diabetes Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Icd 250.01

[MHamby44]

Hi,

I submitted a claim for DM1 last year and was denied due to presumptive condition. I served for about three years as an 11Bravo and had the following issues however was not diagnosed for DM1. After the Army it took a few years to be full blown Insulin Pump 24/7 Driven ex. super trooper.

Timeline of events that I believe that I was undiagnosed for Pre-Diabetes/Diabetes.

15 June 1992 Issues leading to excessive Urinary Issues concludes with scoping (putting a camera) into my bladder. Figured I would suck it up and pee a lot after that....

16 June 1992 Fasting Glucose Test is 104 (Pre-Diabetes according to NIH.Gov and the VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guidelines)

19 FEB 1993 Fasting Glucose Test is 144 (Diabetes according to NIH.Gov and the VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guidelines)

24 OCT 1994 ETS from the Army.

Had a lot of problems with hypoglycemia, weight loss, thirst, urination fatigue and irritability. Finally diagnosed at age 34 in Jan 2005. I have done a lot of research and cannot find any really good info on DM 1 for VA claims in my personal situation. Are there any suggestions for me to make the Nexus between the issues above/argument that I had more than a 50% chance of being DM1 when I left the service.

Thanks,

M

[Pete53]

Welcome to Hadit

[MHamby44]

Thanks Pete!

[Berta]

The DMII criteria changed in the medical community during the 1990s.

My AO DMII claim was denied by VA because they kept sticking to the newer criteria. The veteran was deceased so they could not give him a HBIAC test.

(also they failed to properly diagnose and treat this disability in my husband's lifetime.)

I made many posts here from 2003 t0 2010 as to this issue and they are available under a search.

The best thing I did was to get an IMO from Dr, Bash (actually I got 2 from him and a freeby from a former VA neuro)

My husband was undiagnosed long before he should have been but I already has won a Sec 1151 death claim so I had to shape the newer claim very carefully.

As you can tell this claim took over 7 years because it involved an FTCA $$$ offset and there was no documented claim like it in the VA system. There still isn't.as far as I know. But Nothing is impossible,.

"Are there any suggestions for me to make the Nexus between the issues above/argument that I had more than a 50% chance of being DM1 when I left the service."

This can be done and I helped a local vet do that but it involved a lot of research and time on my part and he got an IMO as well.

I had to prepare a strong medical case even before he approached his endocrinologist.for the IMO.

I should have advised him to contact Dr. Bash.instead for the IMO.But in those days, maybe 12 years ago, many vets never thought of getting IMOs.It was not AO presumptive.but I found evidence of inservice manifestations of Diabetes in his SMRs.

"I submitted a claim for DM1 last year and was denied due to presumptive condition."

DMI is not a presumptive AO condition, DMII is.

Diabetes Type One or insipidus, is not the same as diabetes mellitus ( DMII)

Who is saying you have DMI ? It sounds to me that you have DMII.

If you were incountry Vietnam ,they probably denied if you claimed Diabetes Type One.

Can you scan and attach here (cover personal stuff as to C file name etc) the Reasons and Bases for the denial?

I submitted the entire WHO report when they re classified diabetes,. as evidence.for my claim.

I found considerable evidence of my husband's undiagnosed and untreated diabetes within the VA training letter on diabetes and the DOD clinical guidelines you mentioned here and associated his med recs with the manifestations of diabetes in the training letter.

The main bulk of the evidence that proved my claim however, was within other medical conditions my husband had and evidence in his autopsy.

If you in fact have a non presumptive form of diabetes (Diabetes type One) by researching your SMRs and then obtaining a strong medical opinion will help get the claim awarded, if in fact you had documented symptoms of diabetes in service.

The VA also might use the change in the diabetes criteria against you, as they did to me at first, but research on that as well as an IMO can overcome that problem.

PS even if it seems obvious to VA, by your med recs , that you mean DMII and not DMI, they sure dont care

because that would make it easy for them to deny the claim and say it is not presumptive.

"15 June 1992 Issues leading to excessive Urinary Issues concludes with scoping (putting a camera) into my bladder. Figured I would suck it up and pee a lot after that...."

I had that test years ago and peed a lot for the next 12 hours but that test really does not have anything to do with diabetes ......but obviously you had urinary problems that could have been due to diabetes.

Thus could be a 1151 issue if your med care was from the VA. (meaning the VA, as in my husband's case, failed to properly diagnose and treat him, and that failure caused him additional disability and contributed to his death.They (VA)compensate awarded 1151 claims as if' they were service connected claims.

Hard to say at this point on 1151 here and a good IMO doctor could determine if VA negligence occurred and/or if in fact you have DMII (and not diabetes insipidus or Type One )

due to your exposure to AO in Vietnam.

Edited October 11, 2014 by Berta

[MHamby44]

Berta,

Thank you for your response and inspiration to continue to press forward. Sorry for your loss. This is a marathon not a sprint. I tried to find how to attach the response from my claim and could not find the attach button.

So here goes...

From the VA for Contention Diabetes Mellitus

Service connection for diabetes mellitus is denied since this condition neither occurred in nor was caused by service.

Service connection is denied for diabetes mellitus on a presumptive basis because the medical evidence fails to show a diagnosis within the required period after military discharge.

Your service treatment records do not contain complaints, treatment, or diagnosis for this condition. We did not find a link between medical condition and· service.

Initial Diagnosis for DM1 wasn’t until January 2005 by a Civilian Endocrinologist at the age of 34 years old.

Insulin and C-Peptide, Serum Test

Insulin Fasting <2.0 L

C-Pepticde, Serum 1.0 L

I have been in the care of 4 Endo’s since then. My last Endo didn’t believe that I was DM I either and he repeated the C-Pepticide test and came to the same DM1 conclusion. The Army never did this test nor did the proper 1 month follow up on the High Blood sugar readings in my file. I requested an evaluation after seeing the 144 number and they blew me off even after I told them about my urinary problems.

Other things to note in my file

1) I had a lot of knee and ankle problems; ruptured my Achilles tendon.

2) Throughout my military service I had many respiratory infections; sinusitis and bronchitis

3) Frostbite

4) Urinary infection issues

My feeling is if I would have reenlisted I probably would have been medically discharged at some point. Thanks again for your time.

Mark

[Berta]

I think I am getting this wrong:

You stated"I submitted a claim for DM1 last year and was denied due to presumptive condition. I served for about three years as an 11Bravo and had the following issues however was not diagnosed for DM1. After the Army it took a few years to be full blown Insulin Pump 24/7 Driven ex. super trooper."

and "Initial Diagnosis for DM1 wasn’t until January 2005 by a Civilian Endocrinologist at the age of 34 years old."

So you were too young to be in Vietnam, and exposed to AO .....

And ,you mean you are seeking SC for a Chronic presumptive and not an AO presumptive.

I was stuck on the DMII but it doesn't matter whether DMI or DMII now.....

have you considered getting an IMO?

I assume you have all of your Military medical records.

Sorry I saw the word presumptive and ran with DMII AO on that at first......

I hope others chime in here.

[MHamby44]

Yes Ma'am

Correct. The VA used the term presumptive. You answered for me the Best Course of Action I could pursue now...

1. Get a new full copy of all military record

2. Get IMO from care physicians I'm currently seeing

3. Have both medical S M R AND PRIVATE medical records before contacting Dr. BASH for second IMO.

4. Submit this information and ask for a DRO.

I think the C & P evaluation did not go any further into my Records than page 1 where the mission diagnosis of D M I I was concluded due to my age at diagnosis.

Thanks

Mark