Parkinsons Disease

[boomer2]

Hope the VA does not try to get this disease taken off the presumptive AO list..

Check link

http://gma.yahoo.com/exposure-toxic-solvents-linked-parkinsons-disease-140407014.html

[Papa]

MY neurologist scheduled an MRI for my brain, because of symptoms that fit several neuro diseases,,, I will have the mri in about 2 weeks... hopefully I will get more diagnoses in June... and then send them in with my appeal stuff for that part of my claim..

latest symptom developing is numbness on left side of my body... already been suffering from uncontrollable moving and shaking and tremors for many years... last mri for the brain was on active duty for headaches from chemicals.. 30 years ago..... I am unable to hold a cup of water in left hand.. without the cup going wild and water everywhere..

feels very numb,, sometimes when I rest left arm turns into a limb that I must carry with my right hand until it comes back... not like sleeping, more like a dead arm.. he poked me with a needle and I ask him to push it in and sharpen it so I could feel it.. left foot the muscles often twist and look like prezels.. and hurt bad... knee totally goes bad and can't walk somedays after walking a short disance.. and I need to find out if the diabetes is starting again, from the pancreas disease.. legs are still swollen from the calf up..

fits symptoms of both Parkinsons and MS... the shaking .... pain.... moving my limbs....

cloneazapam seems to hellp alot for the wild kicking, but he cannot give any more proponolo because of the pancreas disease..

I have been on Cloneazapam for some time for panic attacks at bed time. At my last Nuerologist appointment he increased my Cloneazpam from 2 pills at bed time to 2 pills at night plus 2 during the daytime. I started to kick wildly in bed and swing my fists while asleep. I too have the shaking, pain and moving of the limbs. I have already been Dx'd with PD. Have not bben able to write with one hand, drink without a lid, nor eat like a human since vietnam.

Please do not do like I did and file just for PD, if you are Dx'd for it, but you must file for every element of PD. If not, you will get what I did, 30%.

papa

[retiredat44]

I have been on Cloneazapam for some time for panic attacks at bed time. At my last Nuerologist appointment he increased my Cloneazpam from 2 pills at bed time to 2 pills at night plus 2 during the daytime. I started to kick wildly in bed and swing my fists while asleep. I too have the shaking, pain and moving of the limbs. I have already been Dx'd with PD. Have not bben able to write with one hand, drink without a lid, nor eat like a human since vietnam.

Please do not do like I did and file just for PD, if you are Dx'd for it, but you must file for every element of PD. If not, you will get what I did, 30%.

papa

Since my claim is such a mess with 3 issues definitely (probably going to BVA) and 3 issues no decision yet from DRO hearing 2010, and at least 2 issues are related to neurology.. I will definitely listen to your advice.. I cannot add any issues to my claim until these are finished.. I can add any more tests I get to my current claim but will not open any new claims until these get through the system. The claims people.. already screwed up when I asked them to consider speeding up my claim as hardship, they must have gotten the claim file I gave them in April, just read it 5 weeks later in May,.. and thought I was filing a new claim, when 'I was only asking my current claims be treated as hardship..'.... they said something like we will not work on your claim until you tell us if these are new claims.. I was totally blown away and extremely Pissed when I got that letter a few days ago,..

My congressman's office.. responded also with a letter saying VA disability claim my case has been flagged for review every few months to see if there is progress.. but they didn't say anything about hardship..

There is nothing else i can do... The VA has a huge problem when they only communicate in one direction, no is and questions can be addressed if they refuse to communicate with Vets.. They never speak to vets, they just send letters out with bad news.. if the claims people would cal and say hey, I just want to know blah, blah, blah, it would clear up most of the problems in veterans files.. but for some reason, they just refuse to communicate.. When you send them anything, they twist it and turn it upside down trying to ruin your file, and your claim...

I sent back a new form and said those papers were asking for my claim to be treated as hardship for serious life threatening health issues and I do not want to die before they get to my claim.. I will definitely check with my VSO if the doctors find new evidence of more diseases like PD... and ask what they think I should do..

I already have doctors notes and diagnosis for several neuro diseases... and they go back many years... and more new dx come every year...

I am not quite sure about what every element is of the diagnosis... I already have a claim in for tremors, in fact it was re-opened, I had claimed it in 1997, but it was denied... the doctors diagnosed me while on active duty with tremors in 1980. Then a few years ago, I got a diagnosis of Myotonic Dystrophy,, (like Muscular Dystrophy). Also been diagnosed with distal polyneuropathy.. I also calimed MS, in 1997, but it too was denied..

I have to find out about the elements of PD.

does that mean a break down of each symptom? Or each seperate disease?

Like tremors? weakness? Numbness, balance? Muscles wasting?

The kicking and arms throwing,,, and flailing,, and bat wing arm flapping.. isn't the only problem, also twisting so bad the bones dislocate in the feet.. and toes..

there are times I cannot get words out when I speak. eat has been very hard for a long long time,, I also have not had teeth for 12 years..

