How Do I Get Out Of This Maze?

[Josephine]

At times I feel like quitting and maybe I should, but I can't. My case is a very long one. I filed for service connected benefits in 1978 and was immediately denied. I did not get a rating statement of the case or anything. To make this short. I decided to re-file in 2002 for service connection for anxiety. I received a penion and a denial. I immediately wrote to the St. Louis Archives and secured all of my Psychiatric Records, and a letter from The Commanding Officer, which the Va did not bother to get. I turned them in and received a C&P with a more likely than not. Being that my niece is a DRO in that Regional Office, my file was immediately transferred to another Regional Office. I waited for a decision and was sent a notice of my clinic appointment date. When I arrived at the Hospital, I was given a C&P Examination by two psychiatrist, male and female. The write up was no more than slander to me and my medical records had been changed. The male did not sign, but the lady doctor did. She stated that nothing in service bothered me. After being called a liar and a few things, I wrote to the doctor that treated me in service and sent him his medical records. He wrote back that he treated me with tranquilizers for anxiety. I ask repeatedly for a new examination, but did not get one. I am now at the management center. The remand states for my claims file to go back to the two psychiatrist for them to reconcile their difference. How much more do they need? I was treated in service with librium for anxiety and saw two navy psychiatrist and was discharged with emotional instability code 460. The BVA wants to know why I received an early discharge? I began Librium again in 1967 and have been treated for anxiety ever since. They have my doctors letter, stating in his opinion my anxiety began its origin in service, they have the letter by my treating physician in service, the opinion of their Va Psychologist and a letter from a buddy of abuse that I endured in service. The remand asked for so little, another letter from my physician, and a search of my personnel records and medical records in the event that there are other records out there not turned in. I have been at this for several years now. Shouldn't they soon have to give me a yes or no?

Thanks Josephine

Edited August 6, 2006 by Josephine

[Josephine]

Josephine- the first reason for Remand is the lack of a VCAA letter-

The RO's latest and very successful nationwide stall tactic-

Have you gotten a real VCAA letter yet?

Did it tell you specifically what they need?

This is not the SOC decision- It says VCAA Notice =on it and there are some check boxes on it-

I also see that the internist's opinion- is questioned by BVA because an internist usually does not have expertise in psychiatric field- that is why they are questioning that opinion-

Have you be able to contact the Reverend?

Also- is the stressor listed the only one you claim?

"In the event the veteran provides

sufficient identifying information, it

should be ascertained whether a trainee

died as a result of drowning, at the time

the veteran was in training, and the

circumstances surrounding such incident"

I thought you had other incidents of abuse as stressors-but I dont see them mentioned in the BVA Remand-

It should be easy to find out the circumstances of whether the other trainee drowned.

Was this a close friend, and thus would give you stress at this death?

Hometown newspapers that publish obituaries would have a archive you could access.

And your CO would know if this was a death of a trainee or a "near drowning".

The "near drowning" - statement in the BVA decision-

This is not a stressor-

just like -my buddy got almost killed by schrapnel or

I almost got run over by a jeep-

I am not trying to sound negative to you about your claim-

but years of experience tell me that- based on what the BVA had as evidence- they Remanded for good cause and these are things that you should do all you can to try to get-

Proof of the trainee's death (have you accessed your unit on line?)

And the Reverend statement -the BVA requested -but that may or may not help you-

Ministers and Reverends can make statements in support of a claim but then again they can get into the same privileged conversation stuff that lawyers can- and then often they cannot support a claim-

In trauma like this -lawyers look for an "outcry"-That is very much like what the BVA looks for in trauma cases-what did the vet immediately do after they experienced a traumatic event like this-

did they tell people about it and their feelings over it right away?

Have they consistently mentioned it over and over to mental health care providers?

Can they produce documentation from others that not only support the traumatic event but also the fact that it immediatley caused a reaction and change in someone-

Can they prove that the traumatic event DID happen?

This is much different from combat PTSD-that can pop up years later-

there are reasons for that-but your situation is not like that at all-

I think that each point of their Remand should be focused on by you as you to attempt to get proof of what they want.

Edited August 9, 2006 by Josephine

[Berta]

"The BVA has records from my first doctor 1967-1979 that graduated from Harvard Medical School and they aren't asking him a thing"

Would he still be available for a medical opinion?

I sure don't mean to give up veteran- not at all-

I just feel that the BVA focused on a few things that are the prime things to focus on now-

They can't change what they wrote in the remand and then come up with some new bright idea-

I think once we all get our focus on what the VA says they want- it starts to become clear exactly what we need to get-

unfortunately due to the Feres Doctrine there is no legal action you could take against those doctors who you said abused you- but--have you tried to google this woman or her family if she did die?to find them- or anyone else in your unit that could possibly support this all with a buddy statement?

