Confused With Latest C&p Exam

[4MR05C]

Hi all,

I'm new to this website as a member; but I've been here many times to read up on stuff in regards to my claim. I have a question that I'm hoping some of the more experienced members here can help me with, because I'm concerned that my last exam, which was yesterday (yes, a Saturday) was not done correctly, or by a competent doctor.

A little background first.... I have filed my first claim (since separating from the Army in 1984) in May of 2012. There has yet to be any decision on my case.

I have been to 5 previous C&P, none of which have been on a Saturday. This was at the local QTC offices here in Atlanta. This exam was for my claim for a secondary condition of my ankles (they are painful and occasionally, I limp from not being able to put a lot of weight on them.) The primary condition is that I had a shattered sesamoid bone totally removed from my right foot (its like a ball bearing at the big toe joint) which was not replaced with anything. Over the years, I have developed a way of walking that takes the pressure off that joint by walking on the OUTSIDE of my foot and shifting my weight to the other foot whenever possible, which I contend has caused my ankle problems on both sides.

Now, on to yesterday's exam: First problem: I brought in a pair of flip flops that I have been using this summer to walk in, she refused to exam them, saying that "those are going to do that." Well, no, cause it shows a clear wear pattern on the outside of my shoe.

Second problem, she wanted to see the shoes I had just taken off, well, these shoes are relatively new as I bought them last winter/spring and have not worn them much, she looked at them (entirely disregarding me saying "I haven't worn those much" and said "There's no wear pattern here." Well, duh, I haven't worn them much!

Third problem: When she asked if I had been to doctors about this, I forgot that I had been to see the podiatrist at the VA, for my foot issues (I don't think he made any notations on my ankles, he was more interested in coming up with a custom prosthetic for the bottom of my foot.) that when she asked me if I had gone to the doctor to see about my ankle, I said "No." to which she repeatedly said to me "So they hurt but not enough to go to the doctor?" (in an incredulous tone). My ankles have an ache damn near constantly, but not sharp stabbing pains all the time AND I have a VERY high pain threshold... (I had stitches put in my hand last year and the doctor hadn't numbed my my hand properly, so for at least a couple stitches, I felt the needle go in...and out and in and out - I didn't punch the doctor or anything.. I just gritted my teeth and let him finish. He even said that he was impressed that I could tolerate such pain). so, back to the lady doctor, she rudely cut me off when i tried to tell her that I have a high pain threshold and started scribbling on her notes (my medical records were NOWHERE in sight, btw) while I was trying to talk to her.

Fourth problem: She used her hands to rotate my bare feet around and around, and kept saying "give them to me" to which I explained that she was hurting me so I was resisting her), she just kept insisting that I ""give them" to her and didn't stop trying to twist my feet around.

Fifth problem, Now, I don't know what "repetitve use test" really is, but she never asked me to do any lifting of my heels or standing on my tip toes, she just asked me to walk about 6 feet from the chair I was sitting in to the wall of the exam room and back (three trips total chair to wall, turn, back to chair, and then back to the wall). That as the extent of the repetitive use exam.

Sixth problem, she eyeballed my feet/ankles when she asked me to push them down, wasn't there supposed to be a measurement taken?

Seventh problem: She looked at my feet from the back... while I still had my shoes ON. (isn't there supposed to be an exam from the back with shoes off?

Eighth problem: She did take out the goniometer and measure when she asked me to pull my feet up, and when I did, she asked (again in an incredulous tone) "Can't you get them to go higher?" To which I said "No." Also when she was doing the measuring, (the one and only time that she actually measured anything) she measured my left foot from the outside ankle bone and the right foot from the INSIDE (with out adjusting the alignment goniometer).

Ninth problem: She asked me how my ankles affected my work to which I relied that I was a student and ddn't stand on my feet all day but I had to walk arcross campus and that I had stairs to climb, but I also said, most of the day, I sit (which is the truth). Then she asked "Well, how did it affect your previous job" to which I said "Well, I was a paralegal" and she jumped in with a "So, you sat then too." And I saw her mark a BIG "O:" with a line through it (I'm assuming this was for how my ankles affected my ability to work).

Tenth problem: She's a gynecologist!!!! How is a gynecologist supposed to rate an orthopedic problem (and no, she has never been qualified as an expert witness or anything like that for ortho, I checked on-line.)

I did have x-rays taken and the x-ray tech asked me if I had had a recent injury to my ankles because they looked swollen to her, and I said, "No, that's just the way they are, all the time."

So, now that you've read this small book... what can I do to make sure my claim is done correctly and that I am examined fairly? (Which I do not feel happened here.)

Do I even have grounds for a complaint? Should I complain now or wait until I get a decision of some sort? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Btw, I found this online as a guide on how to test ROm in ankles: https://www.med.unc.edu/surclerk/medselect/resources/suggested-readings-for-subspecialty-clinics/rheumatology/Foot%20exam%20reivew_11-4-09.pdf

Edited October 20, 2013 by 4MR05C

[free_spirit_etc]

"It just infuriates me that any old doctor is "qualified" in the VA's opinion to give their opinion on things outside their specialty."

I agree. It would be one thing if they sent you to real doctors who were really trying to actually figure out whether your injury in service caused your problem. But to send you to someone who isn't even qualified on your condition to see if they can find a reason to deny your claim is such a slap in the face.

I think - Dang it! After serving her country they send her to a gynecologist to deny her ankle claim? Doesn't sure deserve better than that???

