ptsd Ready To Cry

[JohnM]

Hi Everyone!

For a 2 months now I have been reading and posting questions, printing, referencing and cross referencing and today I'm just about in tears.

John had back surgery Feb. of this year, he found out he was a diabedic in april of this year, we didn't know anything about VA until July of this year, when we found out about VA, we got the doctor's reports of all illness's from diabedic, perpheiral neuropathy, hearing loss, tinninus, vertigo, cataracts, depression shoulder and other info.

we filled on July 10th. in the mean time I have been getting info from this site, checking everything I could check, writting a letter on Johns symptoms and today we recieved documents stating tthat we are working on your application for servise-connected compensation for PTSD, cataract,chronic upper respiratory condition and individual unemploybility. Left everything else out. Needless to say I seen this and Called our Rep, she wasn't in but the lady looked at the file and said that we put everything down. HOW DEPRESSING IS THIS!

They want specific details of the stressful incidents in service that resulted in PTSD which I wrote in my letter. They want Dr.'s reports which we gave them when we filed, Plus we gave them a Dr.'s letter, then for them to leave out the important parts of his health that is SC that we know for sure is so stressfull in that it self. John said he feels like writting down for PTSD is the stress of sending everything in and then being asked to send it again. I know its only been 2 months but this makes me want to cry, especially reading all the post and and the bull everyone else has gone thru.

I'm sorry, I'm just venting! Thanks for letting me!

John's Wife

[Berta]

Everyone here gave you outstanding claims advise!

"What really bothered me yeserday is that our primary Dr. will not accept John's PN or cataracts as part of DMII"

The association between cataracts and DMII is so strong that the VBM makes the point that the VA has to service connect cataracts as secondary to SC DMII unless the VA has another probative etiology (which they usually cannot find)

I am appalled at what your husband's private doctor said-

Is this the doctor who diagnosed the diabetes? Did this doctor miss the diagnose and is covering his butt?

Is he an endocrinologist?

I have to give you some personal advise-my husband was 100% SC PTSD -30% in his lifetime- 100% awarded posthumously- he also had filed a Sec 1151 claim in his lifetime and that too was awarded 3 years after his death-

Although he always wanted me to sort out the evidence and type it all up-and I ran a livestock farm too-as I did all this-and I also worked on his DOL and EEOC complaints-LOTS of work there- he was the first disabled Vietnam vet to win a discrmination complaint under the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) in the State of New York.

And won it in his lifetime-

still the truth is Rod -due to the PTSD and severe CVA brain damage(1151) was difficult to deal with and to help-as his illness progressed- the enemy was in tanks coming up the hill (farmers on trackers) and in spite of a visual impairment from the CVA he could still "see" his dead commander and the horrible things from Vietnam.

In spite of a catastrophic CVA that impaired his short term memory he was angry that it had not impaired his long term memory-nor stopped the flashbacks-Vietnam was with him everyday of his life-

And the PTSD questionnaire- that was the longest -most miserable week----

I knew all of his stressors -those he would talk about-but still it was very difficult for him to fill out the questionnaire and he did it himself-because he knew what to state so they could verify these events.

Also his shrink knew of some of them but that is not documentation of a stressor -that is an account of a stressor-

My point is this is your husband's claim-

Horrible things happened in Vietnam.

Rod's stressor letter did not even come close to what he experienced.

As sick as my husband was (and remember the VA posthumously award him 100% back to 1991 yet this all occurred in 1993 0r 1994-the stressor letter -and he already had significant brain damage-could hardly walk, the VA van had to transport him to VA day treatment, and could hardly hold the pen he filled the PTSD forms out with. )

He wrote this questionnaire stuff himself best he could with numbness in his hands and arms-it took a whole week.He could hardly get any sleep-for a week-

He would sit and stare out the window and get angry and sad by the hour-

it was a terrible week-he began to tell more -the stuff that he could not bear to tell the VA- about something happened at the Wall in 1993-due to 1965-I think it gave him 300% PTSD-

he didnt tell them-this 'event' would have put me into a nut house for sure-

As I look back, these were all the verifiable stressors-some in USMC historic accounts and all documented events.

and in spite of all the other work I did on the claim- it was what HE did that

proved he had 100% PTSD.

I still have his stressor letter and PTSD questionnaire here.

A copy of it is at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in one of the many biographies that family members have been asked to write about their deceased SC spouse who served in Vietnam and were completely disabled by that service.-the special area for Vietnam vets who died due to service but who did not die in Vietnam.Rod Simmons- USMC Vietnam 1965-1966-pictures of him before and after and a complete account of how Vietnam changed him is there as a testament to his service. This is the "In Memory"part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Jan Scruggs, Wash. DC.

My husband's Vietnam experience-the part he would talk about-is preserved in history.

I am proud to be a member of Hadit -because the advise given to you here is EXempliary and I only wish vet reps knew as much as the members here do as to how to succeed on VA claims.