I knew a vet who claimed his buddy's death in service gave him PTSD-

He didnt know the buddy's full name or hometown.

The VA denied his claim for many reasons but could not verify this death at all- no last name-

so no way to even check the unit roster-

Do you still have the big book that has the pictures and names of your Squadron or platoon- the one that comes from Boot Camp/Basic Training?

If the pictures were in this book for your unit before she died, and they are usually taken early on in training- you might possibly find her picture and then her last name too-

long shot there I know-

but another thing-

my daughter is USAF vet and found some of her Lackland and DLI buddies at myspace.com-

one was in Korea for a long time and they lost touch but his family lives in same city she lives in-

He was on myspace as well as a few other vets she knew from DLI-(Intell-California)

Cant think of anything else but if I do will let you know-

[Josephine]

"The BVA has records from my first doctor 1967-1979 that graduated from Harvard Medical School and they aren't asking him a thing"

Would he still be available for a medical opinion?

I sure don't mean to give up veteran- not at all-

I just feel that the BVA focused on a few things that are the prime things to focus on now-

They can't change what they wrote in the remand and then come up with some new bright idea-

I think once we all get our focus on what the VA says they want- it starts to become clear exactly what we need to get-

unfortunately due to the Feres Doctrine there is no legal action you could take against those doctors who you said abused you- but--have you tried to google this woman or her family if she did die?to find them- or anyone else in your unit that could possibly support this all with a buddy statement?

I knew a vet who claimed his buddy's death in service gave him PTSD-

He didnt know the buddy's full name or hometown.

The VA denied his claim for many reasons but could not verify this death at all- no last name-

so no way to even check the unit roster-

Do you still have the big book that has the pictures and names of your Squadron or platoon- the one that comes from Boot Camp/Basic Training?

If the pictures were in this book for your unit before she died, and they are usually taken early on in training- you might possibly find her picture and then her last name too-

long shot there I know-

but another thing-

my daughter is USAF vet and found some of her Lackland and DLI buddies at myspace.com-

one was in Korea for a long time and they lost touch but his family lives in same city she lives in-

He was on myspace as well as a few other vets she knew from DLI-(Intell-California)

Cant think of anything else but if I do will let you know-

Thanks Berta,

No way that I can locate anything about Doris. I do not know her last name. I always knew her by Doris. I do have a buddy letter to the abuse of the physicians though. I have never filed for PTSD, although I know that may be what anxiety is called today.

Have a good one and many thanks,

Josephine

[john999]

Getting a good IMO to review SMR's and reverse a personality disorder diagnosis is very possible. This is about the only way to do it. I got that label hung around my neck as well. I spent almost a week in the nut house when I got back from RVN on my 30 day leave, and can you imagine I still went back to duty. I then spent another 60 days in a military hospital and was returned to duty. Then I was discharged with a personality disorder. Yeah, right, I got that changed within a year of discharge.

[Berta]

John- you are one of the first vets who welcomed me here long ago and I am still pissed at what they did to you on that PD diagnosis and you are certainly right- a good IMO from a real doctor with expertise in the field of anxiety and stress disorders is often the only way to turn claims like this around.

I wonder if they are trying this PD stuff on newbie combat vets-I bet they are-on some-

John- in your case the military had a personality disorder-you never did-

[Josephine]

Getting a good IMO to review SMR's and reverse a personality disorder diagnosis is very possible. This is about the only way to do it. I got that label hung around my neck as well. I spent almost a week in the nut house when I got back from RVN on my 30 day leave, and can you imagine I still went back to duty. I then spent another 60 days in a military hospital and was returned to duty. Then I was discharged with a personality disorder. Yeah, right, I got that changed within a year of discharge.

John,

Is a discharge for emotional instability treated in service with librium and caffergot always a personality disorder in the eyes of the va or can it be a psychiatric disorder. This part is confusing. I have the 460 code for a discharge, but no one in service or all the physicians treating me for the last 42 years has ever mentioned that I had any type of personality disorder. The Board of Physichiatrist stated on their examination findings that it appears that she did not acquire a chronic physicatric disorder in service and that my primary systems appeared to be borderline personality. Histronian. I am not sure on that spelling, but when all was said and done the senior psychiatrist would not sign the examinaton. The lady psychiatrist falsfied my records and not in her interpretation. she changed the wording of the doctors. surely this is not allowed. If she had not changed my medical records, she could have never given me the diagnosis that she did and then gave me an Axis 1 of Anxiety. Axis 2 Borderline histrorian. Gaf of 40. That one is nonsense. I am no where in the 40 Gaf. I feel like they are trying to make a moron out of me, but they have not succeeded yet. I don't think?

Thanks,

Josephine