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.

[Berta]

You can file an additional claim at any point in the claims process.

Some veterans fear this could mess up the adjudication of their initial pending claim and add more time to it- but by filing an additional claim the veteran protects the EED-eariest effective date for any potential retro compensation deriving from the additional claim.

A vet could get a denial on their initial claim but then succeed in the second claim they have filed-while appealing the decision on the first claim.

I need to make this point here again.

For VA claims purposes there is no such thing as Gulf War Syndrome or Gulf War illness.

Vets add considerable time to their claims if they simply request comp under that basis.

"Can anyone offer advice on what to do if the Gulf War Illness exams results warrant a claim? Should it be a new claim, or the original claim reopened? I think (which may go against how the VA thinks) that if in fact this 'illness' should become a claim, the VA already has all the necessary information -"

I think the initial claim your husband filed was for PTSD solely-that is a distinctly different issue from a Gulf war claim for physical illnesses.This should be a new and additional claim that would warrant separate C & P etc.

Please read my article on the new PTSD regs at VA WatchdogToday.org-the link is here in the PTSD forum under the challenge to these new regs. The VA has already provided a landmine in the paper battlefield these new regs have become.

Does he fall under the criteria for the new regulations?

And familiarize yourself with what a "Chronic qualifying disability is" regarding Gulf War veterans.

I did a show in our SVR radio archives here on Gulf War disabilities.

And we have many other posts here as to these types of claims.

Gulf War claims need to be worded to conform to the regulations that control them as far as the medical evidence is concerned.

[Berta]

"if in fact this 'illness' should become a claim, the VA already has all the necessary information -"

Havng been a VA claimant myself for many many years with many types of claims-

I know for a fact they need their hand held on this stuff.

The information that they might already have still has to be associated by the claimant for any specific claim.

They usually have the medical records, SMRs and a C file.

But they will not connect the dots for us.

For my claims I copied and highlighted specific med recs for one claim, then same for med records that were probative to another claim.

I kept the issues separate for any additional claims.We cannot assume the VA will do anything to seek evidence for us in our stuff.

It pays to start a good manila folder filing system to keep organized.

Save everything -particularily SOCs/SSOCs.I have used VA's own words in past SSOCs I got in the 1990s to succeed in my last claim last year.

There were statements there in past VA stuff I also used for my current claim.

Become familiar with the regulations for Gulf War veterans and keep a copy of those regs right in your folders so that your evidence will be probative to the claim.

[westcoastlv]

Hello All. Just wanted to report about the recent PTSD C&P exam. We had been fretting over this exam simply because we had no idea what was going to be asked. I have read so many forums and blogs regarding the C&P, all of them being totally different. I once read that there is no way to 'study' so just relax and tell the truth. Of all, this is the best possible advice.

My husband was scheduled with a QTC. He was given a 12-page evaluation sheet to complete. The examiner asked all the questions directly from the sheet, making additional notes here and there. There was a brief memory test, little more conversation and it was over. 30-minutes. The examiner did not ask my husband to go into detail about any of the stressors, just briefly what there were and that they existed. The questionaire included things like: how do you get along with people (excellent, good, fair, poor), do you use alcohol or drugs, do they affect your life, do you have suicidal or homicidal thoughts, do you ever have problems thinking clearly, do you have delusions, have you ever behaved inappropriately in public, do you have panic attacks, are you depressed, are you anxious, how do you sleep. That's it, with a brief explanation of each answer.

I have heard of other exams lasting 2-hours or better, with the same question being asked multiple times and ways. I must say, our experience was simple and to the point.

I just wanted to see if anyone else had a similar experience, and what they felt about it.

[john999]

You know if you go for a regular mental health exam they don't ask all these specific questions. They are seeing if you have ALL the symptoms of PTSD.

[westcoastlv]

So John, is that what you think they were doing, just trying to see if my husband had all the symptoms? The questions were pretty leading, and unless you had no idea what PTSD was, you wouldn't do well on the test. My husband answered honestly and I think the examiner could see he was struggling, especially since he recommended my husband get some counseling.

I guess we are just too anxious to get the results, or to finally have someone recognize that my husband has some real issues.

[westcoastlv]

Good Morning All.

Just a quick update, and as usual, some questions. All C&P Exams for the claim have been completed. Also, my husband had a C&P for Gulf War Illness (he got on the registry). We were told at the time of the GWI exam that it was for info only, and the results would be sent only to Washington. Since that exam, my husband was diagnosed with high blood pressure, which we've later requested the GWI exam be amended to include. Come to find out, the GWI exam will be sent along with the other exams to RO. Also, made the decision to file for TDIU, even though I am unable to get a copy of the exam results. I was told that because 3 of the 4 exams were outside providers (which the va sent us to) that I couldn't get the copies until they were sent to the RO or the information office.

Questions: if the GWI exam shows 'issues', will the RO take that into account without us specifically requesting it in the form of a claim? Will the TDIU application slow down the entire decision phase? Also, given that all exams are complete, and assuming the entire exam packet will be sent to the RO, and that the next step is the decision phase, would it be ineffective to file for hardship? (I just lost my job this week) Meaning, until I find new employment or unemployment kicks in, we currently have no income. If I submit a hardship, will that expedite the decision phase at all?

So far we are at about 200-days, well past what the VA advertises as their average 160-day turn around time. I feel like we are finally getting toward the end, however, given current unemployed status, and expediting would be welcome. From what I've read, the decision phase is 10-40 days, then more time in notification. Is there anything we can do?