Chondromalacia, Anyone Else Had This And Gotten A Percent For It?

[retiredat44]

had my C&P for 'Chondromalacia' (Knee problem) this morning...

not sure what to make of the diagnosis,, it's constant problem I just learned to live with and took a back seat to the real big problems... has anyone else gotten a percentage for it?

yes, it was diagnosed on active duty and has continuned to be painful... and stops me from doing tasks, walking, putting the dishes away, climbing stairs..

it feels like bone on bone when the knee bends and cracks and pops..

My leggs are already swollen a bit form more problems, so you really can't see anything form the outside..

my main fight is with the pancreas disease, but htis is one of the items of my claim, which includes 6 items..

I also get treated for back disease, and get shots, in the spine every few months..

I don't get treated for the legg any more, because of the life threating disease (pancreas) and the back (degenerative disc) took priority, but have seen several doctors over the years for the legg pain...

again, just wondered if anyone else had experience with this?

(my case is very complicated with all my problems.. so I am not sure what to make of this issue, how they treat this particular health problem..as far as a claim goes..)

If it were alone with no other problems, what would they do? since I also have back problems, neuro disease problems, and limb swelling from edema,, and more how does this fit in?

[Shay]

I have had my va disability for chondromalacia grade level III in right knee since 2004 with a rating of 10% have asked for increase denied currently on appeal

[Hoppy]

I was service connected for this condition at "0" % at the time of my initial claim after discharge. I filed a claim at that time for my knee. I did not appeal the "0" % rating. You must not have filed a previous knee claim or they really blew it. The condition is a structural change that is not reverisible. Thus, I do not see how you could file a claim and not at least get a "0" % rating. If you were diagnosed in the military I do not see how they could deny the claim at this time unless they determined your other leg conditions were dominating intercurrent injuries not related to service. If it were me I would file a claim and submit the copies of the SMR showing the diagnosis. That way the will know where to look for them.

The condition has levels of severity; class 1, class 2 etc. Ten years after my discharge I filed for an upgrade and was awarded 10% based soley on the symptoms noted in the SMR. I guess if I would have appealed the "0" % ten years earlier I would have got it back then. I think it can be rated as high as 30 %. Check the rating schedule to make sure that you are rated properly.

If they examined your knee for other conditions and you do not have an formal claim for your knee I would say file a formal claim now.

[Quint7]

I also was rated 0% at discharge for this in 1994. I was given 0% for "failure to appear" for a C&P exam due to VA clerical crap. I am currently rated 20% for the knee as I've had 2 surgeries for torn cartilage and after poor advice from Docs going back to when it first was noted in 1989 my kneecap rides 2 inches to the side. I have an appeal at BVA requesting just what Hoppy had done, a rating of at least 10% going back to my discharge as my service medical records alone should've been enough to rate that, if not the current 20% but VA took the cop out of 'failing to appear leaves us no choice but to assign 0%" which is completely wrong. My example the other day on here was "a guy loses a finger in service and fails to show for an exam, do you not give him the minimum rating a loss of a finger requires by law?" No, you give him at least that.

Anyway, chrondomalacia is a condition of the cartilage from what I know and since cartilage has no bloodflow and can't regrow, etc. it is permanent. My condition was the result of a torn meniscus that was misdiagnosed for 5 of my 6 years in the Marines. They said it was everything in the world, but in the days before MRI's if it didn't show up on the X-ray it was considered inconsequential. My file even says "nothing we can do about it, doesn't rate med board" from an orthopedic specialist. Get it looked at with an MRI, you may have a tare in there and as my knee guy said, you might be able to live with it for years with just swelling and pain, but when that flap gets big enough to actually get in-between the bones you are falling down, I don't care if you're Schwarzenegger. I'm a fireman and was lucky enough to have it finally reach that point as we were picking up after a fire. I bent down to put something in a compartment on the truck and dropped right to the ground. I've needed a 2nd surgery since and will have problems forever thanks to lousy docs.

As for your back, again, MRI. I have what VA calls Intervertibreal Disc Syndrome or Degenerative Disc Disease. (IVDS/DDD). There is a lot of info on here about it. I had back problems in service and was told "Xray is negative, suck it up". I now have 2 vertebrae fused and almost lost my job because the orthopedic surgeons said 3 needed fusing which is a disqualification for firefighting but I got a top in the US neurosurgeon to meet with me and he went with the "you need 2 fused, maybe 3, we can't say til we get in there" approach and I was lucky to end up the way I did. On both cases, the VA actually has language stating the MRI is considered "the gold standard" in diagnosis so insist on it. Also, avoid orthopedic docs for anything to do with the spine. As my neurosurgeon said "They do old ladies hips, I'm a BRAIN surgeon." Ted Turner flew here specifically to have this guy do his back, I'll go with his opinion on orthopedic surgeons any day of the week.

Both conditions are absolutely going to effect you quality of life in the future, don't make the mistake I did and expect VA to do the right thing. File your claims in a well researched manner with overwhelming evidence in your favor. Good luck my friend!

