tinnitus 60% Disability In National Guard

[ensignoftheunit]

As many of you who've helped me know, I'm at 20%, for tinnitus and HBP. At the moment I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that I have some pretty severe anxiety issues. I was diagnosed with the VA with GAD; I met double the required symptoms necessary to diagnosis it. Wish I could say its getting better, but its really not. I'm averaging 7 to 8 panic attacks a week. I might not have one every day, but some days I have 2 or 3 in a day. The only thing that controls the panic attacks is the fact that I'm on the highest dosage of alazopram that they can perscribe; 2mg x 4 daily as needed. Basically the alazopram is the only medication that allows me to keep my high stress job.

Looking over my notes, and the notes from my first VA pyschologist, I fill almost all of the 50% rating requirements, and an alarming number of the 70% ratings for GAD. I avoid hard tasks at work, if I don't do something every single day I basically forget how to do it. I've got wild routines that I go by everday, like if I'm not atleast 20 minutes early to work I turn around and go home and take the time off. My judgement is extremely poor, I spend friviously with money I don't really have. I really can't handle stressful tasks; my wife handles all the bills because I forget to pay them off or procrantinate, I've become so scattered brained that I even forget to trim my nails, brush my teeth or wash my hair regularly.

I'm getting help with the VA, and the alazopram keeps me atleast functioning at work to the point where I can perform the mundane tasks and routine troubleshooting. But It doesn't help with the general GAD symptoms.

My question is if this so bad that I feel the better option would be to file a GAD claim and end my National Guard career, how does that work? If I'm rated at 60%, do they medically retire me instead of getting a disability compensation? I'm an 8 year veteran with 2 years of active duty deployment time at the rank of E6. Or do they bit be fairwell and I get my 60%? Or do I get both?

I've looked up a 60% rating from the VA, but have no clue what a medical retirement at E6 with 8 years of service. Can anyone estimate my benefits?

[Carl the Engineer]

Sorry Im not going to be much help here. This disability thing is quite new because of the recent wars, etc. We didn't have much of this when I was in, it was just starting to happen and the State HQ's were just boning up on what the deal was when I was let go (2008?).

I did punch in your situation in google and did see answers on a couple other forums.

As far as a online application, we did not have any online anything when I left.

Sorry I was no help this time.

Hamslice