ptsd Unsure About Ptsd Claim

[westcoastlv]

My husbad was in the Persian Gulf. His DD214 shows Combat Action Ribbon and Southwest Asia Service Medal w/bronze Star, Kuwait Liberation Medal Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. We have recently (July 2010) filed a claim for PTSD. We have received the VCAA notice, and a letter stating they are still working on the claim. We have a service rep at the VAC who told us that the next letter to expect is to schedule the C&P Exam.

About 5 years ago my husband was diagnosed with BiPolar Disorder by a private psychiatrist. He has been taking medicine for it ever since. Little did we know at the time that the symptoms for Bi Polar and PTSD are very similar, with the exception of the stressor. The private psych didn't ask about any stressors, and we didn't even think there was a connection to the Gulf War. After some research and long thought, we started to pinpoint when my husbands behavior actually began to change. This 'disorder' began during his shore duty, after his time on the ship. He has just started seeing at VA pysch, and we told her about the PTSD, but also had to mention the bipolar (which we said was a misdiagnosis) so that he could keep on his meds. We obtained a copy of his first and only visit with the VA pysch and she mentioned the PTSD and bipolar, had a GAF of 65, and stated that there were some other mental health issues. This has been requested and received by the VA Comp as well. It did not give a definitive diagnosis of PTSD. We have NOT sent any private pysch clinic notes. I spoke with my husbands previous private pysch, and he agrees that his issues are most likely PTSD, but has no notes to that effect because the stressors were never discussed, and he based his diagnosis on what we told him had been previously diagnosed. We have another VA appt tomorrow, and I am thinking that we should stress the PTSD (at least to get it in her notes).

The VAC service rep said that we would most likely get 70% for the PTSD because of the Combat Action Ribbon, but I am concerned that is may not be such a slam dunk. My husband is in desparate need of a rating because he is unable to work. He has an extremely hard time coping with life, even with the medications.

My questions are: should we request that the VA pysch give him a complete PTSD evaluation tomorrow? How does the civilian diagnosis of BiPolar affect the PTSD claim? Or, will this all be resolved in the C&P exam regardless of previous diagnosis? Should we also go to a private pysch and request the PTSD evaluation?

I have written a letter about how my husband's life has been affected by this, and also a letter from him. Who do I show these to?

We've requested other ratings as well: Tinnitus, Bilateral Hearing Loss, and Elbow.

Any advice or insight would be helpful.

[carlie]

If he filled out a VA Form 21-526 "Application for Compensation or Pension" (THE VA original claim form) then he filled out the "dependents" section already, and they have his dependents information.

I would like to say that yes the VA has that dependent information of record on the 21-526

but I do believe that if and when he is granted 30 percent or higher service connected disability

IF HE OR SOMEONE DOESN'T FILL OUT, sign and submit (along with all of the requested paperwork)

a 21-686© - dependent pay will not happen until that time.

This is unless of course, something else has changed in the R&R since say last month.

jmho

[westcoastlv]

Thanks Everyone for the comments, just a quick update:

We did have his routine mental health visit yesterday, and it was just that, routine. Lasted less than 30 minutes, however, a new medicine was added for depression and anxiety. Just waiting for the C&P exam to be scheduled. I will post again once there is more movement.

Thanks again everyone.

[westcoastlv]

Good Day All,

Small new developments, wondering if anyone has any feedback. Called the 1-800 number yesterday (doing it about every 3 weeks) and was told that of course the claim was still being processed. The very curt rep said that VA requested my husbands service records from repository 6-weeks ago and still hasn't received. Of couse I wanted to know what they needed that for, and he said to see if there was a potential for PTSD. I thought the Gulf War-time and the CAR on his DD-214 would verify, but I guess they need more info. Also, back on 9-8-10 when I called, I was told by another rep that she was requesting a PTSD checklist to be sent to us (which we didn't receive the first time around) and that the request would take 2-3 business days to be received by regional office. Well, on yesterday's call, I learned that they haven't received that request either. We don't mind calling in because at least we know that someone has to at least look at his claim in order to answer our questions, but every timeframe anyone there has given us for anything has been way off base. Way off.

Is this standard VA protocol?

[stillhere]

The 800# is and has always been a waste of time. Time frames by a government agency are to be taken with a grain of salt.

[westcoastlv]

Update: We have now officially passed the 90-day mark. I spoke with the 800# (which I know is pointless) on the 8th of October. Was told that they were still waiting for my husbands Military Personnel Records (now requested over 60-days), and to call back mid-month because that's when all documentation was due. No problem. Called back on 18th, and found out that they were under the impression that they were waiting for documentation from me. The VA was supposed to send a checklist back in the beginning of September, which never came, and were supposed to proceed on the claim. Somehow, the person on the 8th neglected to tell me the VA were waiting on docs from us, so another weeks worth of delay.

I did fax the checklist back to them (which I got off the internet), as well as some other forms that I just felt like filling out (dependents, etc). I also called the Military Personnel Records people, informed that it should only take 8-weeks max for VA to get those records. Also told to ask the 800# rep to look into the P.I.E.S system if they tell me they don't know the status of the records. That's their system of request, and they can look at it to tell where the records are.

Each time I call, I get a new piece of information that the previous person didn't bother to tell me. I wonder if they get their training in phases and I always end up with the person in phase I.

[Sapper]

I know exactly what you mean by this statement. Calling them sometimes just results in them telling you what you might want to hear it seems. I called three times in one week, for different reasons. The first guy told me that my PTSD claim was at the review board for over a month, then the second time I called they told me they had all of the documents they needed to send to the review board. The third time I was told they were sending me a letter and requesting documents about a migraine attack I had earlier this year, and that would be needed to finish getting the claim ready for the board. Three calls, three different answers. Don't pay much attention to them. The only thing that I have noticed they seem to be helpful about is finding out if a rating has been found by the review board. They of course won't tell you the outcome (approval or disapproval) but they'll tell you if they've reached a decision. It seems your VSO or representing organization usually gets a fax right after they make their decision, so contacting them is your best bet after you find out that an answer has indeed been found. Sorry for the confusing sentences, I'm not that good with writing sometimes. Just wanted to let you know I sympathize with you struggling with dealing with some of these people. Some of the people on the hotline are genuinely helpful, and some are just rude and snappy.

Each time I call, I get a new piece of information that the previous person didn't bother to tell me. I wonder if they get their training in phases and I always end up with the person in phase I.