Peripheral Neruorpathy Support Group And Cases That Have Been Won

[Capt.]

Hello All,

I wanted to post this as many of our members are dealing with Peripheral Neuropathy which is especially connected to Agent Orange. The website is important because of cases that have gone before the VA and these examples show powerful examples of individual claims that did get awarded.

It also opens up some support for us that deal with this disease everyday and hopefully will help those in need of answers or trying to fight the battle with the illegal laws VA uses to deny AO and PN associated claims. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

http://www.neuropathysupportnetwork.org/pdfs/Sample-Legal-Documents-Veterans-Agent-Orange.pdf

[Pete53]

I have it but not connected to Agent Orange. Sometimes it truly makes me miserable.

[john999]

The VA was very tricky with my PN. A doctor DX'ed PN in my upper arms during AO exam. This was before I was DX'ed with DMII due to AO. The VA denied the PN in my upper arms saying it came before the DMII so no connection. I had PN in my feet after DX of DMII so I got that connected. On appeal I got the upper PN SC'ed. The VA played games with me and the PN helped me lose my job. I worked for the Post Office and had PN in my upper and lower limbs. The pain got so bad I just could not do any of that work, so out the door I went.

John

[Capt.]

Hello John and Pete,,,,,, I hope this website will help you both and I know what both of you are dealing with. It is really hard to talk to someone how tough this stuff is. We have alot of Veterans dealing with PN and though AO is the main culprit with most Vets with it , the VA trys to brush it off and not admit the problem is AO and that the Veteran was exposed to it.

PN causes so much pain and discomfort that people , and friends look at us as if we are crazy.......................... but problem is that pain can be so severe that depression and anxiety are a big problem. The National Institute of Health says that it is an "insidious disease" with no cures and limited treatment.

So many Veterans do not realize they have a possible service connection and it may take years as in my case , to diagnose it and then put the puzzle together. But then alot of Veterans also do not realize that the Depression and Anxiety can be service connected possibly secondary to the disease.

I do know that it will limit a person in what they can physically do and may lead into other health problems complicating matters even more.

I do hope that we can all help other Veterans coming into Hadit with our experience with it and the VA

failure to work with those that have it as far as service connection.

I also hope that the VA will start to look at this disease and that regulations will change so as to not require the DMII with PN as secondary. Many Veterans have PN from AO or some other Chemical exposures and do not have DMII. I am one of those. I also posted a couple of BVA decisions which were granted without DMII and they are archived here with Dr. Durham and Dr. Yu as the IMO doctors. These 2 cases are HUGE and prove that DMII does not have to included with the Veterans Peripheral Neuropathy Diseases. I knonw that they are archived in the AO section here from a while back. I am sure there are others in the BVA archives.

Education to the public and to our friends and family will help but we have to be vocal and try to find more information and medical treaties to bring to the forefront to help.

I do offer to any of our Veterans with Peripheral Neuropathy that I will supply them with anything I have on it. I know that our archive here at Hadit concerning other bases that have had AO and the training seminar is extremely important. That training seminar is the only real solid evidence that unlocks bases in the US that we know it was used at . Now we need to just study and dig for those nuggets for each base. Just as Berta and James Cripps, and Kurt Priessman did with the research they did.

I wish the VCAA was really suppose to help us but counting on the Veteran to get any help from the VA to "assist" to produce evidence will never happen.

And it has to happen because the Veteran can NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Edited January 12, 2013 by Capt.Contaminate

[john999]

Captain

In my experience most regular PCP's will never make the AO connection for vets with PN. They don't even ask about it. You have to bring up the possible connection between PN and DMII often times. I told the doctors I believed my PN was connected to my DMII. They never made the connection until I pointed it out. This was true with my heart as well. I filed on it and asked my then PCP to connect my symptoms with DMII and AO. If you have some cancer your VA doctor is the last person to make the AO connection.

John

[Capt.]

Hello John,

Yes ,,,,most want to "practice" medicine and not make the obvious connection. They are afraid you might get cured and stop the prescription runs and the appointments.

I have actually had a few VA doctors that wrote pretty good notes and such for AO exposures on some of it. Could have been better but not too bad. And had a AO DVQ done on the IHD.

I actually had a VA Neurologist that told me he said my PN looked like a chemical exposure and said I needed to research where I was stationed.

Then he and the others on the Neurology team ordered more Electromyography and Needle nerve conductivity test............................like 3 more and all confirmed the same.

Still we have to help the doctors as best we can and lead them along alot of times making sure the doctors have records, reports , med records. Or the VA will say the opinion is not probative or that the doctor did not have all of the records. So it sometimes takes time and lots of research. NEVER GIVE UP . God Bless, C.C.

Edited January 12, 2013 by Capt.Contaminate

[Chuck75]

PN & PAD. I thought it was interesting that the VARO originally denied these conditions, without a C&Pand the Nehmer A/O review board totally reversed the RO's denials in my claim.

Edited January 12, 2013 by Chuck75