tinnitus Making A Correction To Mental Health Record

[HorizontalMike]

How can I go about correcting a mistake made by the TBI assessment I had in 2011-12. They MIS-QUOTED ME when they entered into my record "...his depression started in 2010 when he fell of ladder". What I said was that "my depression worsened" after said accident and that I eventually approached VA for mental health assistance in 2011. My depression had been ongoing all of my adult life, caused by TBI manifestations that I was unaware of for +40yr. I took St. John's Wort for ~20yr, trying to feel better.

To make a long story short... When I finally got my TBI rated after 40yr (40% +10% Tinnitus), the VA denied my SC depression rating because of the ^ above ^ misinformation.

How do I get this error in my STRs corrected? A CUE? Or is there another way? FWIW, neurological depression is NOT the same as a stress induced depression, but the run of the mill general psychiatrists have just been treating me with happy pills and nothing else. They even REFUSE to look at additional evidence I have to show this. They just want me to go away.

[Berta]

If you are still within the appeal period for the depression denial, a strong IMO from a shrink, might well support that depression claim

as secondary to the TBI...which is far easier than trying to prove you had the depression prior to the TBI that they SCed,unless the IMO doctor finds evidence in your SMRs of inservice depression..

I guess I am assuming the TBI was due to the fall of the ladder?

[HorizontalMike]

If you are still within the appeal period for the depression denial, a strong IMO from a shrink, might well support that depression claim

as secondary to the TBI...which is far easier than trying to prove you had the depression prior to the TBI that they SCed,unless the IMO doctor finds evidence in your SMRs of inservice depression..

I guess I am assuming the TBI was due to the fall of the ladder?

Berta,

In the TBI/Depression rating, they acknowledged that I had been treated for depression in 1973 (TBI 1972), but cited lack of continuity of care. What I now need, is to get this mistake where I purportedly said my depression "started in 2010" taken out of my record, as this mistake has now been repeated in error,... and you know how repeated lies evolve into "trooth" blah, blah...

Got the C-file request in, but HOW do I change that error in my mental health STR?

[HorizontalMike]

If you are still within the appeal period for the depression denial, a strong IMO from a shrink, might well support that depression claim

as secondary to the TBI...which is far easier than trying to prove you had the depression prior to the TBI that they SCed,unless the IMO doctor finds evidence in your SMRs of inservice depression..

I guess I am assuming the TBI was due to the fall of the ladder?

Berta,

I'm afraid I didn't explain (above) very well. Let me try again...

• TBI occurred late 1972 (NAVY)

• Had Dr visit 1973 that showed a number of symptoms of TBI, Depression, sleep disorders (NAVY)

• Post-Navy...Spent many years taking St. John's Wort (homeopathic self-treatment for depression - this is actually recognized by VA as a treatment), maybe 20yr or more

• 2010 Fell off of ladder (23 fractures of ribs and vertebrae and spent week in ICU) This was a bad accident and probably served as a distraction to the shrinks when I was sharing my history with them in the TBI clinic.

• Mid-2011, my ever present depression worsened from a combination of things over the past year of late 2010 to mid 2011 :

1. my ladder accident on Labor Day 2010
2. between the accident and my approaching the VA for help, my self-treatment with St. John's Wort was failing me since I was forced to switch brands due to manufacturer dropping the product. New brand (3 of them) was just NOT doing the trick any more and my depression started down hill from what used to be a manageable state.
3. my attendance at the ~May1st, 2011, 40th anniversary reunion for my Naval ship (USS Wabash in Wabash IN) where 6 of us from the same division at the same time got together ~38yr later. They all got old... BUT NOT ME!
4. I grew up an hour south of this reunion location, so I spent a week visiting my 90yr old mother in the nursing home (first visit since she was removed from her home and placed there).
5. One week after returning from this round trip from Texas to Indiana and back on my Harley, the motor took a dump that required a complete rebuild. At least it did not blow while on the road!

• SO,... Mid June 2011 I approached my VA PCP about seeking mental health services. My PCP wrote the referral and I got on meds but took a year to get the right ones (not fun). At that point I started asking questions about my Major Depression and why my life was and had been so so crappy for the entire ~40yr after my time in service., and got referred to the Poly-trauma clinic for a full work up and MRI. I filed for the TBI/Depression/Tinnitus/Hearing Loss C&P in Sept of 2012 after finding out about the remote lacunar infarct that I had had. I didn't even know what date or month that I had the TBI. I only remembered having a motorcycle accident but nothing else about it, at all. Needless to say, all my performance evals hit rock bottom and stayed there. I thought things would change in civilian life, but NOT. Even after earning my multiple degrees and certifications, I kept getting pushed down the road looking for yet another job. I thought everyone was just picking on me. I saved all of the termination letters and poor job evals over the decades, thinking I was going to get those Axxholes back. All that documentation only proved my detractors right and me wrong. Taking the long way to the barn, I think I am starting to get a handle how to deal with this C&P thing, but help is always appreciated!

BOTTOM LINE to all of this is that that PCP referral to mental health, fully explains WHY I was seeking mental health services (failing self-treatment), more than a year before the TBI folks and the C&P shrink made the error in my record. I NEVER stated that my depression started in 2010, but that didn't stop the VA from denying my SC Depression.

So how do I go about getting this kind of error corrected in my files?

Edited August 14, 2014 by HorizontalMike