Don't Know What To Claim?

[jet187]

Hello all,

I am getting ready to submit a claim related to Gulf War.

I tried reading the rules & regs on GWI and ended up totally confused as to what to claim for!

Do I claim GWI or Undiagnosed Illness.

I am submitting my Gulf War Registry exam records, 3 visits in 1997.

My complaints were recorded as Bleeding Gums,Joint Pain,Skin Rash,Fatigue & muscle twitching, and 2 prescriptions for the skin rash.I also want to add Asthma,Sleep Apnea & GERD.

I know the presumptives are CFS/Fibro/IBS,which I am not diagnosed for.

The way I was reading it was you could claim CFS/Fibro/IBS if diagnosed,but under the Undiagnosed Illness section it lists Signs or symptoms of a undiagnosed illness include: fatigue,skin symptoms,headaches,muscle pain,joint pain,neurological symptoms,respiratory symptoms,sleep disturbance,GI symptoms,cardivascular symptoms,weight loss, menstrual disorders.

I have the following: the fatigue, skin symptoms,joint pain,neurological symptoms(muscle twitching),respiratory symptoms(Asthma),sleep disturbance(Sleep apnea),GI symptoms(GERD).

I have read that CFS & Fibro have overlapping symptoms of which I have listed.

I am at my wits end trying to understand the regs & rules!

Do I have to be diagnosed with CFS/Fibro/IBS because my conditions overlap to file a claim related to Gulf War or do I submit the claim as undiagnosed illness due to the conditions I have listed?

Any help is much appreciated.

[Philip Rogers]

I would file for undiagnosed illnesses, listing all your symptoms. jmo

pr

[Berta]

It isnt you- these are the most perplexing regulations that VA has-in my opinion.

A good vet rep should be able to help you state the claim well ( and claim everything that could possibly have a nexus to your service)

http://www4.va.gov/vetapp10/files4/1032166.txt

about half way down this BVA decision explains the PGW qualifying illnesses.

In part:

"Persian Gulf Veteran means a Veteran who, during the Persian Gulf

War, served on active military, naval, or air service in the

Southwest Asia theater of operations, which includes Iraq,

Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi

Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, the Gulf

of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the

Red Sea, and the airspace above these locations. 38 C.F.R. §

3.317(d).

For purposes of section 3.317, there are three types of

qualifying chronic disabilities: (1) an undiagnosed illness; (2)

a medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness; and (3) a

diagnosed illness that the Secretary determines in regulations

prescribed under 38 U.S.C. § 1117(d) warrants a presumption of

service connection. 38 C.F.R. § 3.317(a)(2).”

It further details what these are.

There is no such thing as Gulf War Syndrome for claims purposes but this explains in a little detail ( as other similar BVA decision do) how to develop a claim that falls under these regulations.

Info here on the nine new GWV presumptives - and any GWV should nopt overlook them if they are symptomatic for any of these:

I did a SVR radio show- hopefully here in our SVR archives on these new presumptive too-available under a search here under the SVR show info and I think we covered the confusing and confounding GWV regs there too.

[Berta]

PS- do you have copy of your SMRs?

The link to the show and more info is in this scroll:

[jet187]

Berta & Phillip thank you for the replys & advice.

Berta yes I have my SMRs & I will listen to the show.

I am following up with my DAV rep on Monday.

Will keep you posted.

Thanks,

Jet

[Scallywag007]

You do not have to CFS/Fibro/or IBS. This has caused much confusion. These illnesses are only meant to be examples of GWI. There is a longer list that shows the presumptives including the nine infectious diseases.

I will post the info shortly

[Scallywag007]

You do not have to CFS/Fibro/or IBS. This has caused much confusion. These illnesses are only meant to be examples of GWI. There is a longer list that shows the presumptives including the nine infectious diseases.

I will post the info shortly

Here is a link to the presumptives and the criteria needed http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/associated_illnesses.asp#illnesses