The VA refused to even acknowledge the major portion of my husband's claim that his cancer STARTED in service. He said his doctor told him it started in service, and that it could ALSO be connected to his asbestos exposure. I think they know it dang well started in service - so they just ignored that part. They changed his claim from TO INCLUDE asbestos exposure to only DUE TO asbestos exposure despite him continually telling them they were ignoring the part of his claim that said it STARTED in service.

So they got an opinion from a doctor that said that asbestos exposure wasn't related to his cancer because he was not exposed to asbestos. He based that on the fact that my husband wasn't in any occupational screening or medical surveillance programs. He failed to mention that such programs were not even in existence until the late 80's (my husband was an electrician from 1970 - 1983). And dang it! Even when the RO finally conceded that my husband WAS exposed to asbestos (after my husband died) they STILL used the same dang 2002 VA opinion to deny the claim. How in the world can you concede someone was exposed to asbestos and then still use an old medical opinion that said he was not exposed to asbestos to deny the claim?

Then - they finally acknowledged the part where my husband said his cancer STARTED in service. And they sought an opinion on that. But heck -- the doctor wrote four sentences and didn't even bother having it typed. And he just stated that the viral illnesses my husband had in service were not early manifestations of his cancer.

I thought what a slap in the face! My husband deserved better than a doctor taking two minutes of their time to quickly scribble something to deny the claim.

(But at least they never sent him to a gynecologist....)

But -- yeah -- It is totally disrespectful to treat veteran's claims and lives so marginally.

But -- on the upside -- it is easier to defeat their nonsense with a decent IMO. On the downside is that vets have to PAY for doctors to say what the VA doctors should have known.

One doctor that wrote an IMO for me said he was appalled that they were making a veteran's widow fight for this. He said ANY doctor should know that it is more likely than not that my husband's cancer started in the service. I think they DID know. That is why they danced to the side of the issue -- and just concentrated on whether my husband's upper respiratory infections were early manifestations of his cancer.

Edited October 22, 2013 by free_spirit_etc

[4MR05C]

Sorry to hear about your struggles with your husband's claims and the nonsense they put you through, I hope they finally awarded you what they should have awarded him before he passed away!

I'm trying to copy and paste the info from that DBQ that the doctor in IL did but I'm not having much luck... I'll post it if I can get it converted.

Have no fear, I have lectured the boy to keep copies of EVERYTHING!

[free_spirit_etc]

Here is a good term to keep in mind:

"repeated supination trauma".

It is really too bad that if this has to go to the BVA that you can't just ask the judge to walk on their outside of their feet for a few months and then go to a gynecologist and see if their ankles hurt...

I bet they would grant the claim in a heartbeat! (Probably after only a couple days of walking on the outside of their feet...)

Edited October 22, 2013 by free_spirit_etc

[free_spirit_etc]

Since they have lost a bunch of your medical records, you should get a heightened benefit of the doubt. That doesn't mean it is easier to prove your claim, but they are supposed to more fully explain their decision and discuss all the evidence that supports your claim.

Actually - they are also supposed to try to obtain the documents and let you know when they have exhausted their efforts - and inform you of OTHER evidence you might be able to submit.

But I don't think they actually do that unless you push them. (My husband's discharge physical is missing from his file... who would have Thunk it!)

But you will have to decide how much you want to push that. If you think that there might be something in the missing records that will support your claim -- then you might want to push for them to search for the records. If you don't think there is anything in the missing records that will help you, then it will just add a lot more time to your claim for them to pretend like they are trying to obtain the records.

But make sure you get the C-file before getting an IMO and have the doctor specifically state he / she has reviewed the C-file.

[4MR05C]

LOL, you're funny! Thanks for that, I literally laughed out loud! I needed that!

Have no fear, I WILL prevail. I'm not lying, exaggerating or asking for a damn thing I didn't earn,and deserve, so if they think they are going to simply get rid of me, they've got another think coming!

I don't give up.... as I said in my first post, I'm a student right now, I took CLEP tests in the military, and was told by my school that I had NOT passed the CLEP test, when I knew that I had. (I have a 138 IQ, btw) and the military student affairs office told me that I was the only one who had passed ALL five tests on the first try... so I knew that the college was wrong. I called CLEP and found out that they had changed the scoring system from when I took it to now... when I took it, the scoring was from 200-800 and anything over a 400 was passing (I scored over 400 on everything), now they do a 1-100 and anything over 50 is a pass. These crazy people claimed that I had passed humanities with a 488 but NOT passed English with a 630. HUH???????????

I took it up with the college. Well, turns out someone at the college didn't BOTHER to see that there had been a change, and simply glanced at the "Subset core 1", not "Total" and denied that I had passed all but one that one test. I MADE the college contact CLEP and NOW... I have credit for those CLEP tests (mind you three of them don't count, because the school just doesn't give transfer credit for them, but I don't have to take (or pay for) BOTH of my English requirements!

The VA is dealing with a highly intelligent and pissed off woman... they better watch out. Oh, and my brother in law (who adores me), is close friends with a Senator... AND I know a consumer reporter... personally. ;)

[4MR05C]

I just noticed something... the IL doctor quotes from my "nurses notes" on 8/2/83 that I had no issues with my hearing and yes, that is correct. Here's the thing... the FTX where was exposed to lightning striking my METAL antennas, as I was OUTSIDE... happened in OCTOBER OF 83! So, yeah, you dumb so&so, there was no problem in AUGUST of 83!

GOD! I CAN"T STAND IDIOTS!!!!