Denied Tdui And/or 100 % And I Am Almost Crippled!

[1lonewolf]

I got hurt while serving during the Gulf War. They performed reconstructive surgery on both of my Feet(screwed them Together) This has caused me allot of pain and an abnormal gait for all these years. Now I have misalignement and degenerative arthritis in both hips which also catch and pop out every so often. I also have Degenerative Disc Disease, Degenerative Arthritis, 5 bulging discs, a pinch sciatic nerve, and facet syndrome in my lower back. I never went to the VA for treatment for over 19 years other than in 1997 when one of my feet broke and they had to redo it. When My hips and back finally got so bad I could not manage it anymore with over the counter Motrin (Which also caused me to have Barrett's Espophagus). I started going to the VA again. All of my doctors from Podiatry to Ortho said the same thing. That my hips and my back were in the shape they are because of my abnormal gait all these years because I walk on my heels and the sides of my feet for obvious reasons. I am in constant pain and they have prescribed my morphine 60 mg a day and hyrdrocodone 10s 4 times a day. I have to go every 6 months for nerve burns in all five lower vertebra. I also take sleeping pills prescribed by them. I was told by all my doctors that this would only get worse with age and I am only 40 and can barely move now. There was however one very brash and rude older female doctor in Ortho who has always had an overall demeanor with me that my conditions are not related to walking on my heels and my abnormal gate. This is the same doctor who pushed bruised on me and sent my to Physical Therapy before she even knew what was wrong with my back or hips. She is also the Doctor who showed up to perform my C and P examination btw! I knew when I saw her that This was a waiste of my time and what she would do for my claim. Keep in mind that I was granted 10 percent for my right hip last Jan for Degenerative Arthritis and popping. This C and P exam was done by another Honest Doctor who followed procedure and code 38 regs. So here I am with the Doctor who treats all Vets like animals about to do a C and P exam on my back and left hip. She pulled the muscles in my right ribs during trunk rotation by grabbing my arm and extending me and she forced me to squat when I cannot and I cound not back up. Needless to say when I left I was hurting so bad I had to go home and take some med and lay down for a few hours. I hurt for over a week! I just got my claim back today and Not only was it denied but they took the 10 % away for my right hip. She wrote that my conditions were not related to abnormal gate. Not only that she answered the questions using her own opinion and not medical facts and did not even perform all the tests she was supposed to in accordance with the 38 references. They can do and put whatever they want and put your life on hold. Now I have to appeal. Gait causes all kinds of problems! You can find evidence to the contrary as she has but there is plenty of information all over the internet to prove that. It is common sense. Now here I am appealing because of one doctor who should not even have a job treating Vets they way she is. I feel everyones pain and wear ankle braces and walk on a cane both issued by the VAMC! The letter I got today should have been and would have been 100% if it had not been for her and her plight to disprove and mistreat all Vets she treats or examins! Now my life continues to be on hold thanks to her and I have lost everything and can barely walk. I am mad as hell right now and disgusted. All those years I tried my best to not go to the VA and now here I am almost crippled, in constant pain even with the meds they give me, and alone. I cannot work as I cannot sit, stand, walk, or even lay down for any period of time. I sleep very little even with sleeping pills they gave me, and I am denied and they even took the 10 % they gave me in Jan 09 for my right hip. I welcome any and all replies, support, and even guidance. I am at the end of my rope, have lost everything, and I am a former Executive that is penniless and virtually crippled at 40. I have listed my current conditions below and will start my appeals process Monday. If I could move or walk or sit or do anything I would go back to work but now I cannot!

Pes Planus with Plantar Fasciitis, Bilaterally 10 %

Right Hallux Valgus Post resection 10 %

Lef Hallux Valugus Post resection 10 %

a few other feet conditions and resections that go into the descriptions above.

degenerative Arthritis Right Hip 10 % (taken away and severed as of today by the VA)

degenerative Arthritis Left Hip Denied

Degenerative Disc Disease of spine Denied

5 Bulging Discs Denied

Pinched Sciatic Nerve

[Berta]

"The current Tally is 6 VA docs and 2 Private Docs with the same diagnosis versus 1 C and P Doc's Opinion."

GEEZ! Hopefully this will be resolved to your favor sooner than later.

