Presumptive Ibs

[ghillbe]

I have a question about presumptives last week a VA DR diagnosed me having ibs after ultrasound,colin scope and endoscope, my question is I have already filed for undiagnosed for gastro problems should I file for IBS too or just sumbmit that paperwork with all the other paperwork or will the rater figure it out ? I filed for undiagnosed problems in 2010. I also have acid reflux that I was diagnosed with 5+ years ago also filed for 2010 under undiagnoased gastro problems

[Berta]

I assume you are a Gulf War veteran.

These are the original Gulf War presumptives :

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/medically-unexplained-illness.asp

In 2010, 9 more illnesses were added to this list:

Since you filed for SC 2 years ago, I would send them information regarding the IBS diagnosis. You could use a 21-4138 form available here under Forms, as a cover letter ,identifying the submission of evidence for your claim.

Have you gotten any status to your claim since filing it?

[ghillbe]

thanks berta,

yes I am a gulf vet I was in country from sept 26 to apr 14, given all shots and took the pills and my unit was at kkmc when the ammo depot was distroyed. I was in 1 st cav out of ft hood tx. I have gone to 3 C&P since dec 2010 and in my exam the dr basicly said all my stuff was tied to gulf service. I had basicly felt fine for 12 years after then I started falling apart. in apr of this year they sent me a vacc letter and that is all I have heard. On ebenifets the time line has gone from feb 2013 to sep 2012 and I dout it will hit that time frame especialy when I give them the ibs stuff.

[Berta]

"I have gone to 3 C&P since dec 2010 and in my exam the dr basicly said all my stuff was tied to gulf service. I had basicly felt fine for 12 years after then I started falling apart. in apr of this year they sent me a vacc letter"

DO I get this right? ....You filed in 2010,

you got the C & Ps since Dec 2010...

But they sent you the VCAA letter in April 2012? For the claims you filed in 2010?

As long as this is documented bu the doctor in the actual C & P opinion results , then I feel your claim is solid:

"the dr basicly said all my stuff was tied to gulf service"

but if the VA attempts t deny (I dont think they will) I feel the fact that your VCAA letter came after the C & Ps,would be a strong legal point to argue with.

You could ask them to CUE themselves.

I think sometimes that I have seen it all with the VA, but to get a VCAA letter after over a year after filing the claim, and after the exams seems to me to be a gross violation of your rights.

Did they enclose a Response form and did you sign it and send it back to them telling them either they have all evudence needed or you enclosed more evidence with the response?

I hope no one goes through what I went through.

In 2004 I got an entirely deficient VCAA letter.

It in no way could even be considered a "VCAA letter"

The reps at the time would not support me in trying to get the VA to correct it. Even the director of my reps state org sent me a letter responding to a complaint I sent to him- telling me it was a legit VCAA letter.

(After I filed a complaint with the Office of General Counsel, things changed.)

The VA had also failed to send me the formal VCAA response form and then in a denial they stated I had failed to respond -

to the response form

that they never sent to me nor is not listed as an enclosure with the "VCAA " letter I got.

Someone at hadit posted a blank VCAA response form for for me to use but I felt uncomfortable that it didnt come from the VA with their heading or my name and c file number (but I should have used it)

These forms were not on line and the member here had blanked out their identifying info on it.

I mentioned this error right away on my I-9.

The BVA concurred with me and found that my evidence had overcome any of the obvious deficits in the letter.

This whole BS added years to my claim but the good part was that it altered big time the way my former reps do business.

There is information here at hadit on what a proper VCAA letter should contain.

Widows of veterans get a VCAA letter different from veterans.

Also there must be an enclosure of a Response form that has a deadline.

It should come within a few months after the RO gets the claim .

Vet reps on a POA get a copy of the letter for the POA file.

After I had started griping to my vet reps I went over to the VAMC one day as I saw a different car at my reps office.

It was a rep from a different office minding the store, so to speak, while the other reps were at a meeting.

I asked to see my POA file and I pulled out their copy of my VCAA letter and asked him if it was valid and in compliance with the VCAA.

He immediately said Hell No- what kind of letter is this?

I asked him if he would be willing to document his opinion for me and when he found out the steps had I taken, he didnt want to get involved with my problem at all.

