hypertension Am I In For A Long Wait ?

[devildog 71]

Hi All ;

just wondering if I'm in for a LONG wait , as I filed my initial sc claim for PTSD in June of this year - On 31- July '2006 - the VA sent me the VCAA forms and I had my American Legion VSO help me with them and sent in my stress letter as well - should I wait six months - or longer - to contact them if I haven't recoieved an appt for a C&P (or a Denial??) .

The disabilities I listed are PTSD (my GAF is currently 45) ; also Type 2 diabetes ; emphysema and hypertension - also on my MSR it is documented that I complained of thoughts of suicide (due to a friends death) ; loss of sleep ; coughing up blood , high blood pressur , etc...YET...at NO TIME did the military Dr address any of these - and only gave me TYLENOL - and he had the gall to write at the bottom of the MSR ,"Problems exisited prior to this tour of duty."

Now , (as I mentioned in my stress letter) - IF I had ANY of these PRIOR to enlistment , why were they not caught at my pre-enlistment physical / psych exam ??? - and IF they were , why was I accepted for military duty in the first place ???

Anyway - just 'throwing' this out , as it's all new to me. BTW , I served from '71 to '75 - Honorable Discharge. Viet-Nam era vet - but NO combat .

[RockyA1911]

YES!!!! You are in for a LONG WAIT!!!! I filed my claim in Mar 05 and my claim has been at the rating board since 28 June 06 and still NO DECISION YET. I will be going on 19 months come October 06, so you do have quite a wait. The average claim is now taking 18 to 24 months from date of filing.

It appears the VA has slowed down and then tapered off!!!!!!

[Guest jstacy]

The doctor is stating the problems pre existed service. Do you have your pre service medical records? You need to get your hands on them asap.

[LarryJ]

And, I filed mine in Oct. '03..................................

Here's something y'all will get a kick out of.

Thought I'd go to the nearer CBOC (for all y'all that are as "gubbermint speak" challenged as I am, I'll translate), that's "Community-Base Outpatient Clinic" or something like that.

So, I calls them up to see if I can get in.........right? WRONG!

Two weeks, then I get a letter. Guess what? They can't find ANYthing about me! Not even at the Regional Office. The RO that I have been dealing with for, what?, THREE YEARS!

So, can I send to THEM a copy of my DD-214?

WHAT?

Jeeeeeeez, guys, COME ON! Puleeeez!

[KennyJ]

Oh Yeah they tried pre existing on me when I first filed... Tell your SO to make he makes the VARO aware of the Presumption of Soundness Rule , which states if none of this is listed on your entrance exam then you presumed to be in sound physical condition at time of enlistment. This really got things moving on my claim

[Berta]

Devil- you said Vietnam Era but no combat-

Did you serve incountry at all or on any Naval vessel in the China Sea during the Vietnam War?

"Two weeks, then I get a letter. Guess what? They can't find ANYthing about me! Not even at the Regional Office. The RO that I have been dealing with for, what?, THREE YEARS!"

I would send a QUery via the VA web site query system and state it is regarding Comp and Pension then click on the service complaint thing-

and tell them what you told us- those records must be Somewhere-

If the friend's death occurred as a fellow servicemen's death-durng your period of service - obviousy this is a stressor and obviously it could not be a pre- existing problem-

It is possible that the CBOC is having communication problem with the RO-

A query -as a service complaint-goes to the VBA first where it is recorded as a complaint and then the RO gets it and has to act on it.

Maybe your SO could call the VARO for you and see where the heck your stuff is----

Bizarre-

then again I was told 2-3 times that the VA PC had NOTHING on my claims-

by calling back the 800# for second opinion I the found out where they were.

You or your SO should ask the =800# vet rep to access the COVERS screen and tell you where the files are.

[devildog 71]

Hi Again, All

My VSO DID send copies of my MSR's along with my stressor letter , etc.. Maybe I'm putting the 'cart in front of the horse' - as maybe they'll surprise me with a C&P appt (instead of a denial) - as I mentioned , it's only been about a month and a half since my VSO sent it all to the RO.

Also , I did serve aboard a ship - but it was in the Med when I was with the 34th MAU (2nd MarDiv)- on the USS CORONADO from Sept'71 thru March '72.

Anyway ,will let you all know what happens...

Take Care

'Devildog71'