New With Some Questions, Please

[kate7772]

My husband is a Vietnam era Marine Corp. veteran.

He filed for disability for Membranous Glomerulonephritis /Stage 3 kidney disease, depression and tinnitus.

The kidney disease was diagnosed through his private kidney doctor and the tinnitus through VA.

The kidney disease we feel can be linked to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.

Everything was across the board, denied. This was filed through a veterans service officer who seemed a bit clueless to the proper way to do it. There was no Nexus letter included.

My husband plans to appeal or whatever we need to do now (just not sure.) He hasn't asked his doctor to give him a letter yet but will do so this week. Trying to get enough supporting evidence together to show the doctor so he will understand but not overwhelm him. My husband has no other factors to cause the kidney disease. I wonder if it would be a good idea to make an appointment with a VA kidney doctor to review his records also. We probably will get an IMO done also.

The tinnitus was VA diagnosed, so not sure why that was denied.

My husband claimed depression because he just knew he was miserable in so many ways but didn't know why. Now, very recently, he has been diagnosed with PTSD with major depression (still amazed that this could happen so many years after the fact but looking back through the years, there were a lot of clues.) When he took the PTSD test, he was told that he was extremely bad. The diagnosis was made by a VA clinical nurse specialist and clinical social worker. Doesn't it need to be diagnosed by a psychologist or psychiatrist? The nurse said it needs to be someone specially trained in PTSD treatment such as the social worker. They want him to do drugs (which he hates) and therapy. Could PTSD now be added as part of the depression he originally claimed or would it need to be an entirely new claim with a new start date?

I appreciate any thoughts you are able to give me on this.

Thanks,

Kate

[stillhere]

Right off the bat I would suggest your husband have an Agent Orange exam performed at a VA hospital if he hasn't already had one.

The PTSD does need to have a psychiatrist from the VA to DX for him. Next since the denial was for depression and you did not apply for PTSD then you could if you want just file a claim for PTSD or if you are still trying to keep the date of your first claim then appeal with the NOD. Depression and any other mental condition present will be considered as just one rate because you can not be SC for more than one mental disease.

You don't mention any exams that have been done for your initial claim did the VA give him a C&P exam?

Personally going the water route for a Vietnam Veteran is going to take a long time. The Gov is only admitting to certain diseases associated with that and also only from 2 areas of water contamination on base. If I understand this correctly not only do you have to have been stationed there but your water supply you have to proof came from one of those sources. That to me seems like an awful lot of jumping through a hoop to get to the end result.

You don't mention if your husband was boots on ground or not. Was he?

Beware the costs for the IMO is not cheap and you will be required to pay for them up front before anything has been decided one way or the other.

Please take a deep breathe sit back and think this through before you proceed there is absolutely no sense in laying out a bunch of bucks for nothing.

You and your husband are in for a haul with the NOD hope he is young enough to deal with this in his condition.

Good luck!

Stillhere

[kate7772]

Right off the bat I would suggest your husband have an Agent Orange exam performed at a VA hospital if he hasn't already had one.

He has not had one but is sending in the packet next week for appt. Don't think he has any of the AO conditions listed though.

The PTSD does need to have a psychiatrist from the VA to DX for him. Next since the denial was for depression and you did not apply for PTSD then you could if you want just file a claim for PTSD or if you are still trying to keep the date of your first claim then appeal with the NOD. Depression and any other mental condition present will be considered as just one rate because you can not be SC for more than one mental disease.

Would like to keep original date open for possible back pay. We asked if my husband needs to see Psychologist/Psychiatrist for the PTSD and was told by VA that he does not. Just needs someone specially trained in PTSD such as the Sociologist who diagnosed him.

You don't mention any exams that have been done for your initial claim did the VA give him a C&P exam?

No C&P.

Personally going the water route for a Vietnam Veteran is going to take a long time. The Gov is only admitting to certain diseases associated with that and also only from 2 areas of water contamination on base. If I understand this correctly not only do you have to have been stationed there but your water supply you have to proof came from one of those sources. That to me seems like an awful lot of jumping through a hoop to get to the end result.

