ptsd Ptsd Va Diagnosis

[seahawkfan]

Hello vets, I am a discharged US Marine who served in OIF as an infantryman during the invasion. I discharged shortly after returning home. PTSD was never something that gave us any information about in 03. I have lived with ptsd for many years not really knowing what was wrong with me but figured it was just something I had to live with from my combat experiences. I self medicated for years with Alchohol to deal with the stress, anxiety and sleep problems. My wife in the last year has been at the end of her rope with my drinking. I have been dry for a year but its been a hard year dealing with ptsd without my main coping tool (alchohol). I have seek counseling which I have started as well as being medicated for nightmares and anxiety from a private doctor. I have heard by many that I will need a ptsd diagnosis from a VA pschologist. Do I need to do that before filing a claim or will I get to see a VA pschologist as part of the c&p exam

[Philip Rogers]

No, you should file a claim, now, before the 1st of November, or you'll lose one month of benefits when you win.

pr

[stillhere]

seahawkfan, Posting in one forum and then another is kind of frowned on here. Put your question in only one and we all can keep better track of the info you will need.

Stillhere

[Navy04]

Seahawkfan,

Don't worry about what stillhere said in his comment. Just put your comment on the forum and we all try to help each other. I was on another website like this for almost 2 years and I had to get off because of comments like stillhere said. What I have found on these forums is that we all get so anxious and want answers and try to help each other, then when people succeed and get 100% or IU, they tend to not help people as much and even become disgruntled at times. God bless all of you and I hope that we all get what we have deserved since the beginning of war.

[free_spirit_etc]

The question posted in this forum is different than the question posted before. The question before was whether he would need a VSO. The current question is whether he should file now, or wait.

I don't see any problem with starting a new thread to ask a different question.

Reiterating some of the history was helpful for those who may not have read the previous thread.

seahawkfan, Posting in one forum and then another is kind of frowned on here. Put your question in only one and we all can keep better track of the info you will need.

Stillhere

[free_spirit_etc]

I am with PR with this one. Your benefits can go back to the day you filed. So waiting before you get all the evidence together can result in lost benefits. When you file they should schedule you for a C&P exam.

[seahawkfan]

Thanks a lot guys I appreciate all your valuable advice.