"They want specific details of the stressful incidents in service that resulted in PTSD which I wrote in my letter. "

They dont want your letter as an account of his stressors- they want his account. He should gives dates, where it happened, and when to best of his ability- what happened and any proof of any deaths incountry of any buddys that might be involved in his stressors can be found on the Wall on line.

Edited September 9, 2006 by Berta

[Guest jangrin]

MS JohnM,

You need an IMO to connect your husbands PN, dizziness (vertigo), tennitis, depression to his DMII. His DD-214 will get him the presumtive SC for DMII.

Believe me when I say I understand that funds are probably tight, with John on SSD and all. But you really need a doctor that can connect all the medical findings.

I know Dr. Bash is really expensive (he might consider a payment plan with a partial down payment it never hurts to ask, and the worst that can happen is he says no.

The other thing you can do is look in your local yellow pages for an attorney that specializes in Social Security Law. Call the office and speak with his personal secretary. Explain your situation to her. She will be more able to help you and probably more willing. Just ask if she could refer you and your husnband to a doctor who would be willing to do either an IMO or IME. She will also have an idea about his fees schedule.

It will probably be less than Dr. Bash, but the doctor will have to meet the VA reporting requirements or the report will be useless. That is something you can talk about before the exam. Also you can direct the Dr. to Dr. Bash's website to see his sample report, or even here to HADIT so he can understand what needs to be in the report, especially if he has never done VA work. It will be a new and learning experience for him.

I feel that having an actual examination with a report is the stronger of the two. But that is JMO.

You may be able to even trade for services. House cleaning, cooking, yard maint. Donations to favorite charity, elder care or transportation. You'd be surprised what will motivate someone to help another in need.

Where there is a will there is a way.

Jangrin

Edited September 9, 2006 by jangrin

[john999]

Jangrin

Report and examination is best in my opinion as well. A good IMO can make all the difference in the world. I got TDIU and P&T based on two IMO's. The VA grossly misdiagnosed my disability. I am petioning to have my honorable discharge changed to a medical based on evidence from IMO's and my service medical records, but am hoping the IMO will carry the day since it points out gross errors in my treatment in the military. In Vietnam I was diagnosed as being psychotic by a military shrink and then returned to duty in-country without medications or even a hospital visit.

[Guest jangrin]

Jangrin

Report and examination is best in my opinion as well. A good IMO can make all the difference in the world. I got TDIU and P&T based on two IMO's. The VA grossly misdiagnosed my disability. I am petioning to have my honorable discharge changed to a medical based on evidence from IMO's and my service medical records, but am hoping the IMO will carry the day since it points out gross errors in my treatment in the military. In Vietnam I was diagnosed as being psychotic by a military shrink and then returned to duty in-country without medications or even a hospital visit.

John999,

If your discharge is changed, are you eligible for VA disability from the time of your discharge until now?

Major retro, a vacation in Monocco, well deserved I might add.

Jan

[JohnM]

Yes this is the Dr. that diagnoised the diabetes. A year ago John had a physical and nothing showed up, in April I was concerned they way John was drinking, eating, putting on weight and sweets like you would not believe he couldn't get enough so I call the Dr. and he suggested to do a test. Sure enough, The Dr. said he probably had it for 5 years but that it just showed up now. John has a family history of diabetes ( Mother, Brothers, Sister and Aunts) ( mother and brothers died) all of whom are DMI and John is DMII I am sure this is herriatry but John was the only one in Viet Nam, working on helicopters and flew as gunner as well.

As far as PTSD Yes John had some close Buddie die, One of them was terrified of fly nights and asked his officer if he could switch so they switched with John which at the time John did not know when John go back they told him about it and also told him that his buddie did not make it. This bothers John a great deal he It could have and should have been him, The guy was 22 married and had a child. Three other close buddies of his also died three months later plus others that he knew. To get John to write all of this down will be hard for me, but he knows that he has to do it.

[Berta]

If these are his only stressors, he will have to give the VA the names of these men,and any nicknames, an estimate of when they died, the hometown they were from,of course they were in his unit but he should tell the VA that too-or what unit they were in support of-anything that puts them in contact with him as a buddy.

He would need proof of this:

"One of them was terrified of fly nights and asked his officer if he could switch so they switched ", and any details whatsoever from the officer or anyone else on the flight deck or in any flight rosters that would help prove this stressor- His unit most likely has a web site where buddies can be found to give VA eye witness

statements of events like this.

These men-if they died in service in Vietnam-can be found on the Wall on line and information as to their actual DOD etc- can help support his claim.

I have worked on PTSD claims similiar to what you described here-they involve an incredible amount of work.

I am sorry I forget what branch he was in- he flew in service- did he fly to and from a carrier to Vietnam?

Did he ever step foot in Vietnam? Or did he fly at high altitude over Vietnam from Okinawa or Hawaii or any other base?Is the VSM on his DD 214?

These are critical aspects of Agent Orange claims and the new Haas decision.