

[smilen66]

I was asked by someone to post the letters I have received from the VA these are all the letters I have received since my original claim in 2005. Which I don't know what I'm doing (his wife) and he went to all the meetings when he was outprocessing from the miltiary so I'm going on what he does or doesn't tell me on how to do things. Thank you for any advice or comments they are all appreciated.

Nov 28 2005

July 11 2007

April 23 2007

Oct 24 2007

Sept 10 2008

June 16 2008

May 22 2009

Aug 13 2009

Misc VA doc

Wife of

SSG_RW_Brown

Hi Mrs. Brown,

I'm sorry you and your family are going through rough times. I pray things will get better for you and yours real soon.

I also want you to know your husband's Social Security number was left on the May 22, 2009 document. I wish I could tell you how to fix it but I can't. Maybe, one of the moderators can help. Take Care!

[carlie]

true, jbasser, and if you don't look in the "off-forums" these sometimes confused newbies (i still am one at time) get lost. just got alarmed that the vet didn't get an answer in a timely manner.

People post responses on a voluntary basis which sometimes may not be timely.

carlie

[carlie]

ssg,

If you have not done so you might want to send the VA a letter requesting

a hearing and they not reduce PTSD from 50% to 30% without you first having the hearing to defend your position that you continue to fall into the 50% rating criteria.

carlie