hypertension Please Help With My Ongoing Claim Problem!

[silverdollar22]

When i left the army in 1995 after 12 yrs service i filed a claim for my back, my knee, gulf war illness, and my blood preasure. I was given 10% for the blood pressure 10% for my Chondromalacia Left Knee and 10% for (and this is the kicker) Low Back Pain with Menimal Degenerative Changes of Left Sacroiliac Joint and 0% for Gulf War Illness. 16 yrs later my chiropracter told me that my back was through and i needed to go back to the va. I told him i had all but given up on the va because of how i was treated back then. I did go back and had my back x-rayed and an MRI done to find out i have 3 buldging discs L-3-L4, L4-L5, L5-SI and Degenerative Disc Desease with Artritis in my back. In 2011 i put a claim in for blood preasure, rt knee and back pain. It in turn, came out as Hypertension (Increase), Low Back Pain with Menimal Degenerative Changes of Left Sacroiliac Joint (Increase), Chondromalacia Left Knee (Increase), Degenerative Disc Disease of Back (initially claimed as arthritis all over body) (Increase), I was given a ROM at the vamc and nothing else and my claim came back as 0% increase and a statement saying your getting better!!!! I later found out that no x-ray or MRI was pulled and only the ROM was used for my claim. 2 yrs later i put for an increase again for back pain and this is what came back again: (low back pain with minimal degenerative changes of left sacroiliac joint (Increase), right knee condition secondary to chondromalacia left knee (Secondary), memory loss due to undiagnosed Gulf War illness (Reopen), joint pain as due to undiagnosed illnesses (Gulf War) (Reopen). What the heck is going on here everytime i say back pain they say Low Back Pain with Menimal Degenerative Changes of Left Sacroiliac Joint. How can they keep going back to my hip and sjould they have combined my hip with my lower back pain? Please help with any sugestions

Thanks,

silverdollar

Edited March 26, 2014 by silverdollar22

[carlie]

Welcome,

I am moving your topic to the claims benefits forum.

[silverdollar22]

Ok Thank You.

I'm new to this and just looking for some help!

[71M10]

They keep using that terminology because that is the medical condition they say you are rated for. Have your doctors considered if you have Ankylosing spondylitis. I ask that because it generally first shows up in the sacrum. Your doctor should opine in his/her notes in your medical record if the current back problems are a progression of your earlier diagnosis (should not be a problem). Back ratings generally are rated for Range of Motion or incapacitating episodes requiring doctor perscribed bed rest. If you are having radicular neuropathy (piched nerve ect) you should be able to get that SC as a secondary condition and it will be rated based on the effected nerve and wheter it is mild, moderate, severe/complete.

Also since you are a hypertensive, have they ever done an echocardiogram on you, and if they did, do you show any enlargment of your heart (happens with long standing hypertension)? The rating for an enlarged heart is 30% minimum and M21-1 MR instructs VA to concede service connection in cases with long standing hypertension (a secondary condition).

The link below is to the eCFR where the schedule of rating for disability is. It will provide you information on specifics of what the ratings are and the requirements for them.

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=9740c1939fe35e0cc9662699f8f8a250&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title38/38cfr4_main_02.tpl

[silverdollar22]

71M10

First thanks for the reply. I don't really know what exactly my doctor found other than the buldging discs and artritis. My va chiropractor told me my back was pretty bad off and told me that their was not much else he could do for me. In 95 when i was discharged my records stated i had mild Degenerative Disc Desease, but when i had my increase denied in 2011, the ro said I was 0% for Degenerative Disc Desease based only on my ROM exam. Can they do that? Like I stated before in 16 yrs after i got out they said i was improving solely on my ROM test!!! No records were pulled or x-rays or MRIs to base their decision on. What do i need to do to get these people on the right track? By the way I have developed an irregular heart beat since.

Edited March 26, 2014 by silverdollar22

[71M10]

ROM is generally the medical data that determines most spinal ratings. However, they cannot reduce a rating that has been held for 5 continuos years on the basis of one examination and that examination needs to be as complete as the examination that awarded you the rating in the first place. They do issue ratings on x-ray evidence of arthritis but it must be present in two joints (that are service connected) or group of minor joints. The lumbar, thoracic and Cervical spines are each considered groups of minor joints. Unless they had multiple exams that stated your rating should be 0% they should not have reduced you.

Get a copy of your 2011 decision and look under the listed evidence. If they do not list two sources of information that contain your ROM measurements from different days I think you can get the reduction overturned on the basis of CUE. There is a whole seperate section here on CUE. read up and soldier on!

[silverdollar22]

You said that "The lumbar, thoracic and Cervical spines are each considered groups of minor joints." Is the sacral part of the spine also a seperate group? If so should the lumbar and the Sacroiliac Joint be two different ratings?