Need Help Filing For Depression

[OldDave]

Hi to all. Appreciate all the good work the veterans here at Hadit are doing.

I’m considering putting in a claim for depression. I’m wondering if I need to try to get a psych consult before filing a claim. Do I do this through my PCP?

I am currently SC for DMII - 20%, IHD - 60% , PN - 4 X 10%, ED - SMC-K. So far nothing the Va has tried has helped my ED. My eGFR is at about 40 so kidney problems are probably not far off. That along with the pain, frustration and side effects of the meds has me down. Also, let me say I was diagnosed with DMII in the late 1980’s and had a heart attack in 1998. I’ve been dealing with this for quite a while.

Does the prescribing of anti depressants and anti anxiety medications imply a diagnoses of those disorders? I am currently on 50 mg of Trazodone at betime and 1mg of Clonazepam twice a day.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Dave

[john999]

Getting an IME would not be a bad idea as well. You can control what the IME says to a point and if you are paying them they should say exactly what you want them to say. If you tell them you are trying to get your depression SC'ed as secondary to your SC physical problems they will understand this. Sometimes the VA gets dumb and can't quite see what is in front of their faces. Time should not be your only concern. You want to get this right the first time.

John