ptsd C&p For Ptsd

[billy2]

I had a C&P for PTSD a few weeks ago. I was under the care of a private shrink in 2004 for about a year and I never told the VA about it.

It was a job related issue and I took a few months off and I needed a medical diagnosis to cover my absence under FMLA.

I was a supervisor and fired someone and he lost his appeal and it was final. This employee had a history or violence and crazy behavior.

He told people he was going to get me. I asked the agency what they would do to protect me and I was told nothing could be done.

I went to the shrink and he put me on Zoloft.

As far as I can remember we never really got into the combat issues. I know it was mentioned but our main focus was on this individual that had threatened me. The shrink said I was suffering from PTSD.

I never mentioned this because I didn't want the VA to say my PTSD was the result of my job. The doctor recommended that I leave my job if at all possible.

I did leave my job a few years later because I could no longer function in a hostile work place.

Bill

[purple]

Sounds like then you left your job not due to anything service-connected (by your own words)....are you wondering what to tell the VA now?

[darkhorse]

May I ask, what are you service connected for? What was your stressor in the military? If the only stressor you have is in your workplace then you have a big issue.

I'm just confused if your service connected for PTSD already and have an exam for increase or you havn't gotten service connected yet for PTSD.

DH

I had a C&P for PTSD a few weeks ago. I was under the care of a private shrink in 2004 for about a year and I never told the VA about it.

It was a job related issue and I took a few months off and I needed a medical diagnosis to cover my absence under FMLA.

I was a supervisor and fired someone and he lost his appeal and it was final. This employee had a history or violence and crazy behavior.

He told people he was going to get me. I asked the agency what they would do to protect me and I was told nothing could be done.

I went to the shrink and he put me on Zoloft.

As far as I can remember we never really got into the combat issues. I know it was mentioned but our main focus was on this individual that had threatened me. The shrink said I was suffering from PTSD.

I never mentioned this because I didn't want the VA to say my PTSD was the result of my job. The doctor recommended that I leave my job if at all possible.

I did leave my job a few years later because I could no longer function in a hostile work place.

Bill

[darkhorse]

Best thing to do is be upfront and honest with the VA. If they find out you're withholding medical evidence you can lose your service connection all together.

DH

I had a C&P for PTSD a few weeks ago. I was under the care of a private shrink in 2004 for about a year and I never told the VA about it.

It was a job related issue and I took a few months off and I needed a medical diagnosis to cover my absence under FMLA.

I was a supervisor and fired someone and he lost his appeal and it was final. This employee had a history or violence and crazy behavior.

He told people he was going to get me. I asked the agency what they would do to protect me and I was told nothing could be done.

I went to the shrink and he put me on Zoloft.

As far as I can remember we never really got into the combat issues. I know it was mentioned but our main focus was on this individual that had threatened me. The shrink said I was suffering from PTSD.

I never mentioned this because I didn't want the VA to say my PTSD was the result of my job. The doctor recommended that I leave my job if at all possible.

I did leave my job a few years later because I could no longer function in a hostile work place.

Bill

[billy2]

Sounds like then you left your job not due to anything service-connected (by your own words)....are you wondering what to tell the VA now?

Purple,

I left my job because I was having panic attacks, couldn't complete basic tasks, could no longer interact, and I wanted to hurt my bosses, Those were some of the mental issues that I have and I have other health conditions. It was time to go.

Bill

[purple]

You said in your initial post that you left your job because you could no longer function in a hostile workplace. I'm just saying that that would have nothing to do with any SC issues (like PTSD) given what you said about the year of seeing a private shrink.

[billy2]

May I ask, what are you service connected for? What was your stressor in the military? If the only stressor you have is in your workplace then you have a big issue.

I'm just confused if your service connected for PTSD already and have an exam for increase or you havn't gotten service connected yet for PTSD.

DH

dark,

I am 50% for AO related issues. My PTSD claim is being processed and the combat stressors are in place. I also have three other claims in the network. I mentioned the workplace issue but it has nothing to do with my military service. I didn't want to complicate the issue by bringing up something that happened 5 years ago at work.

