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

[1lonewolf]

I have been approved for my SSDI and it was infact approved and processed in less than a month. It also specifically lists why I have been approved in the letter. This will serve as more evidence for my appeal as what is listed directly correlates with my VA claim. The decision from Social Security was based on solely on my VA medical records and my conditions caused by Abnormal gait! I will continue to update my post as things unfold and keep everybody posted. The reason I continue to update my post is to hopefully help some other veterans who search the forum looking for a case history based on lower extremity injuries which have caused spinal and other issues due to Abnormal gait. Apparently their are quite a few of those types of claims out there other than mine so hopefully this will help someone else as everyone and this site has helped me. i will update this post again when I receive my next update from the VA.

[cooter]

I have been approved for my SSDI and it was infact approved and processed in less than a month. It also specifically lists why I have been approved in the letter. This will serve as more evidence for my appeal as what is listed directly correlates with my VA claim. The decision from Social Security was based on solely on my VA medical records and my conditions caused by Abnormal gait! I will continue to update my post as things unfold and keep everybody posted. The reason I continue to update my post is to hopefully help some other veterans who search the forum looking for a case history based on lower extremity injuries which have caused spinal and other issues due to Abnormal gait. Apparently their are quite a few of those types of claims out there other than mine so hopefully this will help someone else as everyone and this site has helped me. i will update this post again when I receive my next update from the VA.

1lonewolf

I have been following your posts for awhile and I feel for you Brother! One of the reasons is, I'm also in the same court as far as the abnormal gait history. I'm 60% SC from a total knee replacement done in 08, due to a bad jump in 76. limping for 36 years and still limping, even after surgery! Which I know is the cause of my back, neck, and sciatic nerves problems I've had for years now. Even lost my job of 31 years because of the knee. They placed me on disibility retirement at age 54, far to young to be disabled with so many debts incured. I claimed IU, but just like you, DENIED. The reason was I could do secretary work. Filed Reconcideration letter with statement from my Pain management doc stating I could'nt sit for more than 15 mins. at a time. It was'nt a justified IMO according to VA specs. but I'll keep my fingers crossed. Should hear something very soon. In the meantime, I'm trying to get my ducts in a row for a possible NOD. So now I'm in the proccess trying to get all the info regarding secondary injuries (back, neck, sciatic) due to abnormal gait. The VA even sent me to PT because of my gait pattern. The PT theropist evan said my whole body was out of whack! I'm still going to get an official IMO and follow the guidelines set forth that's available here on the forem. I'm hoping with the new injuries added to the NOD, my EED would still be the date I first started the claim, IF it's awarded that is. I'm not sure how it works, I may have to file a new claim for IU with the new injuries. Glad to hear about your SSDI being approved! I'm going to file for it also. You being approved due to your abnormal gait is something I would be very interested of any info you can share with us that would help our SSDI claims on (abnormal gait). That is, if you don't mine! I'm open to any kind of communication, here on Hadit, email, telephone, it don't matter! Thank's 1lonewolf.

[1lonewolf]

