Schizophrenia Aggravated

[ysraal]

I was sent to a panel of three mental health professionals to determine if my schizophrenia was aggravated during service and all three opinioned that I was. I am now diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder so will I be sc for schiz or sza?

[ysraal]

Did you file a claim with the VA within one year of discharge. I think the USMC should have given you a medical discharge, but by giving you the honorable instead of bad conduct they got out of giving you a medical pension. You need to file a VA claim. I think I would also ask for a Review Board to reconsider the nature of my discharge. Time is of the essense with these things. Your VA claim is most important right now, but both things should be done pronto.

I understand about the pension now, and I have been going through my VA claim for 6 years now. Thank you.

[john999]

So you filed your claim and were denied? Has your claim been on appeal for 6 years? I ask these questions because if you file within one year of discharge when you win your effective date will be the day after discharge. Also, when you file within one year of discharge you are in the presumptive period where the VA considers your illness to be due more than likely to your service. If you wait ten years to file then the VA will claim that other factors between discharge and filing date could be the reason your illness became worse or chronic. You need to keep posting on this subject. I was granted 10% for residual schizophrenia in 1973. I had filed a claim in 1972 within one year of discharge. I was grossly low balled, but at the time I was too ill to really fight back in a smart way. There was no Hadit, and my private doctor feared that more contact with the VA would end with me being institutionalized. Above all, stick with your therapy and medications. You can show that your condition is chronic and that you have been in treatment since you got out it makes all the difference. I started treatment with a private doctor as soon as I got out even though I was broke. Things were different then and the docs were not so money mad. Stick around here and keep posting until you win your claim. You might even consider gettting a lawyer to help you. They get part of your retro so you don't have to front money. Are you rated service connected at all? I think you can win this claim, but you must be persistent. You have the evidence in your service records of a service connection.

[ysraal]

So you filed your claim and were denied? Has your claim been on appeal for 6 years? I ask these questions because if you file within one year of discharge when you win your effective date will be the day after discharge. Also, when you file within one year of discharge you are in the presumptive period where the VA considers your illness to be due more than likely to your service. If you wait ten years to file then the VA will claim that other factors between discharge and filing date could be the reason your illness became worse or chronic. You need to keep posting on this subject. I was granted 10% for residual schizophrenia in 1973. I had filed a claim in 1972 within one year of discharge. I was grossly low balled, but at the time I was too ill to really fight back in a smart way. There was no Hadit, and my private doctor feared that more contact with the VA would end with me being institutionalized. Above all, stick with your therapy and medications. You can show that your condition is chronic and that you have been in treatment since you got out it makes all the difference. I started treatment with a private doctor as soon as I got out even though I was broke. Things were different then and the docs were not so money mad. Stick around here and keep posting until you win your claim. You might even consider gettting a lawyer to help you. They get part of your retro so you don't have to front money. Are you rated service connected at all? I think you can win this claim, but you must be persistent. You have the evidence in your service records of a service connection.

Thank you for the support and I will keep fighting. I was given a c&p exam on 8-18-09 and now comes the other wait and see. I was too sick with no insight to file right after discharge and one VA doctor tried to shaft me again but I take my meds, miss no appt for therapy and I hve a comcast triple play and I have stayed on line and on the phone with some very good doctors of very high morals. Thay hve helped me and ask that I help others and I will.

[Rockhound]

I'm stump here people, has anybody's questions realy been answered here? Maybe if he would share with us his BVA Case as Berta asked about, we could have a better understanding. This tid bit of information doesn't seem to help me understand exactly what are the issues of this claim nor exactly how we can be of help. Maybe if he took a more chronological order, from his problems before service, during service and after service and what he has done thus far with his claim from his first application till now.

I know it would be a lot, but I find what has thus far been shared, a bit convoluted and confusing for me and I have some insight into what he may be going through, given my history with my psychiatric issues with Schizophrenia issues since my time in service, having been labled incorrectly as a PD disorder, when in fact, the PD disorder was in actuality a seperate issue due to a medical condition and the psychiatric problems.

IMHO and I wish them the best in the outcome of their claim.

Rockhound Rider :D

[john999]

Rock

I agree we need more information about Israal's claim. You can see that this vet was too sick to protect his rights, and no one was there for him to advocate on his behalf. I think this happens alot with very mentally ill vets. If he had filed immediately upon discharge he would be in much better shape now. How does a person who is having a schizophrenic episode not get a medical discharge? The USMC took advantage of him because he was ill and helpless. I know you were in rocky shape when you were discharged, and so was I. I got lucky to get 10% because the VA disregarded and ignored my private doctor's report that said I was 100%. I was in the military nuthouse for two months and all I got was 10% as if I were just mildly ill. How many people who are mildly emotionally ill spend two months in a nuthouse and then two weeks in a VA nuthouse to get 10%? When we got out it was the bad old days. You got screwed almost as badly as ysarrl. Rock, they took advantage of you, me and Ysarrl.