Bill

[purple]

I quit.

[sharon]

Since the information is at a private doctor you do not have to mention it to the VA. The only way they will know it is if you tell them.

[darkhorse]

Sharons right,

And if you have a valid and proven stressor in service then you shouldn't be scared about the incident in the workplace affecting it. This being you have medical opinion stating your PTSD is from service.

DH

dark,

I am 50% for AO related issues. My PTSD claim is being processed and the combat stressors are in place. I also have three other claims in the network. I mentioned the workplace issue but it has nothing to do with my military service. I didn't want to complicate the issue by bringing up something that happened 5 years ago at work.

Bill

[darkhorse]

:o

I quit.

[billy2]

Since the information is at a private doctor you do not have to mention it to the VA. The only way they will know it is if you tell them.

Sharon,

Thank you for your reply.

I left my job because mentally and physically I could no longer do it.

I quit.

Bill

[sharon]

Sharon,

Thank you for your reply.

I left my job because mentally and physically I could no longer do it.

I quit.

Bill

That is what people with PTSD do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[darkhorse]

Just keep the faith and don't quit on life.

that's the main thing....dh

That is what people with PTSD do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[billy2]

Just keep the faith and don't quit on life.

that's the main thing....dh

dh.

The shrink at the C&P for PTSD asked me what I have done since January? I was in the hospital and had a stint incerted in Jan. I said I went to Cardio rehab for a few weeks and dropped out because they moved and it wasn't an easy trip. I replied that I basically did nothing. He looked at me like I was nuts and he asked the question again. I said that I just hang around my house with my new dog and in the good weather I water and weed my flowers in my fenced in yard. I said that I feel the best when I am alone. You don't have to talk,answer questions, or be bothered when you are aloneand the dog doesn't talk yet. I'm hanging in there and I have no immediate plans for the future. I have a lot of time on my hands and I wish I was healthy enough to put on a backpack and take off and hike the Applachian Trail for a few weeks.

Bill

[john999]

My advice is not to tell the VA anything that they don't need to know. That includes any information that will hurt your claim. That means don't confuse issues of work or personal life with your combat stressor. The reason you can't work is due to your service related PTSD. That should be your story and you are sticking to it. Anything that detracts from that position hurts you. If you give the VA a thread to pull on they will pull and your claim can come unraveled. I know this from personal experience. One sentence that offers the VA an alternative reason for your unemployability besides PTSD or your AO issues can be used to deny your claim. It is like a cop show: Anything you say can and will be used against you.

[billy2]

John,

I agree with you and thats what I will do. I don't want to complicate the issue by talking about an unrelated issue at work.

Bill

[Berta]

Have you gotten into the combat issues since with a VA doctor?

The private doc's diagnosis could be interpreted as a case of a work related stressor causing full blown combat PTSD to raise it's ugly head.

Same thing happened to a supervisor at the local VA. He was always on the "crazies" -as he called the combat Vietnam vets who worked under him.I already posted here before how he treated my husband with PTSD when Rod worked for him- a real tyrant.He also inseminated my milking goat-his billy goat did that is- (he raised livestock too) and during this process one day he started to tell me a little about his experiences in Vietnam. I didnt even know up til then he was a Vietnam combat vet and I dont think many VA employees knew either.

Long story-he called me years ago after Rod died and apologised for the way he had treated him .He said he had just been diagnosed with PTSD as he was getting so belligerent on the job they put him on a stress leave-

obviously the VA job appeared to be the initial reason for his problems- work related- but he told me he had just begun to realize how he had kept so much in about the war that it had affected the job and his marriage too.

The VA can assess work related PTSD from combat related PTSD but to save money they might give you a hard time with your claim.

The best thing you can do-unless you are getting solely combat related therapy now from VA-is to think about possibly getting a private psychiatrist to support your claim.

Before you do that however -the VA should give you the combat related MMPI-this test can certainly assess combat stressors and their affect to you.

I am assuming that either you have CIB, PH or CAR on your DD 214 or you can definitely give VA enough info to prove your stressors. They only need to get one stressor verified from JSRRC so best to give them the one or more that are the easiest to verify as to time , date and place.

