Disability Claim For Bipolar Disorder - Any Help Would Be Appreciated!

[kkarlson]

Hi everyone,

I have been reading through several posts from people with similar issues. I have a few specific questions that I would love to get feedback on, though I also know that each and every claim is unique and there is no such thing as time frames or standards associated with a VA Disability Claim. However, any advise or personal experience you can share would go a very long way!

Background on my story:

I was medically separated from the US Air Force after a little over three years, honorably, after being found to be Axis 1 bipolar 2, Axis 2 personality disorder, self-defeating traits, and ADHD by a medical review board at Lackland Air Force Base in 2007. My separation paperwork clearly states that my condition was found to be NOT EXISTING PRIOR TO SERVICE and/or PERMANENTLY AGGITATED BY MILITARY SERVICE. This, I know, is in my favor. I didn't file a claim right away because I was unsure of how to go about it, then later found out that it can be done online, so that is what I did. I opened my claim for bipolar 2/ADHD along with degenerative disk disease (also diagnosed during service,) back in June of 2011 with the Chicago, IL Regional Office. We are coming up on a full year now and I have supplied more than sufficient documentation (including medical records during service, medical records for current treatment, letters of support from family and friends etc.,) and the VA has had it on file now since my claim entered "Review of Evidence" status on October 24, 2011, yet I have had ZERO correspondance from the VA. I have called on several occassions inquiring on the status to no avail. I continue to receive notifications stating that "We continue to review your claim and it will be processed as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience." I understand that the VA is very far behind due to being under-staffed, and the explosion of claims coming in from soldiers returning home from overseas (God bless them all.) I am not complaining about how long it has taken to this point, but I would like to know if there is a light at the end of this tunnell. Anyone shared in a similar claim that has any insight as to where it will go from here would be fantastic (i.e. will I need to have a C&P Exam since I was diagnosed while in the military and it was found to be not existing prior to service? How much longer might this go? What kind of rating can I expect? etc.)

I believe I am at least 50% disabled due to this condition. I am writing this long post because I am going through yet another manic episode, shaking from the Adderall I have to take daily just to remain focused on my job and family. This condition has caused me to distance myself from those who care about me, contributed to several episodes of infidelity with my previous wife (obviously we divorced,) a loss of employment (working again, but was laid off due to work related issues,) extreme mood swings, sleep deprivation, mild memory loss, panic attacks, impussive spending, alcohol abuse, increase in narcasistic tendencies, eating disorders, drug abuse (not illicit drugs, but stimulants,) severe depression and self loathing, self-defeating traits etc. It has been terrible to deal with, needless to say. Not only for me, but for my family as well. I had a really rough experience while in the Air Force and I was both physically and verbally abused quite often, starting in basic training and all the way through my three + years. I began to lash out and fight back which made matters much worse. To this day, while I have fewer stressors, I continue to battle tendencies caused by this disease. I have documented all of these issues for the VA so that is all part of my claim.

If you have read my entire rant and haven't run for the hills yet, I applaud you and sincerely appreciate you hearing me out. Like I said earlier, if anyone has any first-hand knowledge as to what I can expect moving forward, it would be wonderful. Here are the questions I would like to get some "best guesses" on:

1. Considering the evidence I have mentioned above, what would be a "reasonable" rating percentage in your best opinion?

2. How much longer can I expect to wait to hear about a C&P Exam, or my claim entering the prep for decision phase (considering the thoroughness of my claim and assuming they have everything they need to make a decision, of course.)?

Once again, thank you in advance for any help you may be able to offer.

Best Regards.

Edited April 18, 2012 by kkarlson

[Hoppy]

Here is some background on psych claims. This may give you some insulation and hope if the VA becomes adversarial with your claim. I have had success in the past dealing with BS from VA clinicians. There are clinicians who work in the VA system who will give up a proper workup. However, I have been running into a lot of bogus VA shrinks in recent years. There is no guarantee.

It sounds like you were rated at 10% for some type of mental condition. We had a veteran who posted on hadit who was rated at 10% by the military for a psychotic condition. The VA sent him to a psychiatrist who said he did not agree with the diagnosis made in the military and re-diagnosed the veteran with a personality disorder. He was reduced to “0%”. The key was that the C&P examiner said he did not have a psychotic condition and his only diagnosis was the personality disorder. This all happened in the seventies.

If you have both a personality disorder and an axis 1 disorder diagnosed in the military they can service connect the axis 1 disorder. The law refers to the axis one disorder as being superimposed on the personality disorder. Now to bring things up to recent events.

