At The End Of My Rope

[Colorado1135]

to start off I'm a 31 y/o Navy vet, I injured my back while in the Navy. I fell while responding to a fire out to sea with all my gear on, pain started getting worse everyday until I went in to medical. the sawbones told me it was a pulled muscle and gave me motrin. this went on for a year until the radiating pain, numbness and loss of mobility made me demand to see a specialist. I got in to see one, he said I should have come in a year ago when I was hurt by now it was too late to fix it and it would bother me the rest of my life. after a year and a half of countless injections, manipulations, physical therapy nothing worked and I was discharged at 20% for degenerative disk disease, and a few other back problems that were part of it. on one of my last doctor visits my orthopedist said I likely need surgery, was going to put me in for a consult but said there wasn't enough time and after I was discharged the VA would take care of it (I was out of limdu time to be able to recuperate.) I get lost in the system for 2.5 years, I called numerous places trying to get in to a VA doctor and I must not have been talking to the right people. I had filed all my VA paper work before separating, but didn't get any findings back until 1.5 years later. they diagnosed me with a "lumbar strain" gave me 10% and then said they would keep my compensation payment until 2014 to "recoup" the separation pay. I filed an appeal, but later found out I needed to file for a reevaluation, so I do that. yesterday the results come back. they said since the MRI and xrays looked ok, that there must not be anything wrong with me, they found no evidence of DJD and maintained it was a lumbar sprain. and because I was in noticeable pain and my abilities shown during the exam didn't reflect my xrays that they suspected me of malingering or faking it. they even went as far as saying I made no mention of radiating pain or episodes of extreme pain. so because they disagreed with my orthopedist in the Navy then

I have chronic pain that never goes away. a few times a day my back will pop out of place and back in within seconds to several minutes, causing excruciating debilitating pain. I have to wear a back brace to limit this popping out that happens. walking isn't too hard most of the time, sometimes it can hurt just to put pressure on my legs and stand. the pain is so severe it has caused me to get light headed and is nauseating at times and will stiffen way up, sometimes taking days to go down, chiropractor visits help from time to time to reduce the intensity of the constant pain, but do nothing for the extreme pain episodes. I can't lift anything without risking my back to go out, sometimes the popping is audible when it goes. If I try to do chores around the yard/house the pain grows in intensity and if I don't stop and take all pressure off the spine I'm in for a world of hurt. I don't know what to do. I finish college in December, I'm afraid of how much pain or further damage I will do once I start working full time, since I can barely go to class and take care of myself and my 2y/o son. I can see the writing on the wall unless something happens

[john999]

When you get to see a PCP at the VA you must tell them your pain is a ten on a scale of one to ten. Ask for a referral to a psychiatrist and to the pain clinic. Most who are in chronic pain suffer from depression as a secondary condition. My back is very painful but does not look that bad on an MRI. When they tell me all that BS about objective problem does not match subjective complaint I say pain does not show up on an X-ray.

[Hoppy]

I went through the same thing you did when I was 29 with my lower back. The doctor told me I would have chronic pain the rest of my life. He was right. I am 62 and have dealt with this problem every day. I will pass along what I have learned and experienced. Hopefully you can learn something. I will talk about the VA, obtaining and keeping jobs and whatever else comes to mind.

As far as your symptoms and the diagnosis in the military along with your discharge goes, there is no question your doctor had confidence that you would have chronic back problems just as my doctor did. You need to become your own advocate and understand the way the VA rates back conditions. The VA does not give high ratings to back conditions unless there are restrictions in range of motion and or neurological conditions. Get a hold of the rating schedule or BVA claims for backs and muscular skeleton claims. Check out cases for chronic mechanical strain. However, If they re-diagnose you with anything else such as IVDS then research the rating for each diagnosis.

I injured my neck in my forties. I had VA doctors tell me to my face that MRI and EMG tests did not find anything significant. My primary care doctor treated me like a faker. Then when I actually got the reports there was enough on the report to get me SSD. Get all your record if you do not have them. Later I went to rehabilitation medicine and got a VA doctor who gave a s_it. She got really pissed off about my previous VA treatment. She scheduled $3000.00 more worth of tests and sent me to physical therapy.

This is a good case to read even though the claim for a higher rating was denied. You can learn form it.

http://www4.va.gov/vetapp10/files3/1020967.txt

In my state labor law prohibits an employer from allowing an individual to work at a job that aggravates a pre-existing disability. It is possible that you will not be able to pass pre-employment physicals for many types of jobs. The trick is to find jobs that will not aggravate your condition. Once the employer gets a doctor’s report that your job is aggravating your back they will terminate your employment. In this state if you miss three consecutive days of work you must get a doctors release to return to work. The release does not need to say specifically what the reason was why you missed work. All he needs to say is you were sick. Check your local laws.

I worked at jobs where the employer was a friend and I did not worry much about losing my job. There were times I could not work for up to a month. Then there were times where my employment was terminated during my absence. The employer also has rights. The law varies depending on how many employees the company has and your specific job duties. The ADA will not guarantee you a job. There are a lot of variables. You almost need to get a lawyer to advise you how to navigate your way through the labor market.

Start researching job search workshops and information on your rights while employed. There is a book that is very popular called “What Color is Your Parachute”. It is required reading in many job search workshops.

Do not jump up and down or from a high step down to a lower step. I learned the hard way about this problem. Fortunately, it took me only two episodes to learn my lesson. I could not function for a month each time.

I have been hanging around with folks who also have back issues. When I was in my thirties I really thought I was disabled. As I got older I was able to expand my activities. I know people who could not swing a golf club for a year and a half who recovered without surgery. Here is some good news. The guy who could not play golf for a year and a half is now able to walk a 7000 yard hilly golf course. Even though I have this back problem I can play golf as long as I take a cart on a course that allows me to drive on the grass within thirty feet of the greens. I can drive a golf ball 300 Yards. I won a long drive contest for old farts last week. Most of my problems are weight bearing. I can turn and bend fairly well without aggravating my back. I do not lift or push anything over twenty pounds.

[retiredat44]

When I get my other claims through, I wil pursue back claims. But, with degenerative disc disease, they will probably say it was a pre-exisitng condition...

they have made me so angry, I wil go through every condtion I have...

I would have stopped at just the 6 conditions/diseases, that I am fighting for, but since they are all out total scum for making me go through appeals for everything,, I will push many more conditions..

The anger is pushing me..

I know I will die before they lgo through (am pretty sure I will, as people with pancreas disease usually do not last long..).

Edited November 1, 2010 by retiredat44