hypertension Please Help My Vietnam Vet Husband

[stanval]

Good day all. I am new at this. I thank God for you, your acknowledge, success and your not giving up. I desperately need some direction on how to help my husband’s claim. He served in Vietnam.

His appeal (PTSD) is located in the AMC in Washington, DC; he is represented there by VVA. I hate to say it but I know more information than the attorney. It was remanded in 2012. The AMC requested information from him at the end of Feb 2014, the info is already in his file. I still completed the form with the requested information and he now waits to hear a decision on his PTSD appeal claim.

The lawyer with the VVA explained to me that an appeal and new claims cannot/will not be looked at during the same time. Has this been your experience?

There was a claim for hypertension and sleep apnea, but somehow they were separated and not being addressed at this time. There was some sort of remand that I do not understand.

May 2013 his right kidney was removed he completed prostate radiation treatment in September 2013 and has many follow-up test including now looking at the liver and soon his heart (Nuclear test). He has not worked since April 2013. He has not had the Agent Orange exam. What are your thoughts on that? What do you recommend as next steps while we wait to hear from the appeal?

A claim was filed in March and May 2013 for the kidney and prostate cancer but when I called the 1000# they have no record of receiving it. Also the DAV is representing him on this claim. I am waiting to hear back from the rep. I have not received a development letter on the claims. My husband’s file is considered sensitive but no one knows why. PLEASE help!!! What should we do? What can we do

Good day all. I am new at this. I thank God for you, your acknowledge, success and your not giving up. I desperately need some direction on how to help my husband’s claim. He served in Vietnam.

His appeal (PTSD) is located in the AMC in Washington, DC; he is represented there by VVA. I hate to say it but I know more information than the attorney. It was remanded in 2012. The AMC requested information from him at the end of Feb 2014, the info is already in his file. I still completed the form with the requested information and he now waits to hear a decision on his PTSD appeal claim.

The lawyer with the VVA explained to me that an appeal and new claims cannot/will not be looked at during the same time. Has this been your experience?

There was a claim for hypertension and sleep apnea, but somehow they were separated and not being addressed at this time. There was some sort of remand that I do not understand.

May 2013 his right kidney was removed he completed prostate radiation treatment in September 2013 and has many follow-up test including now looking at the liver and soon his heart (Nuclear test). He has not worked since April 2013. He has not had the Agent Orange exam. What are your thoughts on that? What do you recommend as next steps while we wait to hear from the appeal?

A claim was filed in March and May 2013 for the kidney and prostate cancer but when I called the 1000# they have no record of receiving it. Also the DAV is representing him on this claim. I am waiting to hear back from the rep. I have not received a development letter on the claims. My husband’s file is considered sensitive but no one knows why. PLEASE help!!! What should we do? What can we do

Good day all. I am new at this. I thank God for you, your acknowledge, success and your not giving up. I desperately need some direction on how to help my husband’s claim. He served in Vietnam.

His appeal (PTSD) is located in the AMC in Washington, DC; he is represented there by VVA. I hate to say it but I know more information than the attorney. It was remanded in 2012. The AMC requested information from him at the end of Feb 2014, the info is already in his file. I still completed the form with the requested information and he now waits to hear a decision on his PTSD appeal claim.

The lawyer with the VVA explained to me that an appeal and new claims cannot/will not be looked at during the same time. Has this been your experience?

There was a claim for hypertension and sleep apnea, but somehow they were separated and not being addressed at this time. There was some sort of remand that I do not understand.

May 2013 his right kidney was removed he completed prostate radiation treatment in September 2013 and has many follow-up test including now looking at the liver and soon his heart (Nuclear test). He has not worked since April 2013. He has not had the Agent Orange exam. What are your thoughts on that? What do you recommend as next steps while we wait to hear from the appeal?

A claim was filed in March and May 2013 for the kidney and prostate cancer but when I called the 1000# they have no record of receiving it. Also the DAV is representing him on this claim. I am waiting to hear back from the rep. I have not received a development letter on the claims. My husband’s file is considered sensitive but no one knows why. PLEASE help!!! What should we do? What can we do

Good day all. I am new at this. I thank God for you, your acknowledge, success and your not giving up. I desperately need some direction on how to help my husband’s claim. He served in Vietnam.

