Why Is This Process So Stressful?

[autumn]

**if this topic should be moved elsewhere, just let me know moderator as i didn't know whey to put it

when we veterans have our claims sent in with (documentation, corroboration, history, med reports, imo, etc) why is this process so stressful? or let me say stressful to me"me". the whole process has actually increased some of my symptoms that i'm SC'd for. i'm sure many of you can relate to that. just a fact, no complaint.

i can't really put it into words or perspective, this stressor of filing claims with the VA. its not only mental & physical, its financial stress, i.e. some of us have to get outside imo due to no one at VA will document the real deal, medically speaking. like a truthful supportive counter argument to what VA writes.

i thought i would ask this for myself and any other newbie to the system in that it might help them & me understand (if anything at the VA is understandable regarding claims)

[autumn]

It's so stressful because:

The quality of the rest of your life depends upon the outcome.

You were promised that they "had your back" if anything bad happened, yet you must sacrifice and live like a peon for months and years to get your due.

You are made to feel like you're a lying thief because you can't work.

Others are envious that you aren't working and some want you to "prove your case" with them.

You can't trust the medical personnel and government workers you've been led to believe are there on your behalf.

You must become an amateur attorney at a time in your life when you may be ill-equipped to take on that task.

Your body/mind aren't functioning well and you might become incapacitated/homeless before the process is complete.

Just a few reasons I can think of.

HANG IN THERE!

very much what i was trying to get into words. as you know my foot dropped recently due to ms exacerbation. 3 months later and i still don't have a foot brace. had to get a pt advocate to get a doc to write a rx for it due to run around at va (my perception). so yes, i do worry about the future and who/what can one rely on besides the va when stuff hits the fan. non va support costs money, so again, a bit of a stressor.

[autumn]

The VBA only cares about money. Many VA employees believe it is their God given duty to deny vet's claims because they have been taught by their elders that most vets are frauds and freeloaders. Do you wonder why it takes years for SSD or VA benefits? They are hoping you die before you collect. Our mission is to evade and avoid their paperwork traps to get to the goal. I have always looked at it that way even when I was losing. If you blow your brains out before you win your claim a little bell rings at the VARO. Another one bites the dust....high five!

sure seems that way. no intention of quitting this fight, which a fight it is. this fight does have collateral damages. health gets a bit worse, friends leave, relationships go by the wayside, etc. too late to give a 'sh!t' about such things for me.

that sure seems like that is their mission, as their actions back that up. though they smile and talk junk, their actions speak otherwise as you say and have experienced.

this happens to soo many veterans for soo many years.

well, the public is now storming banks and protesting, how much longer will it be before veterans do the same at VARO's?

[autumn]

I hear ya brother or sister. It is a struggle now, before the internet it was just unexplainable.

Quote from my About Page:

thank you for the post. actually i can relate to your story, really. it helps. a little about me if ok. maybe it helps someone else.

-lived with untreated/undiagnosed MS for 22yrs. VA acknowleged it only after IMO

-years the VA sends me to shrinks for most things as, "its all in your head, man" or "you have something but we can't see what"

-tried suicide twice over 20yrs ago. boy did the VA use that to their advantage. pretty dark time back then. too much drink and too many weird body aches/pains. quit drinking then

-stumbled onto hadit.com and started gathering records and learned of IMO's.

-followed through on many suggestions from hadit.com

-filed for C&P to get a diagnosis

-got diagnosis and out of the blue, examiner wrote "service connected"

-VA service connected me for MS in 2010 and "considered the matter closed". now waiting on secondary condition ratings, had to get congressional help to get the appropriate medical appoints for that too. VA/VARO mentioned they just didn't know that much about MS here or so the examiner told me in not so many words.

- got SSD no questions asked after seeing medical records. wonder what they see that the VA won't see?

-over a year now, and no ratings for MS secondary conditions

thanks for the posts here folks. its a bit therapeutic and informative to put things into perspective. maybe it'll help another

[Pete53]

How in the World Veterans hang in for years waiting for 100% is beyond me. I tyruly believe that Veterans are survivors of the highest order.

Thank you Tbird there is absolutely no telling how many Hadit has helped win claims.

I also want to thank the Veterans who hang around and help other Veterans on Hadit.

And the most important people of all the newbies who come and ask questions.

Because of questions asked on Hadit I got SMC S rating and a new shower.

God Bless Us All

[john999]

I think the VA knows that most vets will give up after a few years. Others will settle for a low ball rating. A few will persist until they get the maximum. Stonewalling is a great strategy for an institution that exists to give the impression they are taking care of vets.

[retiredat44]

These are just a few of the many reasons why it is so painfully stressful:

(IMHO)

1)You know you are right, they are wrong

2)They overlook clear evidence that is already in your SMR's, put in by military during active duty

3)They treat people badly, like they have no heart, no soul (a number)

4)They make you feel like you are fighting a criminal conviction

5)The VA is so slow, many people are scared they wil die before their case goes through

6)The VA is setup so it takes a minimum of 2 years to actually speak tto someone face-2-face to explain your case in your own words

7)It appears a Disabled Veterans needs training in both medical and legal just to file papers and speak V.A., B.S.

8)If the Veteran does get legal help, often the help isn't as helpful as hoped or needed.

9)The rules seem to be encrypted, hard to find, hard to understand, even to the educated in such matters as Disability Law, etc.

10)If the Vet has suffered in pain, from a little to unbearable, the VA adds much greater stress.

11)The financial hardship, especially if the Vet is unable to work, destroys quality of life, family. This usually is forever. Even if corrected by appeals.

12)Most the time one must go through years of appeals.

13)If one does win appeals, the phsycological damage is there forever, even after the win.

14)Some VA letters Vets receive from the VA, can be devastating, and cause Disabled Vets extreme greif.

15)The sick, disabled (or both) Vet usually has to find a specialist doctor on the outside, to write an IMO. These can be extremely expensive. As, most the time, the VA doctors will not write IMO's.

16)The disabled Vet finds out they could have done something better, missed soem step that would have made the process much much better, and gets screwed out of many years of medical help, financial help, family benefits, and a very long list of items and benefits which the Vet legally should have gotten a long while back, and will most liely never recover what could have been the whole time. (and the VA knew damned well the Vet was legally entitled but never told the Vet).

more coming..

Edited October 4, 2011 by retiredat44