I am more than happy to provide you with whatever I can. I truly believe that several factors allowed SS to make such a quick decision on my claim and I will list them as follows for your reference. I believe that my SSDI was approved not based on my abnormal gait as much as it was based on my conditions and how they affect me as a whole and obviously my ability to work in any job. When I applied for SSDI I explained to them clearly what was wrong with me and what caused it. This ended up helping me as all my conditions were verified by my VA medical records and most of that information has transpired over the last 2 years which makes it easier for the SS examiner to find and reference. When you apply for SSDI be specific with what your conditions are and what caused them as they will list those conditions as a basis for their decision and will look for those diagnosis specifically in your records. When you receive their decision they list these conditions in Black and White. Since Social Security determined me to be disabled since last Feb it leads me to believe this date decision was made because that was the day my spinal issues were diagnosed by Physical Medicine based on the MRI findings. That was also the day the consult with Pain management was ordered. it is important to note that Pain Management also had a diagnosis of "Due to Abnormal Gait" which they changed after my C and P examination hit my file! This had no bearing as it is still in my records. I also have this diagnosis from several other Doctors to include all the specialists consults I was sent to. Also in my records for Social Security to review was my initial IMO submittal from Dr. Bash which most certainly helped me as it contained physical testing as part of the IMO. Social Security criteria is different from the VA, they are making a determination based on your conditions, not how you got them or what caused them unless that is part of your overall physical conditions such as Abnormal gait which would make you very unsteady and prevent you from performing any standing or walking jobs. Also the Physical Therapist put her diagnosis in as spinal and hip conditions due abnormal gait and also provided allot of range of motion, strength, and difficulties I had in performing some of their required therapy tasks.When I signed up for Social Security Disability I went to my local office to do so. I believe going to your local office to put in your claim for SSDI is a much better approach as it put's a name to a face and most people working at these offices are sensitive to Veterans as Social Security has special programs for US. Once again The conditions I gave are easy to find in my VA medical records as they are the exact diagnosis I gave Social Security word for word... i..e...DDD, Traumatic Arthritis, etc... Apples to Apples approach which makes it easier on the Disability Examiner. The additional information contained in my records such as the Physical Therapy Reports and Dr. Bash's IMO also provided outside evidence to my conditions and their cause and how they affect me Physically and mentally. Another Factor they take into consideration is the prescriptions you take for these conditions as they also reflect your conditions severity. So in review there were several factors that I believe Social Security used in determining my disability such as clear diagnosis of conditions and physical abilities which were easy to find in my records, Prescriptions I take for pain and their impact on my daily life, etc... If I had to give specific advice I would have to say make sure you are specific when you apply for SSDI and make sure you apply at your local office and not online for obvious reasons. If there are any records which support your claim insure that you get them in front of SSDI asap as they typically review everything at the same time from what I have been told. Also if you have any Physical Therapy or other reports containing range of motion, sitting, walking, standing and any other type of physical test provide them as they are revelant and also used in SSDI determinations as these are the same type of tests you will have to perform if you are ask to evaluated by a Doctor. I have listed some references below that I used before I applied for my Social Security Disability. If you make it easy by providing clear and concise information and records, this will make the disability examiners job easier and assist you in gaining a favorable decision more quickly. I would also suggest you get an IMO from a reputable Doctor, an IMO from an Orthopedic Surgeon or Occupational Doctor is worth it's weight in Gold as it includes range of motion testing as well as the Doctor's opinion on the overall severity of your conditions They see it like this.. This is your claim, here is the evidence you have submitted for review in determining your claim, does your disability or physical/mental limitations prevent you from working in your professional, then any job? It is all of nothing when it comes to Social Security and I believe once again that if you provide them with specific information and then proof backing up your claim to include physical limitation testing, then the criteria they require to make that determination is already in front of them which allows them to make a decision without sending your for an evaluation by one of their Doctors. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will be more than glad to answer them for you if I can. If not I can most certainly point you in the right direction to find the Answer. Enjoy!

1. Good Social Security Guide for applying.

http://www.ultimatedisabilityguide.com/application.html

2. Veteran's Guide for applying for SSDI

http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/the-va-and-disability.html

[cooter]

