tdiu Ssdi For Bipolar, Applying For Va....comments / Helpful Answers?

[ZenLife]

Hi everyone. I'm Jay, long time viewer, first time poster. I've been wading through these forums for a while, as well as dozens of other sites, and I have a couple of questions / concerns. Maybe someone can give me an idea if I have a claim or not, and if so, what to expect. Sorry if this post is a little long, it's hard to sum up 6 years in a paragraph!

Here's my Sit. Rep.:

Served USMC '99 - '04

• Didn't know it at the time, but I'm Bipolar, then and now, it's life long.
  
  • Had several disciplinary actions throughout 5 yr. service, nearly got discharged 2 months before my EAS because of repeated infractions. Got lucky, and squeaked out with a "General Under Honorable". Discipline / poor impulse control is common for Bipolar people in general, especially having the first episode after a major lifestyle change or around age 20 (i.e. entering the military at 18). I'm not certain if this would help or hurt my claim.
    
    • Diagnosed and treated one time by MACG28 BAS for Depression / sleep disturbance in 2003. Bipolar disorder is often initially misdiagnosed as Depression. Medications were ineffective and worsened my situation - I didn't want to be discharged, so I did what a lot of us do - dealt with it as best I could until my EAS to preserve the benefits I'd worked my butt off for.
      
      • I'm not certain if either of the above could help provide service connection or not - input would be most appreciated.
        

      Currently I recieve SSDI for Bipolar , the only condition I intend to apply for w/ VA

      [*]
      I bean receiving treatment early 2005.
      [*]
      Applied for SSDI in Dec. 2005.
      [*]
      Awarded Benefits May 2008.
      [*]
      Award states that I've been disabled since June 22, 2004, the day after my last day of active duty.
      [*]
      Three evaluations with average GAF's of 55 from three Dr.'s were partial basis for this award.
      [*]
      Award included documentation from my military medical record concerning the diagnosis of Depression.
      [*]
      No other medical claims or job history.

      I currently receive care for my condition, and have been receiving care since Jan. 2007

      My questions are:

  [*]Do I have service connection based on the in-service diagnosis, since depression is the precursor to or misdiagnosis of, bipolar?

  [*]My Dr. is willing to write a letter for me to serve as a nexus. He is concerned over his legal liability - is there any in this case?

  [*]If his letter is disregarded by the VA, would my SSA award serve as a nexus, since it includes the early in service diagnosis?

  [*]Since the SSA considers me disabled, will the VA look at it similarly and give weight to my award?

  [*]Do I apply for TDIU with my initial application?

  [*]Would my effective date be that of my award letter in 2008, my last date of employment in 2004, or the date I file, in a couple of days?

  Any and all input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read this. And a special thank you to all the men and women who take the time to help others navigate the VA/SSA jungle!!!

  Semper Fi!

[justrluk]

ZenLife -

You're right, this was a long read!! Anyway, You're probably in the wrong forum which is why none of the elders have responded (at least from what I can see). I've only been in this forum for a short while, but working with the DVA since 2005. I'll give it my best:

"Didn't know it at the time, but I'm Bipolar, then and now, it's life long."

- Was this identified prior to service in any way? If it was first diagnosed in service, you may have something to support your claim. If it only surfaced when:

"Had several disciplinary actions throughout 5 yr. service, nearly got discharged 2 months before my EAS because of repeated infractions. Got lucky, and squeaked out with a "General Under Honorable".

if you're: "Currently I recieve SSDI for Bipolar , the only condition I intend to apply for w/ VA" and "... Award included documentation from my military medical record concerning the diagnosis of Depression."

you are more than likely (my opinion, of course) eligible to be SC for this. You can use the Social Security documentation, plus a letter from your doctor to support your case. As far as your doctor's liability goes, he/she is only making statements of facts as he/she sees them. If you're still reading around the forums here, you'll notice many members having Independent Medical Opinions (IMOs) mentioned quite frequently. Again, in my opinion, he/she is simply providing expert opinion of your condition and the nexus to military service. Be informed about the statements the physician makes (see quote below).

This is taken from "Veterans Claims Self Help Guide", by Vike17 at this site: (http://www.hadit.com/veterans_self_help_guide.html)

"Independent Medical Opinions (IMOs) by your private physician:

An IMO from a treating physician is in many instances a critical part of a veteran’s disability compensation claim. An IMO may sway the “benefit of the doubt” in favor of a Veteran’s claim, or it may actually be the missing link or nexus in a claim. When a Veteran asks his or her physician to compose an IMO, there are a couple of critical statements to include:

1) the medical professional has reviewed the entire medical record including the Veteran’s SMRs

2) his or her area of expertise and additional training (e.g.: if the doctor is Board Certified in Radiology, they should make this clear, especially when rendering any comments regarding radiological films.)

