ptsd Cognitive Disorder Secondary To

[shakeyswife]

Has anyone had a C&P for mild cognitive disorder? My husband has one tomorrow with a psychologist. He already had a C&P for PTSD, and will also be having a general medical evaluation which we think is for Parkinson's (should be anyways). Any information on what they do, tests etc,...Thanks

[lotzaspotz]

In my husband's case it involved an examiner giving him series of words/numbers to repeat, both forwards and backwards, and also a computerized multiple choice test. Condition was due to a brain tumor, an organic problem, not a psychiatric.

[shakeyswife]

Thx. They want to evaluate, I guess to see if it is intertwined with PTSD or actually secondary to Parkinson's Disease...which would be organic. Can not even begin to try to guess what the raters might do with this one, unless they find no cognitive disorder. Even on the dbq for parkinsons the neurologist checked it off, which would be organic.

[lotzaspotz]

There's a Board decision which I would have to look up again but have used in the past finding that mental/cognitive conditions attributed to organic illness must be rated separately from conditions such as PTSD that are considered psychiatric conditions, when both are present.

[lotzaspotz]

Check this out:

http://www.va.gov/vetapp08/files3/0825366.txt

[Berta]

Lotzaspotz is correct.

The VA must rate organic disease separately from PTSD. This post I made years ago might help you:

There were six tests in all over a 2 day period, and also an MRI had been done and I could associate the MRI results with the Neuro testing results.

It took a lot of time to do that but I could assess my husband's cognitive deficits directly with multiple ischemias in different parts of his brain.Your case is different but similar , as well, in many respects.

They used the Trial Mosing test too. probably wrong spelling.

Since that post,I won the SMC CUE claim in this older post link. And the CVA rating I filed an additional CUE claim on was awarded as well.And my IHD CUE claim.

Funny how I always forget they awarded 3 CUE claims I had pending in my 2010 decision......this older hadit link brings back memories to me.......and that breakfast, when I was a VA in Patient ,is still the BEST one I ever had. Ha Ha.......

I have another CUE claim pending as they awarded 100% for 6 months under 1151, but they owed , as an accrued award, 22 months at 100%,based on significant medical evidence they had at time of the 2010 award.

It certainly pays to read and re read the decisions carefully on any type of claims involving brain trauma, or organic brain disease, because the initial posthumous ratings for his residuals deficits were all wrong....

I forget if the link mentions, my husband was awarded 100% P & T for PTSD as well.

The test results write up was very conclusion by the VA Psych, adding that my husband's PTSD (He had treated him for that) was catastrophic but the results clearly separated the organic cognitive problems from the PTSD with a full medical rationale.His GAf was 26 or 34 ,as stated within the write up.

This highly probative test result write up important not only to my husband's PTSD claim but to his 1151 claim, 'mysteriously' disappeared from the RO. I had to get a copy of it from the Shrink who did the tests, who was appalled that VA had again denied my accrued claim (the veteran died before he saw his actual awards for CVA, SMC, and the 100% PTSD rating.)

So Best to get a copy of those test results as soon as possible. I thought the VA had these results 2 years prior to my husband's death ,in support of his 2 pending claims. In those days I suffered from an illusion thinking VA would really have all of his VA med recs in front of them before they made a decision ...and keep them in his actual med rec file and review them .

..He could have and should have seen his proper comp in his lifetime.

I have not made that mistake again.

It is imperative that we have copies of our C file and copies all med recs the VA has, to include C & P exam results and any additional testing records, as well as any Voc Rehab records, if available, such as described in the link above.

It is the only way we can find out what evidence they might have ignored ( or maybe even destroyed)or maybe they had hired the MF to remove temporarily from the files.

(MF Mysterious force employed by the VA. I know them well.)

Edited January 27, 2014 by Berta

[shakeyswife]

Thank you Lotza and Berta,

Had the exam today. I was in there the whole time. He really did not go over any of the PTSD info. because I brought him a copy of the initial DBQ and he said he would refer to that for his stressors. Then he did a few memory tests, and asked quite a few questions, only took one hour. I also brought information regarding cognitive impairment and Parkinson's. It was a QTC exam so it will take a little while before I can get a copy. Our VSO was able to get copies of the PTSD, Hearing and Tinnitus exams. I just call QTC and ask them when it was sent to the VARO. Then I ask the VSO to get a copy. At the end the examiner did state you can not work. Time will only tell how VA will rate this. Fortunately because of hadit members and their individual and combined knowledge, I have been able to better prepare his contentions and claims. I really did not trust our VSO to do such a thorough job, he had no clue about hadit.