My long point here is that the VCAA is the most important initial document we get from the VA when we file a claim.

For any years after the enactment in 2000 of the VCAA, the BVA remanded THOUSANDS of claims due to VCAA errors that could be prejudicial to the rights of any claimant.

After H VAC hearings and other hoopla those remands have calmed down for the most part.

This stuff doesn't happen in a vacuum and ,in my opinion, a poorly prepared VCAA letter was a guarantee that a claim could be denied and off the raters desk for years, until a BVA remand occured-years later.

The VA has specific programs and templates in their PCS for VCAA letter to veterans and th type that goes to widows.

They have to actually READ the claim to develop the VCAA letter. and tell the claimant what evidence is required.

The very first thing the BVA does is read the VCAA letter. Then they read the evidence.

But if the VCAA letter was so deficient that it defied the rights of the claimant, and was prejudicial to a proper dcision,. the BVA has no recourse but to remand the claim for a proper resolve of the letter.

Unless the evidence outweighed the letter's prejudicial nature.

Sorry for this long post that I have griped about before here.

I haven't seen a VCAA matter come up here in a long time and I am dumbfounded that your VCAA letter came AFTER the C & P exams.

[ghillbe]

^{thanks for replying berta,}

^{let me futher clairafy I filed in Dec 2010 I recived my first c&p for hearing loss and ringing in my ears in sep 2011 my gulf protocal c&p was in oct 2011 and my third c&p was in 2nd week of oct 2011 for a mental eval in apr of 2012 I was sent a vcaa letter asking if I had any futher evadance to submit and what they requried, asking for more info of exactly when my problems started asking if my symptions started in the gulf when I was there and when I had an exam for gulf war exam so I promtly sent it back and sent them a lot of info all training letters current copy of m21-1r and copys of both of my exams and current progress reports I was watiing on one more dr notes so I stated that I had more info coming and I submited all info I had and on a 21-4138 I gave a discription on all info I submited and that I ahd no futher evadance to submit and here 4 mo later and still they are asking for the same info.}

^{this is a copy from ebenifts}

• 
  
  <sup>We need evidence showing that the following condition(s) existed from military service to the present time:
  
  restless leg syndrome caused by gulf war illness, Undignosed Illnesses / Gulf War Syndrome (to include Muscle Pain, Headaches, Gastrointestinal Condition, Memory Loss), Bilateral Knee Condition, Plantar Fasciitis, Bilateral Tinnitus, Bilateral Hearing Loss
  Date Requested: 04/26/2012
  Due Date: 05/26/2012
  
  
  A 'Suspense Date' is associated with every piece of evidence we are attempting to gather in the processing of your claim. The date entry in this column is the date we expect to receive the evidence. If the evidence or a negative reply has not been received by this date, we will take the appropriate follow up actions in accordance with processing your claim.</sup>
  
  
• 
  
  <sup>We need more information about your illness as a Gulf War veteran. Send us a record of the earliest manifestations of the illness. This may be medical evidence or supporting statements from people who have knowledge of your symptoms or medical history. Give us copies of correspondence you may have sent to others in which you wrote about your illness. Attached to this letter is a more detailed guide called "Submitting evidence for claims about GULF WAR UNDIAGNOSED ILLNESSES" to help you submit evidence in support of your claim.
  Date Requested: 04/26/2012
  Due Date: 05/26/2012
  
  
  A 'Suspense Date' is associated with every piece of evidence we are attempting to gather in the processing of your claim. The date entry in this column is the date we expect to receive the evidence. If the evidence or a negative reply has not been received by this date, we will take the appropriate follow up actions in accordance with processing your claim.</sup>
  
  
• 
  
  <sup>If you have participated in a Gulf War Health Registry Examination, please let us know when the examination took place and which VA Medical Center performed the exam.
  Date Requested: 04/26/2012
  Due Date: 05/26/2012
  
  
  A 'Suspense Date' is associated with every piece of evidence we are attempting to gather in the processing of your claim. The date entry in this column is the date we expect to receive the evidence. If the evidence or a negative reply has not been received by this date, we will take the appropriate follow up actions in accordance with processing your claim.</sup>
  
  