His appeal (PTSD) is located in the AMC in Washington, DC; he is represented there by VVA. I hate to say it but I know more information than the attorney. It was remanded in 2012. The AMC requested information from him at the end of Feb 2014, the info is already in his file. I still completed the form with the requested information and he now waits to hear a decision on his PTSD appeal claim.

The lawyer with the VVA explained to me that an appeal and new claims cannot/will not be looked at during the same time. Has this been your experience?

There was a claim for hypertension and sleep apnea, but somehow they were separated and not being addressed at this time. There was some sort of remand that I do not understand.

May 2013 his right kidney was removed he completed prostate radiation treatment in September 2013 and has many follow-up test including now looking at the liver and soon his heart (Nuclear test). He has not worked since April 2013. He has not had the Agent Orange exam. What are your thoughts on that? What do you recommend as next steps while we wait to hear from the appeal?

A claim was filed in March and May 2013 for the kidney and prostate cancer but when I called the 1000# they have no record of receiving it. Also the DAV is representing him on this claim. I am waiting to hear back from the rep. I have not received a development letter on the claims. My husband’s file is considered sensitive but no one knows why. PLEASE help!!! What should we do? What can we do

Good day all. I am new at this. I thank God for you, your acknowledge, success and your not giving up. I desperately need some direction on how to help my husband’s claim. He served in Vietnam.

His appeal (PTSD) is located in the AMC in Washington, DC; he is represented there by VVA. I hate to say it but I know more information than the attorney. It was remanded in 2012. The AMC requested information from him at the end of Feb 2014, the info is already in his file. I still completed the form with the requested information and he now waits to hear a decision on his PTSD appeal claim.

The lawyer with the VVA explained to me that an appeal and new claims cannot/will not be looked at during the same time. Has this been your experience?

There was a claim for hypertension and sleep apnea, but somehow they were separated and not being addressed at this time. There was some sort of remand that I do not understand.

May 2013 his right kidney was removed he completed prostate radiation treatment in September 2013 and has many follow-up test including now looking at the liver and soon his heart (Nuclear test). He has not worked since April 2013. He has not had the Agent Orange exam. What are your thoughts on that? What do you recommend as next steps while we wait to hear from the appeal?

A claim was filed in March and May 2013 for the kidney and prostate cancer but when I called the 1000# they have no record of receiving it. Also the DAV is representing him on this claim. I am waiting to hear back from the rep. I have not received a development letter on the claims. My husband’s file is considered sensitive but no one knows why. PLEASE help!!! What should we do? What can we do

[Berta]

You stated:

"A claim was filed in March and May 2013 for the kidney and prostate cancer but when I called the 1000# they have no record of receiving it."

and
"My husband is having many problems now and fast. Heart, kidney, prostate and liver."


I suggested tracking that claim down via IRIS but need to add here that some of these disabilities could be presumptive to AO...the Prostate cancer.
perhaps the kidney cancer if it is an STS cancer....the heart disease, if it is ischemic heart disease, and even the HBP might be able to be tied in as a secondary, to the heart disease , if a doctor agrees on paper with that.

What is the liver disease 's medical diagnosis?

Has he even been diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus?

reason I ask is here the VA's Agent Orange presumptive list :


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

The list of about 34 STS cancers (soft tissue cancers ) is available here under a search.These are rare cancers but cannot be overlooked in AO claims if there is a diagnosis of any of them.

IRIS can confirm if they in fact have received the claims .

AO claims are usually not too lengthy or difficult to prepare but should be stated carefully, by stating they are a veteran who served incountry Vietnam during the war and has the following Agent Orange disabilities which they are requesting to be properly service connected for .:

the first ones listed should be any disability on the presumptive list above ,that is documented either in their VA med recs or in any private medical records, and any potential secondary can then be added as a possible secondary.

For example a DMII vet could also have many secondarys caused by the DMII.

A DMII vet with Renal (Kidney disease) ,could have the renal disease found to be caused by the DMII, then that vet ,if he has HBP as well ,can get the HBP in many cases SCed as secondary to the renal disease that the AO DMII caused,if there is no other etiology or cause but for the DMII.

Almost all Secondary conditions need medical proof of the nexus to the SC condition.

