lumbosacral Do I Have Chance?

[bojack]

hi, former USMC Sergeant (0331)

I have done two deployments to Iraq (19 months total and one pump to Philippine and Okinawa for jungle survivial training).

According to VA

I have following conditions:

Impressions

Evaluation for TBI

Traumatic brain injury with brief loss of consciousness (4x)

Late effect of intracranial injury wihtout skull fracture

mild cognitive impairment

chronic post traumatic headache

sleep disturbance

visuospatial deficits

light sensitivity

tinnitus

PTSD

dizziness/lightheadedness

lumbosacral pain

cervical pain

arthralgia shoulder, knee, ankel/foot, and wrist/hand

I am not too sure what to think because this is my very first time filing for claim and I have full time job so I am not sure if that is going to effect me or not.

Thank you very much for your help and your time.

My calim 03/2014

Estimate completition date 11/2014 to 05/2015

[bojack]

Oh yeah, since it has been over 5 years since I got out from the service. I have been paying everything out of my pocket right now. It is getting very expensive (threapy programs and etc..)

[Berta]

All of your conditions will need a nexus ( a link) to your service.

Do you have a copy of your SMRs? and your private treatment records?

VA will need them as well at some point.

What triggered these "Impressions" listed by the VA? The claim itself?

I dont see any problems with getting a SC PTSD rating, if you get a PTSD diagnosis from a VA MH professional,

or even any problems with a TBI rating, but it is hard to guess at this point.

Some of these conditions are possibly secondary to a main condition.

What I mean is the physical problems might be secondary to the TBI incident.

We have a wealth of info here on PTSD, TBI, etc....

Do you have a vet rep?

The more you read the forums here, the faster you will be able to see how claims need to be developed.

Is the TBI incident well documented in your SMRs?

Thank you your service.

(Make sure you read the new 2010 PTSD regulations, as to the 'hostile activity part)

I am assuming the "impression" is only that and not a formal diagnosis for anything yet.

The new PTSD regs will not consider a PTSD diagnosis from a non VA shrink, even if it comes from Sigmund Freud.

However a TBI incident is almost always a stressor that VA will almost always concede.

Ratings are based on their affect to substantial and gainful employment.

However many vets work full time jobs and certainly deserve and are able receive VA comp.

Our former VA Secretary, Max Clelland , was catastrophically disabled from injuries he got in the Vietnam War.It took him about 2 hours every morning to get ready for work. I dont know for sure but I assume he was 100% Schedular, but perhaps his VA Sec salary wiped that comp potential out.

At some point VA will send you a letter advising you what evidence they need.

Now is the time to prepare for that letter.I assume you get private treatment for all of the above disabilities.

They wont care about the non VA diagnosis of PTSD but I think they would possible consider those records for a rating.

Thank you for your service and you are at the best place in town for help with your claim.

[bojack]

Thank you,

According to VA, they cannot find some of my medical records while I was in Iraq. In fact, I have missing gear statement letter from my former LT back in 2008 (he signed off my missing gear statement about USMC losing my seabag and my medical treatment records as well).

My old corpsman (I found him) wrote me a buddy statement letter about what type of treatment I have received while I was there and what type of injury I suffered as well. I have been going to therapy from VA since it's lot cheaper when it comes to TBI treatments such as audiology, visual therapy, and etc...

As for my PTSD, I have been going to my local Vet Center to meet with my Readjustment Counselor for few months now.

Yes, I do have rep and they are my local VSO.

Also, according my ebenefit timeline, it says my claim timeline table is 05/2014 to 05/2015. How accurate is that timeline?

Thank you once again

[bojack]

The PTSD program, is that mean I will have to attend VA PTSD program, not Vet Center PTSD therpay?

[bojack]

Yes, in Iraq, I did get x ray on my feet and MRI scan on my chest. However, I am having difficult time tracking down my medical records.

[NavyWife]

I would take the time frame on E benefits with a grain of salt. It's really impossible to say how long your claim will take but the numbers they put up there are based on the averages for that rating office. Do you know if your claim was filed as an FDC or as a regular claim?

I have done a ton of research on TBI claims so if you have any questions feel free to ask!

Yes I agree with you it is hard to track down medical records. It took me about six months to get all of my hubby's records from various sources. But I think it is one of the most important things you can do to help your claim.