Non Combat Medic

[diver]

Hello all. I have been reading this sight for years now and this is my first post. I have been diagnosed with PTSD by the VA. I was a medical specialist 91B10 at Ft Hood in the early 90s. I was assigned to a forward support battalion and spent around 6 months out of the year pulling medical coverage for the tankers. I also had rotations at a troop medical clinic and I have worked on a lot of people. I have many nightmares of these people constantly. Just to give you an idea of what I have seen. I had a cook that was refueling one of the field stoves and she ended up catching herself on fire in front of me. She ended up with some small injuries and smoke inhalation. It is the fire ball that still bothers me today. I have also had a patient that ran under stairs and hit his head causing him to split his scalp from ear to ear and pull the scalp behind his head. I had a helicopter loose power on me at night as I was with a patient heading back to post from a field problem. The emergency red lights flashing and the pilots panicking before they were able to start the engines again. I also had a patient come in that had his eye slashed open from a cable that snapped as he was pulling an engine out of a tank. I do not have any dates for these issues. I worked on so many people that I don’t remember all of them.

I am always depressed, Panicked, stressed, avoid people and places, I avoid my own family and I see my friend from before my service time maybe once a year. I do work because I cant let my kids suffer with loosing there home. I am not worth them having to loose things because of me. My psyche has insisted to me that they do not need to verify them anymore. Also my DAV rep seems to not be interested in adding this to me existing depression and anxiety claim.

My question is. I have put in for disability for this because my psyche told me that I needed to but is there really a possibility of receiving it with no dates for the stressor verification.

[Mikemmlj]

For Military Sexual Trauma and combat PTSD they have made it easier but for your type of claim I think they still have the old standard

[Berta]

Mike is right.

"My psyche has insisted to me that they do not need to verify them anymore. "

He is not a VA claims specialist too, is he? The Psyche is wrong.

"Also my DAV rep seems to not be interested in adding this to me existing depression and anxiety claim."

You mean adding the PTSD diagnosis?

Do you have any evidence of treatment for anxiety and/or depression in your SMRs?

"My question is. I have put in for disability for this because my psyche told me that I needed to but is there really a possibility of receiving it with no dates for the stressor verification.

I just bumped up the 2010 PTSD regs here the other day ,in our PTSD forum.

They rely on "fear of hostile activity" and that your MOS put you approximately near that activity.

Are these 'stressors' the same that caused you to claim the anxiety and depression?

VA only rates one MH disability and the cash is the same whether for PTSD, or the anxiety/depression. Actually PTSD is an anxiety disorder.

I know a non combat medic very well.and I do understand how you saw alot and it must have been very stressful at times.

I feel you need to try to get Buddy Statements from any members in your unit who could somehow verify the stressprs you mentioned.

The best stressor to claim is the one most likely to be able to prove.

"I had a helicopter loose power on me at night as I was with a patient heading back to post from a field problem. The emergency red lights flashing and the pilots panicking before they were able to start the engines again."

Was this in flight? There might possibly be a morning report on this incident.

But I have been on helicopters (I am a civilian) and I sure think you mean there was a loss of power prior to lift off......and not in flight......helos dont 'bank' like small planes do....I think a loss of power to the engine while in flight would cause a crash ( definite morning report or some documentation on that)...but I am a civilian and maybe there was

a loss of power in flight that they somehow recovered momentum with.....I went to flight school for a while too...and that would have been heroic and probably very difficult to do......)

Still, your unit surely has a web site and many unit sites have accidents and other stuff listed in the unit historys.

Please dont feel I am discouraging you, I am not... just that VA will want proof of at least one stressor.

Also they will question any details that don't seem to be consistent....things like what I asked you about the power loss. I do not doubt you at all......just that we hardcore claimants here know how the VA can be on this stuff.

We have info here on Buddy Statements and the link within this link is on stressors:

Edited October 30, 2014 by Berta

[diver]

"You mean adding the PTSD diagnosis?"

yes the PTSD clame

"Do you have any evidence of treatment for anxiety and/or depression in your SMRs?"

I was given some anti anxiety meds when I was in the TMC but unfortunately they do not show up in my records. in a medical battalion I have had x-rays that never made it into my records and because of it the VA will not recognize the problem with my shoulder.

"Are these 'stressors' the same that caused you to claim the anxiety and depression?"

I have 2 things that have given me the Anxiety and depression. There is the PTSD and I am also SC for Bilateral ankle pain, Bilateral Knee Pain, tinnitus and chronic pack pain

"Was this in flight?"

Yes the helicopter was in flight. Unfortunately we did not have helicopters in our battalion and we would catch a ride with whoever was in the area. So I do not know who the helicopter belonged to.

I will try to locate a sight for my old unit unfortunately they were disbanded in the 90s.

Thank you for all your help

[carlie]

diver,

I'd sure thank Ms Berta because she provided such a thorough and wonder reply -

spot on.

In your situation I feel you might easier be able to gather evidence to support an

depression / anxiety claim issue, versus the evidence for the PTSD claim issue (criteria).

This is just what I get the feeling of from your first two posting's.

Hope this helps a vet.

jmho

[diver]

Hello again. I have been searching for people that were witnesses to my PTSD stressors. Unfortunately most of the things that I worked on were for other groups as medical support and I have no idea who they were and what people’s names were. The question I have is will it help to have my wife write a support letter for me. We were married in 93 and she has been with me threw all of the stressors. She can only state what I said and how I was acting after the experiences. She has watched the change in me. Will this help or will it be disregarded because she did not witness the actual incidents. I will have her write a letter and submit it either way because it’s what I have. Also can someone tell me what format the letter should fallow?

Thank you

Diver

[Navy4life]

What % are you S/C for under PTSD?

What are the stressors under PTSD that you are S/C for?