The VA will attempt to obtain the private medical records, if there are any and certainly will obtain the veteran's VA med recs.

Since your husband had filed a claim before ( such as the claim for the 50%} '(BTW what is that rating for?)

and if VA listed and coded any NSC disability on the rating sheet that has now become an AO presumptive disability, or should have coded and rated it , then that part of the AO claim would fall under Nehmer, Footnote one.(triggering a very favorable EED( earliest entitlement date) In my case, I filed the claim in 2010 but the EED was 1988 for AO IHD.Since the veteran had died from IHD, that obviously affected the retro however.

Make sure you tell VA of that past decision ,(if any AO appears on the rating sheet as NSC) and tell them it is enclosed and send them a copy of it with the claim if you have to refile, as they could have lost the claim or never received it.

(Did you get a proof of mailing of the March and May claims?)

I send VA everything by USPS priority Mail and pay a little extra for a tracking slip. The tracking number can be verified in email from USPS as to the VA's receipt of the stuff and used as evidence if they said they didn't get it.

You got good advise here and I strongly suggest you go over our Agent Orange forum here.....

Nehmer and Footnote One ,if they apply to your husband, are explained there as well as many posts regarding those of us who had different types of Agent Orange claims.

It sounds to me like he might have had a metasization of the prostate cancer to the kidney or to the liver , or vice versa...but I am not a doctor and these are medical factors that VA will need medical clarification on , if they need to determine if the prostate cancer is fully presumptive or had been caused by something else that they could not SC.

There is a lot to his medical situation.

I hope he has complete copies of all of his medical records.


." I hate to sound dumb regarding VARO l think it is VA but our RO office changed to PA. "

I think you should definitely ask IRIS about that. Unless you have moved to PA since the last claim was filed?

It might be that they have already considered the AO potential here, but that would mean they DO have the AO claim.

My AO claim went from Buffalo RO (my AOJ), to Togus, Maine, got lost there, I re- sent it, then it went to Phila PA because that was one of the ROs where there were employees trained in Nehmer, 2010.

I filed in August 2010 and was awarded a posthumous AO retro decision in early 2012.Even with the lost claim and another skirmish with the RO, I felt the time frame was reasonable ,under the Nehmer court order.

But it is very hard to even guess how long your husband's issues could take.

And PS in my opinion We claimants are the BEST vet reps we will ever have. I am glad you are helping your husband.

But even if you have a vet rep who you believe is truly helping with the claim, and might have appeared to have sent stuff in for you, check everything yourself anyhow,

via IRIS or ebenefits.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Berta

[Berta]

I forgot to add.....whenever I have IRISed VA, I asked not only for the status but also the actual whereabouts of my claims.

That was the only way I found out my original AO claim ,sent from Buffalo toTogus, had been lost.

Also I would ask them to verify specific evidence I had sent, to state that they received it.

I always ask for an email IRIS and not a phone call too...this way I have hard copy evidence of their response ....and I have used copies of IRIS statements against them, for a few SNAFUs they made at the RO level in the past.

[stanval]

Thank you so kindly. I am on my lunch break and will reply fully later on this evening. His rating is for PTSD. The appeal is for an increase. These new issues were just dignoised within the last 12-14 months. He has not filed an AO claim. I still need to know about the AO exam. Should he have one or no t? What are the benefits? A formal letter from me was sent to the VA regarding his prostate cancer announcing location of doctor, illness and medical records. We did not do a full claim. I just spoke to the VVA, no movement on appeal with AMC. Attorney did see where the formal letter was received in May 2013. Thanks.

[shakeyswife]

Personally speaking. An Agent Orange Exam, was a waste of time for my husband. The examiner noted that he had tremors, but did not even deduce that it might be related to Parkinson's Disease which is a presumptive of AO. Basically the exam was a physical which also included some blood work. Try to educate yourself here on Hadit or anywhere regarding the presumptive conditions of AO. Best of Luck.

[stanval]

Personally speaking. An Agent Orange Exam, was a waste of time for my husband. The examiner noted that he had tremors, but did not even deduce that it might be related to Parkinson's Disease which is a presumptive of AO. Basically the exam was a physical which also included some blood work. Try to educate yourself here on Hadit or anywhere regarding the presumptive conditions of AO. Best of Luck.

Many thanks for the response.