[retiredat44]

My knee and legg problem happened on active duty while jumping in and out of fuel tankers.. I went to sick call for it a few times.. it started to hurt bad, and never got better, just continues to get worse.. I used to go see a doctor in the 1980's who sent me to physical therapy, then I develped degenative disc disease and a disc broke.. the VA saw me for leg and foot pain, neuro disease, panceas disease,..then I also developed neuro diseases (also was treated with medicine on active duty by doctors for shaking), and swollen limbs from chemicals I worked with fuels and cleaning solvents. (currently 50% for headaches).,, (also treat for concusion, struck in the head by some jerk on active duty, don't worry, I had them arrested, and was treated by the base doctors).

I had health insurance through Kaiser for about 7 years, they treated me for the leg and back, gastritis, gallbladder surgery, Lamonectomy (L-4)...

I have been taking narcotics for pain for 20 years..

I lost everything as I got sicker and went total disability in the 1990's. I started getting treatments with VA health insurance in the 1990's, where they have been treating me for intestinal disease, eye disease, back disease, legg and foot pain, neurolgoly, physchologist have seen me for about 13 years.. 12 years ago my teeth disolved from intestinal disease (yes dissolved, a condition when teeth melt away and lose the substance that make enamel due to lack of proper nutrition due to intestinal disease) the VA refused to even look at my teeth, and they were falling out , and melting, and sharp as glass cutting my mouth to shreds, I had them all pulled at a dental shcool for a discount...

then , a few years later..

I had a 5 inch cyst on the head of my pancreas, and several bad infections... 2x in the operating room, draining of liquid around ly lungs with long needles.. very bad infections, sepsis, and lots more... and 6 months later the infections slowed down and I was able to stay at home after having 2 nurses from the VA come to my home and help me,, they also gave me a special electric bed to raise my leggs to drain the water, as my leggs swell.. splenic vien thrombosis,, (also was portal vein thrombosis).

The liver clinic was close to surgically installing a draining tube in my liver because of lack of drainage for some stuff.., but, the levels went back to 50 (close to normal), they were at 500 (albimum. will look up the proper name soon, it makes you turn yellow and goes into the digestive tract and causes the yellow appearance when you get jaundice)

at one point I was too weak and sick to walk, but that was also from being in a hospital bed for 6 months.. and was bedridden then stuck in a wheel chair..

My legg took a back seat to all the really big life threating problems,,

I have also since developed glaucoma on top of cataracts (and some mole on my lense in my eye),, I had the cataracts on active duty and the doctors knew I had them but gave me a waiver because they were dormant..

I know I forgot lots of stuff..

I have been to the emergency room (a couple time recently) for an intestinal infection, another infection in the urinary tract..

I Have had an ongoing nasal fection, or just puss from sinusitis or rhinitis from the feeding tube I had in my nose for 6 months..

I have no clue if they will try to link different problems together or leave them seperate..

My claim,

Knee, intestinal (was hospitalized for gastritis and also pnumonia on active duty)(pancreas), depression, swollen limbs (was treated for big arms and hands swelling on active duty), neurolgical disease (tremors, for which I was given meds on active duty) (the doctors said it was Myotonic Dystropy, then, they said somethings else, then they don't know exactly, but I take several meds for involuntary body movements, jerking, shaking, muscles twist in my feet, arms, and hands and move by themselves, twisting my toes and also sometimes my fingers (the pain when they twist is horrific, the dislocate and trun into knots.....).. and problems walking too.. no balance and weak..), so just say neuro, I need to lookup all the issues I missed one or two...

My claim in the 1990's for M.S. was denied.. but again, they gave me 50% for headaches back then..

What a mess!

I got an IMO for the pancreas from a toxicologist doctor and added it to my claim a couple years ago... she specializes in people working with toxic chemicals and illnesses from those, including pertoleum chemicals, fuels, cleaning solvents, etc.. that was $1,600 and she said each inch of paper would be $600. I could not afford any more... I want to find a neurolgist too, but since then, the neurogists at the VA see me every few months.. but it would have been nive to get a neuro IMO..

for those that don't remember or don't know

I worked with jet fuel, dieseal, leaded gasoline (fuels specialist), the doctors pulled me fromt he job and said I could not work with chemicals, I am alergic to them.. I then went and wored at a weather sqaudron a few weeks, and was happy. Them one day, I got new orders and had to work with printing presses,,, after a few months, and receiving a new rating and promotiion from the new job, I got the same illnesses and swelling (swelling that causes such large swelling, the skin breaks and you leak fluids and blood fromt he skin breaking open because it cannot expand any more... from the chemicals (trichlorethelene).. used on printing presses to clean ink..

so I was sick all over again, and they sent me to work with chemicals after the doctors pulled me from all contact with chemicals..

No one at the VA claims would listen until I finally got a DRO hearing where I could explain about all the chemicals and illnesses... it took two years to get that hearing.. and am still awaiting a decsion on 3 main issues. My paperwork has been in pipline as request for BVA hearing for all issues denied.. I only got an SOC statement for three out of six issues up until now.

I had no choice but to leave the USAF after 4.5 years (I extended my enlistment for a three year tour in Europe after my first 2 years in the states. Ihad lost my jobs because of illnesses.

sorry, I linked the knee problem with all my problems,, and missed a few..

I wonder what they link and don't link..