3) give their reasoning as to why they have come to a certain conclusion

4) the physician should also cite any relevant medical literature that may support his or her medical opinion.

By doing all of this, the IMO becomes probative (“seeks the truth”).

There are specific statements the physician needs to use when writing an IMOas to the whether or not the issue at hand service-connected. The following phrases are from the Department of Veterans Affairs “Clinician’s Guide for Disability Examination”:

1) “is due to” (100% sure)

2) “more likely than not” (greater than 50%)

3) “at least as likely as not” (equal to or greater than 50%)

4) “not at least as likely as not” (less than 50%)

5) “is not due to” (0%)

The phrase “at least as likely as not” is the legal phrase that is needed for the VA to award service-connection for a particular disability based on the “Benefit of the Doubt” when an IMO should be the deciding factor in the evidence of record."

The degree to which your treating physician feels your condition is related to military service is the key.

"Do I apply for TDIU with my initial application?" - YES!!!

• Would my effective date be that of my award letter in 2008, my last date of employment in 2004, or the date I file, in a couple of days?

Out of my league with this last bullet. I'd have to defer to one of the elders for an opinion on that one.

Again, don't know if anyone else has answered you, but noticed the post when looking for issues regarding Bipolar disorder (one of my issues as well).

Can anyone else offer an opinion??

[stillhere]

I currently receive care for my condition, and have been receiving care since Jan. 2007 (from VA?)

My questions are:

Do I have service connection based on the in-service diagnosis, since depression is the precursor to or misdiagnosis of, bipolar? ( if your doctor can connect it and back it up with rationale)

My Dr. is willing to write a letter for me to serve as a nexus. He is concerned over his legal liability - is there any in this case? (non that I am aware of)

If his letter is disregarded by the VA, would my SSA award serve as a nexus, since it includes the early in service diagnosis? (the SS award will help but the VA is still going to need something that says it started during your military service)

Since the SSA considers me disabled, will the VA look at it similarly and give weight to my award? ( they might but again they will make the service connection first)

Do I apply for TDIU with my initial application? ( not sure about this one)

Would my effective date be that of my award letter in 2008, my last date of employment in 2004, or the date I file, in a couple of days? ( must claims for VA purposes are date of claim)

Any and all input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read this. And a special thank you to all the men and women who take the time to help others navigate the VA/SSA jungle!!!

Semper Fi!

[Berta]

1.Yes. But feel the diagnosis would have to be clarified. I have friend who had very similar claim.

His inservice “infractions” were the first manifestations of his bi Polar.

2.He would have no legal liability. Doctors do this all the time (and many charge a large fee for IMOs -Independent medical opinions)

3.

3.You bet!

4.Yes!

5.I would if I were you -I will attach the TDIU form.

Question # 18 check Yes and then under remarks tell them (you can attach additional pages and be sure to put your Name address and C file # on it (maybe you don't have a C file number yet.Have you ever applied for anyform of benefit with the VA before?)

6.The retro date will be the date of the claim but you might be able to get one additional year more due to the SSA award .

I see stillhere offered some good input too-

Do you have a vet rep helping yo? Have you formally filed the 21-5a6 form for initial claim? We dont know if this is your first VA claim or not.

The 21-526 is at the VA web site as there is anew and shorted version of what it used to be.

The IMO doc needs to follow the IMO criteria here in the IMO forum and he /she can give full medical rationale that the inservice depression was a medical manifestation of your Bi Polar condition.

Wait a minute-this was posted in January and no one answered sooner????? how did that happen?????

[Berta]

and it had 424 VIEWS????????

I think we should try to make sure this does NOT happen again-

I reply to as many posts as time allows me too- this vet didnt get a single word of encouragement-let alone any advise

and guess what- if I was a vet rep this is the type of claim I would DREAM of getting !!!! A Perfect beauty!!!!

I am pretty upset about this. 424 views and no takers? Until today???

[Pete53]

Most of the 424 views are from people who just read and don't post. I try to catch as many as I can but a lot going on in my life right now.

Also the original thread was started 10 Jan 2010. The fact is that no one here sees every post. You can miss them if they are posted when you are responding to another post.

[john999]

If your records say you were treated for depression in-service I think you have a claim.