One of the conditions admitted to is Renal Toxicity which is what we are basing it on. According to various research, my husband's kidney disease could be attributed to toxic chemicals.

You don't mention if your husband was boots on ground or not. Was he?

Yes, he was in Vietnam.

Beware the costs for the IMO is not cheap and you will be required to pay for them up front before anything has been decided one way or the other.

Please take a deep breathe sit back and think this through before you proceed there is absolutely no sense in laying out a bunch of bucks for nothing.

You and your husband are in for a haul with the NOD hope he is young enough to deal with this in his condition.

Unfortunately, no. He is in his sixties.

[Berta]

When I saw Vietnam Era, I assumed he was not incountry..but he was.

This is the AO Presumptive list:

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/PUBLICHEALTH/exposures/agentorange/conditions/index.asp

Apparently they have already ruled out DMII. Renal disease can come from DMII.(diabetes Mellitus)

No C & Ps ????

You mean this was not from a formal C & P exam?

“The diagnosis was made by a VA clinical nurse specialist and clinical social worker. Doesn't it need to be diagnosed by a psychologist or psychiatrist? The nurse said it needs to be someone specially trained in PTSD treatment such as the social worker. “

“ Would it be a good idea to have two opinions? “

Absolutely, but stillhere made some good points on that as well as the other points he made.

The VA failed to diagnose and treat my husband's DMII. ( USMC Vietnam). In 2003 my daughter (a vet herself) told me she thought he had misdiagnosed DMII and wanted me to again go over the med recs etc.I didnt want to, I already received 1151 DIC but she was right.

I was the first person to ever diagnose him, and with a full medical rationale, and I

I filed the claim (DMII is presumptive to AO) and gathered all the medical evidence I could find in his med recs (and autopsy) to prove to myself that my investment in an IMO would be sound.

Dr. Bash prepared 2 IMOs for me.I also had a former VA neuro freeby.and I won the claim.

Dr. Bash is very user friendly:

http://www.veteransmedadvisor.com/

“My husband has hypertension also but it seemed to begin at the same time as the kidney issues”

There could be something in his SMRs to help establish that as a possible nexus but that depends on an IMO doctor looking at the entire clinical medical record, inservice as well as since service.

I did a SVR show on Camp Lejeune with John on 6-23-2010 and also on 3-07-2012 I did one with Dr. Bash....and he has done many more shows at SVR since then.

All the SVR shows are here:

http://www.svr-radio.com/archives.html

Just click on the music note Icon and your PC media player should bring the shows right up.

Something here seems strange and if we know more about the denial we can help more.

[Berta]

BTW, I just listened to part of the 3-7-2012 show I did with the SVR people and Dr. Bash.

Listen to his rationale that he discussed as to the potential of HBP inservice and Renal problems and the point he made that HBP was rated differently years ago....

This was from a BVA widow's claim he helped with, that I discussed on the show.

Renal disease is a chronic presumptive disability, if associated with inservice hypertension.

[kate7772]

No C & Ps ????

You mean this was not from a formal C & P exam?

No C&P exams.

The kidney disease was diagnosed by my husband's private Nephrologist in July 2012.

This is what the denial stated:

There is no evidence in your service treatment records of complaints, treatments, findings or diagnosis of a kidney condition during your military service. Your private treatment records as well as your VAMC treatment records show diagnosis of and treatment for membranous glomerulonephritis, we have not been able to link that condition to your military service as a medical opinion issued by a specialist at the VA Medical Center in Louisville, KY opined on September 13, 2013 that your kidney condition is less likely as not caused by or as a result of exposure to contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune which we have conceded.

The diagnosis of PTSD was made by a clinical nurse specialist and a sociologst trained in PTSD. This was very recently diagnosed and not part of the original claim. I thought my husband originally claimed depression but the records say: nervousness, irritability and anxiety.

[stillhere]

Are you saying the VA denied all his claims without any C&Ps?

Wow I don't think that is legal per se but I guess it could happen. Can you tell us what the decision said word for word?

Stillhere