My Name Is Juan, Hello

[JuanP]

As I said, I'm 9 months in the VA, and I feel like a sheep that is just told what to next with no map, plan or option of what road I'm on or where I'm headed. This is my situation.

I'm not going to start asking a bunch of questions, I feel I need to search around on your site to learn what I can so as not to waste your time with things that you have answered a 1000 times before. That and I want to acclimate myself to the board.

I tend to be long winded only because I feel that the more detail I can provide, the better feel for the situation the reader can get of my situation, I apologize ahead of time for that. I will try to post the meat first, and the background after for those who wish to read it.

The short version is that: I left the Navy in 93 with an Honorable Discharge, and have never asked the VA for anything until 9 months ago. Severe back and neck pain. After 6 or 7 months they finally gave me an MRI and put me on Morphine shortly thereafter. MRI revealed bone spurs in my neck along with a bad disc at c4. My doctor put me in for C & P which I am now waiting for a decision on. I will admit that the evidence is thin, and I would not have thought anything of it had my doctor not put me in for it along with a note in my file saying that "Yes, my injury was likely the result of my duties in the Navy." As evidenced by a hernia that I sustained in the Navy a result of the lifting of test equipment and tools for my duties. Not to mention the preparation of my first ship for DECOM.

Here is what I know myself, truly I never had back problems until after the Navy. I just always wrote the different issues off to a vague whatever normal part of life. I saw a chiropractor for some of these problems around 1995, but after I refused a new regime of treatment 3 weeks ago he decided that those records had been deleted and he could not find them. Suspicious at best. Especially after telling me that those records had been digitized, it was just a matter of finding the pass code or hacking into the old files.

As I said this is the short version, I will write a long version at another point, and I have no questions as of now. Thank you ahead of time for your interest and possible help.

Sincerely, Juan

[Pete53]

Juan:

Welcome to Hadit. I applied for VA Benefits 21 years after I separated and I am 100% now. To make it short and sweet you need a Doc to say that their is a nexus to your service. You have a general idea of why but you rally need to associate it to an event and hopefully have medical records to back you up.

It takes the VARO some time but in the meantime you have to be able to demonstrate that you had problems that you can document after you left in 1993. For my flat feet which were service connected I had seen a private Doc who had prescribed medication which helped me.

Have you reviewed your Service Medical Records? If not you should either go to the VARO and review your C File or ask for copies. There is nothing worse than trying to win a claim when in your records is the evidence that you need.

That is a start hang in and asking questions is why we are here.

Thank you for your service

[carlie]

Juan,

Welcome to Hadit.

I am moving your topic to Claims/Benefits Research.

carlie

[JuanP]

Carlie, Thank you.

Pete53, a couple of things. I'm really blind in this whole process, the military has a manual about everything except about what WE need. So then, I have been hanging my hat on the fact of me getting a hernia, and operation for it while still in as evidence of the type of lifting and results. Am I to understand that this leap cannot or will not be made? Also, I had hoped to get the records from the chiropractor from 95 but that is not an option now. I did not have insurance til about 99 so any visits I had were sporadic and spread out. Try being a mid-20 guy going in to ask for muscle relaxers or pain meds. So I never did.

Next, I have only seen my Service Officer (same as VARO? ) once. He told me that I wouldn't be able to get my medical record from storage because after filing the claim it would be sent straight to the board. Is this not accurate? I am on Morphine and Percocets so my memory, focus, retention and understanding is off quite a bit. I may have misunderstood him .............

As I said Pete, my plan is to scour this board over the next several days to get information, so I don't want to put you out by engaging too much right now.

Your input really is a huge help for me. I am sure many of you have felt the anxiety that I have right now.

[LarryJ]

Firstly, you need a copy of your SMR (Service Medical Records) and your SMT (Service Medical Treatment records).

You can get these at any time by contacting the National Personnel Records Center (part of the National Archives and Records Administration or NARA) Military Records Group, in St. Louis, MO. They have a web site whereby you can request copies for your use. Tell them that you want ALL records, ALL records that they have on you (otherwise they'll send what THEY think that you need).

Secondly, have you even actually filed a claim (filled out a VA Form 526)? You say that "the doctor put you in for it". Exactly what did the doctor "put you in" for? And, from the little that I know about the VA and claims, etc., you have to be the one to file a claim, then, after a somewhat lenghty wait, then the VARO (Veterans Affairs Regional Office) requests that a C&P (Compensation and Pension) exam be performed to determine if you, in fact, actually have a disability, and if that disability originated or was aggravated by, an event in the service.

But, hey, wtf do I know, right?

[Berta]

"Next, I have only seen my Service Officer (same as VARO? ) once. He told me that I wouldn't be able to get my medical record from storage because after filing the claim it would be sent straight to the board. Is this not accurate? "

NOT! what a lazy dumb ass he is-

After a vet files a claim the VA gets their medical records-(the vet should too)and they cannot make a decision at the VARO level -even to deny- without ALL available records.

Your Mil and VA records might be in storage but VA can get them in a heartbeat.

A claim doesnt get to the "board" The Board of Veterans Appeals BVA until it is denied and appealed via a NOD at the VARO level.

My last claim was at the VARO for 6 years as I waited for them to become literate.

It went to the BVA and the BVA awarded it. 7 years to day of filing.

I think we had the same service officer - mine said -the minute after he read my claim- it would go to the BVA and then the CAVC and I would lose it.

He is not longer employed as a SO or vet rep.

You have some problem areas we see with the nexus for the claim ---but NOTHING is impossible.

Evidence can be found.

[LarryJ]

"Evidence can be found."

............and, if it exists, I can find it..............

just sayin.............. :D