I am more than happy to provide you with whatever I can. I truly believe that several factors allowed SS to make such a quick decision on my claim and I will list them as follows for your reference. I believe that my SSDI was approved not based on my abnormal gait as much as it was based on my conditions and how they affect me as a whole and obviously my ability to work in any job. When I applied for SSDI I explained to them clearly what was wrong with me and what caused it. This ended up helping me as all my conditions were verified by my VA medical records and most of that information has transpired over the last 2 years which makes it easier for the SS examiner to find and reference. When you apply for SSDI be specific with what your conditions are and what caused them as they will list those conditions as a basis for their decision and will look for those diagnosis specifically in your records. When you receive their decision they list these conditions in Black and White. Since Social Security determined me to be disabled since last Feb it leads me to believe this date decision was made because that was the day my spinal issues were diagnosed by Physical Medicine based on the MRI findings. That was also the day the consult with Pain management was ordered. it is important to note that Pain Management also had a diagnosis of "Due to Abnormal Gait" which they changed after my C and P examination hit my file! This had no bearing as it is still in my records. I also have this diagnosis from several other Doctors to include all the specialists consults I was sent to. Also in my records for Social Security to review was my initial IMO submittal from Dr. Bash which most certainly helped me as it contained physical testing as part of the IMO. Social Security criteria is different from the VA, they are making a determination based on your conditions, not how you got them or what caused them unless that is part of your overall physical conditions such as Abnormal gait which would make you very unsteady and prevent you from performing any standing or walking jobs. Also the Physical Therapist put her diagnosis in as spinal and hip conditions due abnormal gait and also provided allot of range of motion, strength, and difficulties I had in performing some of their required therapy tasks.When I signed up for Social Security Disability I went to my local office to do so. I believe going to your local office to put in your claim for SSDI is a much better approach as it put's a name to a face and most people working at these offices are sensitive to Veterans as Social Security has special programs for US. Once again The conditions I gave are easy to find in my VA medical records as they are the exact diagnosis I gave Social Security word for word... i..e...DDD, Traumatic Arthritis, etc... Apples to Apples approach which makes it easier on the Disability Examiner. The additional information contained in my records such as the Physical Therapy Reports and Dr. Bash's IMO also provided outside evidence to my conditions and their cause and how they affect me Physically and mentally. Another Factor they take into consideration is the prescriptions you take for these conditions as they also reflect your conditions severity. So in review there were several factors that I believe Social Security used in determining my disability such as clear diagnosis of conditions and physical abilities which were easy to find in my records, Prescriptions I take for pain and their impact on my daily life, etc... If I had to give specific advice I would have to say make sure you are specific when you apply for SSDI and make sure you apply at your local office and not online for obvious reasons. If there are any records which support your claim insure that you get them in front of SSDI asap as they typically review everything at the same time from what I have been told. Also if you have any Physical Therapy or other reports containing range of motion, sitting, walking, standing and any other type of physical test provide them as they are revelant and also used in SSDI determinations as these are the same type of tests you will have to perform if you are ask to evaluated by a Doctor. I have listed some references below that I used before I applied for my Social Security Disability. If you make it easy by providing clear and concise information and records, this will make the disability examiners job easier and assist you in gaining a favorable decision more quickly. I would also suggest you get an IMO from a reputable Doctor, an IMO from an Orthopedic Surgeon or Occupational Doctor is worth it's weight in Gold as it includes range of motion testing as well as the Doctor's opinion on the overall severity of your conditions They see it like this.. This is your claim, here is the evidence you have submitted for review in determining your claim, does your disability or physical/mental limitations prevent you from working in your professional, then any job? It is all of nothing when it comes to Social Security and I believe once again that if you provide them with specific information and then proof backing up your claim to include physical limitation testing, then the criteria they require to make that determination is already in front of them which allows them to make a decision without sending your for an evaluation by one of their Doctors. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will be more than glad to answer them for you if I can. If not I can most certainly point you in the right direction to find the Answer. Enjoy!

1. Good Social Security Guide for applying.

http://www.ultimated...pplication.html

2. Veteran's Guide for applying for SSDI

http://www.disabilit...disability.html

Oustanding information lonewolf!

Did you also format all your injuries seperately to SS? i.e.. index by page number per injury, testing and Dr's statements per injury, etc. Berta, and others do that on thier VA claims, which I think is perty smart! I personaly don't have those skills, and would be hard for me to do. I did'nt read anything in your post about you hiring an attorney, so I take it you tackled this yourself. Good job by the way! Thank's for the serts, they were very informative also. Thanks for getting us started on the right track. I'm perty sure down the road I'll, and others here, will be asking you for more info and/or advice. What I also like about your post's, is you don't cut any corners, which make's it alot easier to understand!