I have assisted with two mental health claims in the last year. One claim was for panic disorder. The veteran clearly met the criteria for panic disorder. However, the C&P examiner reversed the logic and said the personality disorder was superimposed on the axis 1 disorder. I do not feel this was just a terminology issue. The C&P examiner went to extremes to try and undermine the veteran’s claims. He even said the panic disorder was caused by a personality disorder. John was right. There is no procedure for determining the cause of most axis 1 disorders. The DSM IV is what they call atheoritical. In other words there is very little instruction and criteria for determining the cause of most mental conditions. There are various theories as to what causes axis 1 disorders. However, the mainstream clinicians are of the opinion there is no reliable way to determine which theory is dominating. Thus, it is pretty easy to rebut any VA psychiatrist who ties to say that an axis 1 disorder is caused by a personality disorder.

Another trick I encountered was a VA contract C&P examiner who called himself a “forensic psychiatrist” said that the veteran’s axis 1 condition was mild and that the severe symptoms of PD were dominating. This type of analysis takes very strong logic and most psychiatrists cannot support this type of determination. I have successfully rebutted this tactic.

The other claim was for Major depressive disorder. The VA C&P examiners said that the MDD was not related to service and was the result of hardships that occurred after the service. The C&P examiners went into great detail as to what was causing the veterans MDD. It was all BS. I successfully pointed out omissions based on known research in the C&P examiners report. Also, I provided an argument that there were underlying unresolved issues from the military that were not addressed in the C&P exam.

The problem is that VA raters give weight to these bogus assessments made by psychiatrists and then the veteran needs to get an IMO to rebut the BS. In the panic disorder claim I had to get a very experienced clinician to write a report. In the MDD claim pointing out the omissions in the C&P report and the existence of research showing the underlying issues that were related to service I identified were linked to MDD, was all that was needed.

[kkarlson]

Well, Hoppy, it looks as though I may have underestimated the potential of the scenario of me getting absoutely nothing out of this actually happening. Is it fair to say that my claim being processed properly comes down to the "luck of the draw" depending on the VA examiner, instead of cold hard facts? If that's the case, I better prepare myself for the possibility I may have to fight for what is right for a long time. For an agency that is supposed to assist those who served, and do what is best for the veteran by compensating disabilities that occurred in the line of duty, they sure do have a funny way of fullfilling their objectives. Sheesh!

[sngbm87]

Hi everyone,

I have been reading through several posts from people with similar issues. I have a few specific questions that I would love to get feedback on, though I also know that each and every claim is unique and there is no such thing as time frames or standards associated with a VA Disability Claim. However, any advise or personal experience you can share would go a very long way!

Background on my story:

I was medically separated from the US Air Force after a little over three years, honorably, after being found to be Axis 1 bipolar 2, Axis 2 personality disorder, self-defeating traits, and ADHD by a medical review board at Lackland Air Force Base in 2007. My separation paperwork clearly states that my condition was found to be NOT EXISTING PRIOR TO SERVICE and/or PERMANENTLY AGGITATED BY MILITARY SERVICE. This, I know, is in my favor. I didn't file a claim right away because I was unsure of how to go about it, then later found out that it can be done online, so that is what I did. I opened my claim for bipolar 2/ADHD along with degenerative disk disease (also diagnosed during service,) back in June of 2011 with the Chicago, IL Regional Office. We are coming up on a full year now and I have supplied more than sufficient documentation (including medical records during service, medical records for current treatment, letters of support from family and friends etc.,) and the VA has had it on file now since my claim entered "Review of Evidence" status on October 24, 2011, yet I have had ZERO correspondance from the VA. I have called on several occassions inquiring on the status to no avail. I continue to receive notifications stating that "We continue to review your claim and it will be processed as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience." I understand that the VA is very far behind due to being under-staffed, and the explosion of claims coming in from soldiers returning home from overseas (God bless them all.) I am not complaining about how long it has taken to this point, but I would like to know if there is a light at the end of this tunnell. Anyone shared in a similar claim that has any insight as to where it will go from here would be fantastic (i.e. will I need to have a C&P Exam since I was diagnosed while in the military and it was found to be not existing prior to service? How much longer might this go? What kind of rating can I expect? etc.)

I believe I am at least 50% disabled due to this condition. I am writing this long post because I am going through yet another manic episode, shaking from the Adderall I have to take daily just to remain focused on my job and family. This condition has caused me to distance myself from those who care about me, contributed to several episodes of infidelity with my previous wife (obviously we divorced,) a loss of employment (working again, but was laid off due to work related issues,) extreme mood swings, sleep deprivation, mild memory loss, panic attacks, impussive spending, alcohol abuse, increase in narcasistic tendencies, eating disorders, drug abuse (not illicit drugs, but stimulants,) severe depression and self loathing, self-defeating traits etc. It has been terrible to deal with, needless to say. Not only for me, but for my family as well. I had a really rough experience while in the Air Force and I was both physically and verbally abused quite often, starting in basic training and all the way through my three + years. I began to lash out and fight back which made matters much worse. To this day, while I have fewer stressors, I continue to battle tendencies caused by this disease. I have documented all of these issues for the VA so that is all part of my claim.

If you have read my entire rant and haven't run for the hills yet, I applaud you and sincerely appreciate you hearing me out. Like I said earlier, if anyone has any first-hand knowledge as to what I can expect moving forward, it would be wonderful. Here are the questions I would like to get some "best guesses" on:

1. Considering the evidence I have mentioned above, what would be a "reasonable" rating percentage in your best opinion?

2. How much longer can I expect to wait to hear about a C&P Exam, or my claim entering the prep for decision phase (considering the thoroughness of my claim and assuming they have everything they need to make a decision, of course.)?

Once again, thank you in advance for any help you may be able to offer.

Best Regards.

Hey. I'm rated and discharged for the same. Got in the VA system just a few months in 07. I"m sitting at 70% with that alone. I think I know you.

Lackland AFB (Wilford Hall) from Feb 2007 to July 2007. Placed on TDRL Status from July 2007 to October 2010. I think we went through the same doctors.

[sngbm87]

Thanks for the reply/advise Donna68,

To answer your question about the Adderall - It is a very fragile situation for me because the Adderall is the only medication that I found that benefits me the most. I have my wife helping monitor any potential overuse, but luckily I do have strong willpower and the ability to recognize when I am not right. I wish I knew of an alternative because I don't LIKE Adderall in the slightest. It makes me very irritable, short-tempered and impatient. Neither of those qualities are normal for me.

I have done hours of research into alternatives, and I have tried to approach treatment from different directions. What it came down to, between my doctor, my family and I, was the creation of a prioritized list of symptoms that are most harmful to me and my family and the medication that resolved more of the most concerning traits just happened to be a stimulant. With that being said, I have tried several other medications with little to no effect:

- Depakote

- Geodon

- Lithium

- Prozac

- Wellbutrin

- Dexadrine (same darn thing as Adderall, basically.)

I love reading these types of forums (not this one in particular) about people's successes with various medications. It is just too bad that not everyone has the same reaction to the same medications. It is that unpredictability which has deterred me from trying anything else in the meantime.

Been on everything too and had every diagnosis out there or 3 at once depending who I see. Changes and varies. I just attend therapy and seems to do the best. Although mines different I was placed on TDRL and stuck there for almost 4 years (3 MEB PEB exams) till they permanently medically retired me.

[kkarlson]

Well, after nearly two years, I FINALLY received communication from the VA requesting two appointments (one on the 31st of May for my Bipolar claim and the other on June 4th for my Degenerative Disk Disease.) I am excited that things are finally moving along, but terrified at the same time that the examiner manipulates my exam to the benefit of the VA to deny my claim.

If anyone has experienced a bipolar VA medical exam (with understanding that they are all going to be very different) and can shed some light on what I can expect, I would greatly appreicate it. Any advise, or knowledge on the types of questions they will ask etc.? Would it be strange for me to bring in a list of problems that I have so that I don't forget any of them?

Thanks in advance!

[john999]

They will probably ask you when you were last admitted to the hospital for psychotic disorder (bipolar). They will want to know what meds you are on. They will look for signs of depression or mania. The will ask about suicide attempts. They may ask about your spending habits, sleep, work history, and your social relationships. I would read up on bipolar disorder to see which of my symptoms match those of bipolar. Have you ever seen a private psychologist? Have you ever done a MMPI? If you are having a manic or deep depression a competent shrink will identify it. That means that since you are dealing with a VA contractor or VA doctor you may have a hard time. It is best to have an independent medical opinion. I had at least three private medical opinions. If I had depended just on the VA I would still be sitting at 30%. I really don't understand why all vets claiming a emotional/mental health issue does not get a MMPI.

John