^{What Have We Received?}

^{This is a list of all items that have been received from either the Veteran or a 3rd party. Please be advised that it may take up to 21 days to receive, process, and annotate in our system any information that you mail to one of our Regional Offices.}

^{ItemsDate RequestedDate Received}

^{A date entry in the 'Date Received' column means that the evidence requested was received, or a negative response from the provider was received. If a negative response was received from the provider, this means that we were unable to gather the information requested. In the near future, we will be able to tell you whether or not the actual information was received versus a negative reply.We need evidence showing that the following condition(s) existed from military service to the present time:}

^{Undignosed Illnesses / Gulf War Syndrome (to include Muscle Pain, Headaches, Gastrointestinal Condition, Memory Loss), Bilateral Knee Condition, Plantar Fasciitis, Bilateral Tinnitus, Bilateral Hearing Loss09/02/201110/03/2011Send any treatment records pertinent to your claimed condition(s), especially those which are recent (within the last 12 months). This includes reports or statements from doctors, hospitals, laboratories, medical facilities, mental health clinics, x-rays, physical therapy records, surgical reports, etc. These should include the dates of treatment, findings, and diagnoses.09/02/201110/03/2011If you have anything else you would like to report to us or if anything in this letter is incorrect, please tell us on the enclosed VA Form 21-4138, Statement in Support of Claim and return it to the address at the top of this letter.09/02/201110/03/2011The VA Form 21-526, Veteran's Application for Compensation and/or Pension, that you submitted did not include direct deposit information. Although VA can continue to process your claim, we would like to have your direct deposit information in order to ensure expedited payment of any benefits which might be awarded. We have enclosed VA Form 24-0296 Direct Deposit Enrollment, for your use in signing up for Direct Deposit.09/02/201109/14/2011Seattle09/02/201111/01/2011rcvd fax copy from Southlake Clinic12/22/2009rcvd medical documentation from Valley Medical01/13/2010rcvd medical documentation from Southlake Clinic01/04/2010rcvd direct deposit information01/06/2010rcvd 21-0781 PTSD statement01/06/2010pies mm01, s0103/10/201021-4138,jag,statement12/10/2010rec'd 21-413801/28/2011PMR-Valley Medical Center & Cascade Ortho01/28/2011rcvd medical documentation from Valley Medical and 413801/28/2011rec'd 413812/03/2010recd med evid dr lew01/14/2011memo from AL, 21-4138 from vet, 2 lay stmts on 21-4138's, PMR10/03/201121-414209/14/201121-4138 request copy C&) exam10/14/2011Blood Pressure Log from Seattle VAMC (Mack T Orsborn MD)10/11/2011copy of Khamisiyah memo from Office of Secretary of Defense 10/3/1102/23/201221-526b adding 2 conditions02/24/201221-4138 x8 stmt from vet on separate form explaining each condition claimed02/24/2012medical evidence VAMC Sea02/24/2012medical evidence Valley Medical Center02/24/2012Medical evidence from Kent Primary Care03/09/2012Medical evidence from Valley Neuroscience institute03/09/2012VCAA Notice Response letter signed on 18 MAY 201205/21/2012Medical evidence from Seattle VAMC -- Medical records05/21/2012Medical evidence from Valley Medical -- Medical records05/21/2012Medical evidence from Occupational Health Services -- Medical records05/21/2012Medical evidence from Valley Neuroscience Institute -- Medical records05/21/2012Medical evidence -- DBQ for neck disability05/21/2012Medical evidence -- DBQ for Esophageal conditions05/21/2012Medical evidence -- DBQ for headaches05/21/2012Medical evidence -- DBQ for Sleep Apnea05/21/2012Internet Article 3.317-1; Compensation for certain disablities due to undiagnosed illness05/21/2012Leave and Earning Statements05/21/2012Copy of BVA decision; Sleep Apnea secondary to PTSD05/21/2012Medical evidence -- DBQ for Mental disorder05/21/2012Received VAF 21-4138, Medical Documents and Photographs of military experiences06/14/2012va form 21-413806/14/2012current copy of cfr 38 3.317-106/14/2012progress notes06/14/2012ultrasound from valley diagnostics06/14/2012mri06/14/2012doctors notes on headaches06/14/2012anthrax letter06/14/2012current copy oif M21-1MR06/14/2012}