What is the 50% SC for?

[john999]

If your service connected disability is aggravated by your job you can file for workers compensation. The workers compensation systems including state and federal are much tougher than the VA. Almost always you will have to choose to take increased VA benefits due to being unable to work or workers compensation. I worked for the feds and lost my job due to aggravation of my SC disability. I filed for workers compensation and got it. I also filed for IU from the VA. When I got the IU I then had to choose to stay on workers compensation, or to take the VA compensation. It was an easy choice because most workers compensation systems are much more hard ass than the VA. The biggest danger is that the VA will say your problems are all due to your job, and the workers compensation system will say all your problems are due to pre-existing SC disability. If you work for the feds the rules are very plain as to VA disabilites and work related illnesses or injuries. With private companies or the local government it gets more complex. I made the mistake of mixing my work problems and my VA claim. It gave the VA an excuse to deny my IU the first time around due to the fact I was taking pain meds for a back injury that was work related at the same time my mental health SC thing was aggravated. The VA said I was IU due to pain meds. I had to get another IMO to prove that it was not the meds but the existing SC disability that made me unemployable. You can see how this could get very complicated. Keep everything separate unless your different benefit programs don't offset each other. SSD and VA compensation are not a problem as long as you get SSD solely for your VA disability.

My employer made it easy for me by firing me and throwing me into the briar patch.

[billy2]

Have you gotten into the combat issues since with a VA doctor?

The private doc's diagnosis could be interpreted as a case of a work related stressor causing full blown combat PTSD to raise it's ugly head.

Same thing happened to a supervisor at the local VA. He was always on the "crazies" -as he called the combat Vietnam vets who worked under him.I already posted here before how he treated my husband with PTSD when Rod worked for him- a real tyrant.He also inseminated my milking goat-his billy goat did that is- (he raised livestock too) and during this process one day he started to tell me a little about his experiences in Vietnam. I didnt even know up til then he was a Vietnam combat vet and I dont think many VA employees knew either.

Long story-he called me years ago after Rod died and apologised for the way he had treated him .He said he had just been diagnosed with PTSD as he was getting so belligerent on the job they put him on a stress leave-

obviously the VA job appeared to be the initial reason for his problems- work related- but he told me he had just begun to realize how he had kept so much in about the war that it had affected the job and his marriage too.

The VA can assess work related PTSD from combat related PTSD but to save money they might give you a hard time with your claim.

The best thing you can do-unless you are getting solely combat related therapy now from VA-is to think about possibly getting a private psychiatrist to support your claim.

Before you do that however -the VA should give you the combat related MMPI-this test can certainly assess combat stressors and their affect to you.

I am assuming that either you have CIB, PH or CAR on your DD 214 or you can definitely give VA enough info to prove your stressors. They only need to get one stressor verified from JSRRC so best to give them the one or more that are the easiest to verify as to time , date and place.

What is the 50% SC for?

Bertha.

I think the stressors have been established already with the medical people at the VA during my interviews and also during my C&P for PTSD. I didn't bring the work related issues of being threatened with harm by an employee because it had nothing to do with my leaving the Post Office.

I was hoping to work longer and max out my pension but it was impossible. I should have filed for injury comp. when this employee treatened me and the agency looked the other way. I still have copies of the two letters that I wrote to the powers to be and they ignored me.

I retired because physically and mentally I couldn't do the job any longer and not because the agency ignored my concerns 4 years earlier.

I didn't want to complicate the PTSD claim by bringing in more information than was needed. The VA is confused enough already. If you ever called them you would know what I mean.

If I lose my claim for PTSD I will go to a private shrink, not the one I went to earlier because I didn't like him. He gave his dog a half a tablet of Zoloft when he took him to work with him. You can imagine the meds he gave to people.

Bertha I was denied a claim for CAD and Hypertension as related to DMII which I was rated for from Nam and AO. I couldn't get the heart Dr. to put anything in writing. It was like I was asking him to give me illegal drugs.

Bill