[1lonewolf]

Social Security is different form the VA as in they are looking for these conditions, how severe they are, and if they impact your ability to work. So any diagnosis or information in your records for these conditions and how they limit your abilities are key. When I answered their question on what my issues were I gave them each condition in order using the exact verbage as contained in my records for these conditions. Such as DDD, Traumatic Arthritis of the Right and left hip, etc... This makes it easier for an examiner to find them if they are the same conditions assigned a code in your VA medical or other records. In other words instead of my saying "I have chronic pain due to some bulging discs and Degenerative Arthritis, etc.. I gave the exact diagnosis for each. Also if you approach Social Security from their mindset your interview and other dealing with them with be much easier. My suggestion and how I approached them was this... Social Security wants to know what is wrong with me and how it affects my ability to work in my profession or at any other job. For example when I was asked about my conditions I was very specific with how they affect each segment of my ability to work such as "My DDD, Sciatic, Severe Facet Syndrome, and Degenerative Arthritis of the lower spine prevent me from sitting, standing, or lifting anything. Another example is my Foot injuries and the multiple surgeries I have had on them in the Army and at the VA prevent me from standing for any period of time and prevent me from being able to walk without a cane or any distance. I am almost housebound due to chronic pain and depression from Chronic pain. I know this may sound a little like I am couching you but I am just trying to get you to understand the right approach to take. The truth of the matter is I have a major list of conditions and they are all pretty much severe in nature. Each condition is well diagnosed in my VA medical records and there is also other information they used such as my physical therapy reports, C and P exams, and IMOs which contain range of motion and other information which is pertinent to how they determine you disable or unable to work. I think my case was a no brainer because I am in pretty bad shape physically and all my issues are well documented in my VA medical records. From what I have gathered through my own battle with the VA is that most of us are not fighting the VA because we want them to acknowledge that we have a certain illness or injury, Most of us are fighting the VA because they refuse to acknowledge or compensate us on these conditions which were caused either by direct military service or secondary to conditions which happened while serving. With Social Security it is a different angle as they are not looking at your information to verify whether or not your issues were caused by a service connected issue but at the severity of your conditions and how the affect your ability to work. Hopefully that makes sense to you. I will tell you that everything I told them about my conditions is verbatim in my letter of approval in the exact same order I gave them in. I did not hire a lawyer as I truly felt I did not need one as I had already done some research on what I needed to do. To be honest I also felt like it should be pretty easy for me because I have so much wrong with me, especially my lower spine. I did not give specific references to each injury and were they could find that in my records as they go through all the medical information you provide anyway. I would also suggest browsing through the websites as well as taking a quick look at the one below. If you want your claim to be processed faster than you should be fully prepared for your interview with everything you need and the right mindset as I mentioned above. Conditions - how do each affect my ability to work or performed certain tasks. I applied for my SSDi on October 8 and it was approved unofficially on October 18th by the Disability Examiner that was in charge of my case. If I had brought a copy of my VA records to my interview, instead of telling them in the interview were to get them, I probably would have gotten approved sooner because the examiner would have already had what he needed instead of requesting it from the VAMC. Luckily the response from the VAMC was fast and did not take forever or I would still be waiting for a decision. In case you are wondering the Disability Examiner got my records on the 18th so it was easy for him to verify my information and severity of my conditions as most of the information is fresh and has been diagnosed over the last 2 years. Hopefully I have answered your questions and not been to redundant. If not do not hesitate to ask.

Preparing for a SS interview..

http://www.socialsecurity-disability.org/content/disability-tip-evidence-disability-application-interview

[1lonewolf]

Hi All, Just wanted to provide yet another update. I have now submitted the new IMO from the Ortho Surgeon/Disability specialist as well as the letter from my SSDI award so both new pieces of evidence are now in the hands of the DRO for review. I have not heard anything from them as of yet so I am still waiting for next decision in my case. The evidence is now more than overwhelming in rebuttal of the bad C and P examination which started this whole cycle of unfair maneuvers. I am curious to see what comes next in the way of a decision as now 2 pages of misinformation stand against a mountain of evidence to the contrary. Although it should be black and white in my favor as we all know anything is possible or I would not in the situation I am in. I have also went through my entire medical record and placed sticky notes on every pertinent Doctor's Diagnosis. The current Tally is 6 VA docs and 2 Private Docs with the same diagnosis versus 1 C and P Doc's Opinion. So in review that is 8 Doctors including 3 with much higher credentials than the C and P Doctor's and still I continue to be denied. This speaks Volumes to how broken the system is and/or how a technicality is used to deny Veterans what they deserve. I will update my post again when I receive my next Decision/Update. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas..