Need Your Advice

[navydoc2]

Let me start with a little background information, I am currently rated 80% with IU. My sc are 70% depression, 10% right knee, 10% tinnitis. This increase for IU was just recent in August. The last few months my blood pressure has been out of control and The docs have increased my meds but I still have pitting edema in both legs and run about 150/90 with the med increase. My psych doc has asked if I have ever been tested for sleep apnea since I complain of lack of sleep, chronic fatigue,and difficulty concentrating. I've had to drop out of Voc Rehab due to these symptoms. My vocrehab counselor is calling me infeasible. My questions are:

Should I just apply for P&T? I've applied for SSD and am waiting to hear back should I wait for this before applying for P&T

Should I apply for high blood pressure first then sleep apnea?

Should I wait to be tested for sleep apnea first before filing for high blood pressure?

Thanks in advance for all of your help.

[navydoc2]

Navydoc

You should ask for EVERY benefit you feel entitled to at the earliest possible time you feel you are eligible. No, I am not suggesting you put in bogus claims..that your runny nose caused by your allegies to your dog, was somehow service connected. But, By waiting, you are hurting your own effective date. I think that the VA LOVES to make Veterans think that they can only work on ONE benefit at a time. That is, if you have PTSD, lost a leg, broke your back, you should apply for each one seperately and wait patiently until the first one you applied for is approved. You will be costing yourself money, that you deserve that way. If you have 3 conditions you feel are service connected, by all means apply for them all at once, even tho it will be a little more work for the rating specialist to consider all three, than to consider only one. Another "trick" the VA often does is to only consider one condition, then shred the evidence of the other two, so that their numbers look like they got more work done than they really did. The rating specialists are getting paid to serve Veterans needs..it is not the responsibility of the Veteran to make sure that rating specialists have an easy job, tho, by dotting all your i's and crossing all your T's you may well save yourself some of the VA's paperwork delays.

Suit yourself, but if you want to throw money away, I would suggest you go for your full benefits and donate some of it to hadit, so that other Veterans can be helped also.

I am not submitting bogus claims my High blood pressure can be traced back to my service, it's the sleep apnea secondary to my HBP, I did question wheter there was a waiting period for me to file a new claim since just being awarded IU.

(You know what...I dont even know if hadit takes donations, I just kind of assumed they do. Maybe someone who does know can chime in here)

[broncovet]

Navydoc...

I am not accusing you or any other Veteran of submitting bogus claims..heck I have never met you and have no idea. As far as I am concerned, any Veteran should be awarded benefits upon his word and only if he has proven to be a liar, should they be taken away. That is, innocent until proven guilty applies to Vetrans above and beyond others. We Vets have fought for criminals to have the right to be innocent until proven guilty, so why does the VA take the position that all Veterans are guilty of asking for fraudulent benefits until they can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are innocent. We Vets must prove every stressor, everything..before he gets a dime, while anyone can file a tax return and get money in a few weeks and only then will the IRS check to see if there might be fraud involved..after they send the money. Veterans, however, who have already proven their loyalty, must spend years trying to get buddy statements, Independent medical opinions, and the like to prove things that it later turned out some employee was the one who shredded the evidence in the first place.

Veterans are far more trustworthy than government paper pushers. We gave much more for our country than most of them did, (VA employees who are also Veterans excepted, of course)

Edited October 24, 2009 by broncovet

[john999]

If you just got IU then you should appeal the denial of Chapter 35, so when you get it it will be retroactive to the date you filed for IU. If you have not worked in two years you are IU. If you have a familiy you have to do what is best for them. That is how I did it. I did not wait for a review of my IU rating. I filed an appeal and provided the VA with evidence that I was P&T.

[LarryJ]

Bronco, The VA doesn't award claims just "upon his word." There has to be substantial "HARD EVIDENCE."

I have never heard of the VA taking the position that ALL veterans are GUILTY of asking for fraudulent benefits and not sure what point you're trying to make here.

Really disturbing post and I hope you take some anger management classes in your spare time.

dh

I don't find anything about Bronco's post that would indicate that he is angry, per se.

All he is saying is that the VA SHOULD accept a veteran's initial claim as being accurate and award upon the signed affirmation of the veteran, just as the IRS does when accepting the individual's tax return.

I have held this opinion for quite some time, as I have voiced here in Hadit.com and elsewhere. Then, just like the IRS, the VA could audit those claims that appear bogus, and audit a percentage of ALL claims, based upon data that they have developed over the years, just like the IRS.

We KNOW that the VA doesn't award claims "upon his word", but, shouldn't they? And, if not, why not? Make your case.

And, no, I don't believe that either Bronco or I need "anger management classes" and why you would suggest such a thing is beyond me. Maybe if you explained, then I'd understand.

[navydoc2]

I'm appreciative of all the advice and would like to thank all for their comments and advice. My gameplan will be to appeal the chap 35 benefits, while developing evidence for both high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

Edited October 26, 2009 by navydoc2

[sixthscents]

NAVYDOC2,

In an attempt to answer your first question, there is no waiting period prior to filing for anything. There can be serious penalties in delaying filing for a claim however. The fact that you were removed from vocrehab as "unretrainable" is significant and the voc-rehab counselor should have sent you a letter explaining why you were removed from the program. I would include this into your claim.

Further, while the other vets are right in that filing for benefits at an early age could be somehow detrimental to a younger vet... I suppose I fit that qualification when I filed originally at uhh... 36.. yep 36. You can receive IU and be in voc-rehab at the same time, since the goal of the voc-rehab is to make you employable, but that is neither here nor there. The fact here is, if you cant work there is nothing to be gained and much to lose in jumping from job to job and trying to file for SSA and T&P during this.

Honestly, I gotta agree with John999 (as I usually do since he is almost always correct) if you qualify for it, and need it, file for it. Period. Look to the future, and future needs of your children as well of course. Further, if you are younger nothing can stop you from investing some money into a roth IRA or Ed IRA for your kids, and property is a good investment right now in many cases (no dont laugh, buy low sell high... been doing it for a long time and have yet to lose a cent on property, but I make sure I can hold it during a low period).