The cloneazapam works great,,, it helps a whole bunch,, but the doctor cannot increase meds because of pancreas disease..

the tremors, shaking, muscle wasting...: etc..

Nurses and doctors observed me in my bed 24/7 for 6 months shaking so bad i could not hold objects, I had to wear armbands for such physical issues and prone to falling..

my neurologist confirmed they put those notes in my medical records...

lets see what the mri's show in the coming weeks.. I suspect they are looking for lesions..

I think my last mri of my brain was in Germany in 1980.. that was for the damage from chemicals headaches, and I also had a TBI from a head injury ( concussion) when i was assaulted by another service member.. I had him arrested.. I have had too many mri's, cat scan, x-rays and more to count.. hundreds,,

in 2008 I had at least 4 or 5 xrays, cat scan, etc per week for 6 months, now I have to get them every 6 months.. if not more..

Edited May 27, 2012 by retiredat44

[Papa]

Since my claim is such a mess with 3 issues definitely (probably going to BVA) and 3 issues no decision yet from DRO hearing 2010, and at least 2 issues are related to neurology.. I will definitely listen to your advice.. I cannot add any issues to my claim until these are finished.. I can add any more tests I get to my current claim but will not open any new claims until these get through the system. The claims people.. already screwed up when I asked them to consider speeding up my claim as hardship, they must have gotten the claim file I gave them in April, just read it 5 weeks later in May,.. and thought I was filing a new claim, when 'I was only asking my current claims be treated as hardship..'.... they said something like we will not work on your claim until you tell us if these are new claims.. I was totally blown away and extremely Pissed when I got that letter a few days ago,..

My congressman's office.. responded also with a letter saying VA disability claim my case has been flagged for review every few months to see if there is progress.. but they didn't say anything about hardship..

There is nothing else i can do... The VA has a huge problem when they only communicate in one direction, no is and questions can be addressed if they refuse to communicate with Vets.. They never speak to vets, they just send letters out with bad news.. if the claims people would cal and say hey, I just want to know blah, blah, blah, it would clear up most of the problems in veterans files.. but for some reason, they just refuse to communicate.. When you send them anything, they twist it and turn it upside down trying to ruin your file, and your claim...

I sent back a new form and said those papers were asking for my claim to be treated as hardship for serious life threatening health issues and I do not want to die before they get to my claim.. I will definitely check with my VSO if the doctors find new evidence of more diseases like PD... and ask what they think I should do..

I already have doctors notes and diagnosis for several neuro diseases... and they go back many years... and more new dx come every year...

I am not quite sure about what every element is of the diagnosis... I already have a claim in for tremors, in fact it was re-opened, I had claimed it in 1997, but it was denied... the doctors diagnosed me while on active duty with tremors in 1980. Then a few years ago, I got a diagnosis of Myotonic Dystrophy,, (like Muscular Dystrophy). Also been diagnosed with distal polyneuropathy.. I also calimed MS, in 1997, but it too was denied..

I have to find out about the elements of PD.

does that mean a break down of each symptom? Or each seperate disease?

Like tremors? weakness? Numbness, balance? Muscles wasting?

The kicking and arms throwing,,, and flailing,, and bat wing arm flapping.. isn't the only problem, also twisting so bad the bones dislocate in the feet.. and toes..

there are times I cannot get words out when I speak. eat has been very hard for a long long time,, I also have not had teeth for 12 years..

The cloneazapam works great,,, it helps a whole bunch,, but the doctor cannot increase meds because of pancreas disease..

the tremors, shaking, muscle wasting...: etc..

Nurses and doctors observed me in my bed 24/7 for 6 months shaking so bad i could not hold objects, I had to wear armbands for such physical issues and prone to falling..

my neurologist confirmed they put those notes in my medical records...

lets see what the mri's show in the coming weeks.. I suspect they are looking for lesions..

I think my last mri of my brain was in Germany in 1980.. that was for the damage from chemicals headaches, and I also had a TBI from a head injury ( concussion) when i was assaulted by another service member.. I had him arrested.. I have had too many mri's, cat scan, x-rays and more to count.. hundreds,,

in 2008 I had at least 4 or 5 xrays, cat scan, etc per week for 6 months, now I have to get them every 6 months.. if not more..

For PD you have to file seperate for tremors, rigidity, inbalance, lack of taste and smell, contipation, and I know there are more. But, what gets my butt is that people who file under Social Security are considered totally disabled with PD. I told my Neurologist that the VA gave me 30%, he said there is no such thing as 30% PD. It is 100%.

Papa

[retiredat44]

I was searching here and around about diabetes, Parkinsons, and tremors, pancreas, etc..

it appears that that people here, usually only talk about one thing, and not a combination of symptoms, diseases, etc... I guess I am a rare case where I have either been diagnosed with or have symptoms of pancreas disease, tremors,, diabetes symptoms (had to have insulin shots a few years ago, but currently not..)... I am looking to see if any others have many disease together... but apparently, not many others do... just me... (like i said, I have a brain MRI coming up next week..). so maybe more answers... and my nightmare appeals that drag on..