ptsd Your Thoughts Please

[jhilly]

I wrote the VA about a RPG attack on my convoy which caused my head to strike the vehicle and chip my tooth. I didn't get any help. One day, which was 1 1/2 years after my letter, my PTSD doc asks me out of the blue if I ever had a head injury in Iraq and I told her about the RPG attack.

She ordered a TBI examine for me and a sleep study. The TBI nurse does the examine and says I have TBI. She write a progress report that says my TBI was caused by my injury I suffered in Iraq. The sleep study was positive for severe OSA.

My PTSD doc writes a report and says I have TBI, PTSD and OSA and they are related.

I filed a claim for all three.

This was done 7 years after I returned from Iraq but my PTSD doc says she feels and can tell from my medical records that I asked for help but no one helped me or did the head injury examine which is why she did. I haven't heard anything from the VA since filing in Feb. The VA only ordered a hearing test for me which the doc says I have mod hearing loss in one ear and mod to severe hearing loss in another ear and she documented my tennitius.

Anyone thoughts of my chances on this claim?

[Guest]

This is just my opinion but for some reason VA has not reviewed your claims for PTSD, TBI and OSA. Since it has been about four months, you can call and check on the status of these claims or you can send an Iris to check on the status of these claims. Keep in mind that VA will claim that they have a back log of claims and they have just not gotten to your claims yet. You could even take a trip to your RO and review your C-file to see if your claims have been attached to your file. Have you had any C & P exams?

Edited June 22, 2011 by pete992

[Philip Rogers]

They should've sent you a letter confirmimg receipt of your claim and a VCAA letter, stating what you need to do. I agree w/pete992, that you may want to make an appointment to review your c-file, and after the review get a copy of it. You may have an informal claim from a yr and a half ago, also. I'd definitely pursue it! jmo

pr

[timetowinarace]

I wrote the VA about a RPG attack on my convoy which caused my head to strike the vehicle and chip my tooth. I didn't get any help. One day, which was 1 1/2 years after my letter, my PTSD doc asks me out of the blue if I ever had a head injury in Iraq and I told her about the RPG attack.

She ordered a TBI examine for me and a sleep study. The TBI nurse does the examine and says I have TBI. She write a progress report that says my TBI was caused by my injury I suffered in Iraq. The sleep study was positive for severe OSA.

My PTSD doc writes a report and says I have TBI, PTSD and OSA and they are related.

I filed a claim for all three.

This was done 7 years after I returned from Iraq but my PTSD doc says she feels and can tell from my medical records that I asked for help but no one helped me or did the head injury examine which is why she did. I haven't heard anything from the VA since filing in Feb. The VA only ordered a hearing test for me which the doc says I have mod hearing loss in one ear and mod to severe hearing loss in another ear and she documented my tennitius.

Anyone thoughts of my chances on this claim?

Did you file a claim for hearing loss & tinnitus? And was the hearing test a C&P?

As the others have stated, you should have received conformation from the VA that the claims were received. You should do as others have said and check on them. Also, file on the hearing loss and tinnitus as you can be rated for them and they help confirm the injury.

Also, do you have records of the RPG attack. medical or dental. Did you see anyone at the time?

Is your tbi doc a psychiatrist or psychologist? You could use neuro-psych testing. It will help determine the extent of the tbi for treatment and more importantly for claims. It is neccisary(required) to have this testing in order to receive a higher than 40% rating for tbi related cognative problems(memory and attention, learning, ect)

[jhilly]

thx for the responses...I did received a VCAA around March for my 14 claims I submitted in Jan....which included OSA and TBI.....hearing loss was not on it, so I wrote a letter to the VA about it...they wrote me back and amended it to include the hearing loss...I received an automated call two days later saying I had an appointment the next day. I called and checked on it because I did not received anything in the mail and I learned that it was for a C & P for a hearing test. I went and the C & P doc said I have mod hearing loss in one ear and mod to severe in the other ear. She asked me if I ever had a head injury and I told her yes, in Iraq..

But, of the 14 items I filed a claim for in Jan, I have only had a C & P for the hearing loss. Plus this is the second hearing test that I have had. My VA doc sent me to a fee basis hearing test in Feb also and I was issued hearing aids...plus that hearing doc said he was documenting my tennitius and I should get 10% for that..

Should I expect other C & Ps or will the VA use the evidence they have...I called to check on my claims and I was told that my claims were at the development stage..the next stage was the decision stage and then notification...

I was also told that 6 other items I appealed were at the decision stage and next would be notification...would the VA do it all at once or handle the appeals separate from the additional 14 items I submitted in January...I appealed the other 6 items last Oct....PTSD was in my appeal because I was rated for anxiety in Jul 2010...I filed an appeal for an increase and the dianosis to be PTSD instead of aniety....I have since received info from this board not to worry about the term so much...

[Guest]

VA considers PTSD as an anxiety disorder, they both fall under the same category of mental health. You currently have in appeals and new claims issues, In my opinion VA will try to process your new claims and then process your appeals. Appeals are taken up to five or six years, in some cases VA may try to work these claims at the RO level. You may have a chance of getting your PTSD/Anxiety claim increased at the RO level but don't hold me to that. You never know what VA will do. You will probably get new C & P exams for the new issues you recently claimed

Edited June 22, 2011 by pete992

[timetowinarace]

Okay, the appeals and new claims are slowing down the proccess.

Yes, you'll receive C&P's for the new claims.

Given the amount of problems you have, anxiaty and PTSD go along with tbi often, I strongly reccomend you have neuro-psych testing done. You may have more problems than you realize and your rating can be higher with the testing.

The VA will have to sort out tbi problems with the anxiaty and PTSD since they co-mingle(symptoms of all three can be the same and overlap). They will be rated at the same time. Or should be.

Edited June 22, 2011 by timetowinarace