I had overwhelming evidence myself but it took them over 6 years to acknowledge it and read it.

[carlie]

lone,

Hopefully it's either enough to sway the decision maker in your favor

or put the evidence in relative equipoise and get the BOD applied.

[VetsLady]

Lonewolf ....

Will be sending out those positive vibes for a favorable decision.

I read your post this morning and I've been thinking about you all day,

You are not alone, not here. These are a fine group of folks here.

VetsLady

[1lonewolf]

Thank you for the support. I really do not know what else they can do to deny me now but then again I thought that initially! All I can do is wait until I receive my next decision and hope that right prevails and that finally someone at the regional office says "Hey, why are we denying this guy over one Doctor's obviously incorrect Opinion when there is a multitude of Doctors both VA and private who all have the same opinion?" I can only hope that the Decision Review Officer assigned to my case just takes the time to look at my records and my IMO's, That is all it will really take to right this wrong I am currently dealing with. It is really that simple and had that been accomplished initially, I would not still be in Limbo trying to figure out how in the hell They can continue to deny me. The evidence and Opinions were there initially as well but all that was mentioned was the C and P exam and that is what was used to deny me. Incredible to say the least but common practice from what I hear from others on here and abroad. So this whole thing continues based on one bad evaluation and the obvious denial of facts as contained within my records, of which most information is recent over the last 2 years. I will continue to keep up the good fight as this is more than just pursuit of justifiable compensation for severe injuries incurred while serving my country but also just a plain out fight of right and wrong. No one should ever be penalized because they tried to do the right thing like work for as long as possible. Especially not Veterans like us that are the main reason these people even have a job or a country to have it in! I will keep everyone posted on my progress and Thanks to everyone for your continued words of support.

[VetsLady]

Well said Lonewolf and no truer words spoken.

If you need a ladder, and believe me .... I have needed many, this is the place to find the encouragement to keep moving one foot ahead of the other.

Thank you for your Service Veteran. Continue to stay positive and proud as you are.

Edited December 23, 2010 by VetsLady

[1lonewolf]

Hello everyone and Happy New Year. I thought I would update my Post with the current "goings on". In review I did have a DRO hearing in October and from that Hearing I told the DRO officer I would be providing another IMO. I have provided that IMO from an orthopedic surgeon as well as the Letter I received from Social Security approving my SSDI claim, which by the way took less than two weeks and the decision was based solely on my VA medical records! I then also provided this approval Letter from SSDI which listed all my SC issues to include the issues that they are still currently denied and in the appeals process. So in review currently I have a new IMO and my approval letter from SSDI in the hands for the DRO officer for review. I followed up with my DAV rep earlier this week and currently the VA has requested my records from Social Security. I assume this is to prove that I am providing them with accurate information about the decision they made in such a short timeframe based on my VA medical records. I would also assume they are verifying what conditions Social Security based their decision on even though it is clearly listed in the approval letter I sent them. All conditions are in the approval letter in order and not one is missing. In my opinion this yet more crystal clear evidence in support of my claim and it also verifies that another government agency was able to easily determine my disabilities and their cause by reviewing my VA medical records. As I have stated before any individual,including someone who has never seen medical records before, can review my records and will not even get 10 pages in before they have found not only my conditions but also multiple doctor diagnosis to verify them and their cause. To date I have submitted multiple letters from individuals, 2 IMO's, several letters referencing the multitude of diagnosis in my records from 6 different VA docs, my SSDI letter of approval which includes my conditions in order, and a letter sent every month from my State Senator's Office The only reason that I am in this fight is because of one Doctor's biased and incorrect opinion in the original C and P exam. So in review that is a mountain of evidence in support of my claim proving my conditions, both SC and Secondary, versus one doctor. You will not find this type of issue with any other government agency that provides compensation or pension so I ask you. why is it this way for us Veterans who should be this country's number one priority? A question I ask myself everyday when I strap on my ankle braces and my orthopedic shoes and grab my cane. A question we all ask ourselves as veterans seeking what we deserve and what was promised to us the day we joined to serve our country! I will update my post again when I hear something back worth a read to everyone. Until then I hope everyone is doing well and keeping up the good fight against the Machine that is VA Compensation and Pension.