hypertension Disability Compensation Question

[usaf1970]

Hi everyone. This is my first post. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to answer these message boards, there is a lot of great knowledge here.

So here is my situation, I separated from the Air Force in 1996. Approximately 3 months prior to separating I had a physical exam with lab results that came back with proteinuria and blood in my urine. I had no idea what this meant, so I asked the physician and he said "if could be caused by strenous exercise or it could be early signs of kidney disease. follow up with a civilian physician when you get out." He more or less acted like it wasn't a huge deal. I went to a civilian doctor a year later and he stated I still had proteinuria, and referred me to a kidney specialist. It turns out this was the early signs of kidney disease. I have had medical coverage through my civilian job since separating, and really never thought I needed to make a claim with the VA as long as I am receiving medical coverage.

So fast forward many years, and in the mid 2000's my kidney disease progressed. I now have hypertension and pretty severe gout. My kidney specialist believes these are secondary to my kidney disease. Again, I had no idea kidney disease could cause gout. I suffered through gout for a few years thinking I had tendinitis or a sprained foot or something else before a doctor smart enough said "yep, that's gout!" After learning how the kidneys work and how gout is related....now I feel I'm in a pretty bad situation and possibly looking at dialysis and possibly a kidney transplant. Thankfully so far I'm not that bad off. I have about 60-65% kidney functionality.

In 2008 I became unemployed and at the unemployment office, I spoke to a VSO. He listened to my situation and suggested I file a claim for disability. I completed the paperwork, signed medical release forms for my kidney doctor, etc... And a few months later got a rejection letter stating "lack of medical evidence". If I wanted to appeal it, please submit an appeal to the VA if I have NEW medical evidence. As far as I knew, they had received all medical evidence.

So a few months ago this year, I told my story to another VSO who said it doesn't sound right. That my kidney disease should have been service connected, and the secondary diseases should be considered connected as well. I submitted another claim to have it reopened and now I have a C & P exam scheduled. (never got that far in 2008). From most everything I have read, IF this claim is approved, the VA will only back date benefits to the date of this SECOND claim. This doesn't really seem right to me. I admit I was naive on the first claim, and didn't really understand the process. But it seems if this is considered service connected, the VA should back date benefits at LEAST back to 2008.

So I have 3 questions (sorry for the rambling).... 1) will I have a problem with the VA finding my kidney disease (acute glomerolnephritis) service related during my C & P exam? 2) if it is found to be service connected, and hypertention and gout are determined to be connected...how far back will the VA backdate benefits? 3) what is your best bet at what kind of rating I may receive? I have proteinuria, granular casts in my urine, reduced kidney functionality (40%), at least 5-10 gout attacks per year, some fairly severe...but never requiring hospitalization.

Thank you for any light you can shed.

[usaf1970]

So I read up some on this CUE claim process last night. From what I'm gathering, this is not something I want to attempt on my own because if I mess it up, I don't get a second shot. Should I contact a lawyer for this? Can anyone recommend a good one? I have a VSO but I'm not overly impressed so far. He has been hard to reach and non responsive.

britton - you mentioned "carlie", is this a member on this site?

I'm sure this is a common feeling around here, but I feel screwed by the VA because I never filed a claim from the beginning (in 1996), yet I didn't file a claim because I wasn't interested in money..i just wanted my kidneys taken care of. Since I had private insurance, I wasn't worried about it. So now I'm just trying to make sure my kidneys are taken care of but because it is so difficult to get this service connected, I feel I have to go after all I can. I know I'm preaching to the choir here but it is shameful to think our government/VA would try to deny benefits to service men/women based on technicalities. For me to have to get a lawyer because its too difficult to get the VA to establish the right date of my original claim (2008)....that just seems ****ing wrong!!

[Buck52]

Yes sir she is good too! but there is a lot of elder hadit members as well!

carlie specialize in CUE give her a shout!

Good Luck with your claim!

[chuck57thSig]

usaf1970, I guess you just took the red pill?

Morpheus to Neo - This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill -- the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill -- you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

[usaf1970]

I haven't done the CUE yet, and not sure that I will or if I have a case there. Yes, I swallowed the red pill if you mean trying to file a disability claim....and it does seem like i'm heading into wonderland here. Again, I think its shameful if a guy comes back from war and has to navigate through this web with the VA especially if they are suffering from PTSD or who knows what. Maybe I've went the wrong route here, but I feel like I'm doing this by myself. Maybe someone can answer this, what exactly does a VSO do for someone? My VSO does not answer my phone calls, he will reply to an email maybe a week later (if at all). I had a VSO from Ohio re-submit my claim to get me started in this second go-around with the VA, but the guy from Ohio does not represent me. I'm assigned to another group. So I've been logging into ebenefits and uploaded medical records and responding to the VA requests by myself. I had to file a "statement in support of claim", which wasn't too bad, but I felt like my VSO if he's representing me, should have gave me some suggestions on what to put on that form. Also....I am scheduled for a C & P exam on 11/19. The ONLY reason I know that I'm scheduled for this, is I was on eBenefits and happened to see a link that said "view your scheduled VA exams". I had no reason to click on this, but for some reason I did...and up comes a calendar that shows me scheduled for this C & P exam. I didn't receive a phone call, or anything in email or in snail mail. Is this normal? I know that if I miss the C & P exam, the VA will automatically reject my claim. It seems there would be a more formal process to notify someone they have this appointment scheduled than me just randomly stumbling across this calendar on eBenefits???? Should my VSO notified me of this, or mail/phone???? I spoke to another guy yesterday that works for the same organization representing me, and I complained about my VSO. He is going to request I get put in touch with someone else. But I guess I don't really understand what the VSO does. It feels like I'm doing this all by myself.

Not whinning...just wondering if I'm doing this right or not. Which is why I stated above if a guy comes back with PTSD, they are dealing with a lot in their head. Or if a guy comes back from war and is depressed over God forbid some really bad injuries...they have to deal with all this crap??? Man, shame on the government. But I'll make it through this.

[carlie]

I haven't done the CUE yet, and not sure that I will or if I have a case there. Yes, I swallowed the red pill if you mean trying to file a disability claim....and it does seem like i'm heading into wonderland here. Again, I think its shameful if a guy comes back from war and has to navigate through this web with the VA especially if they are suffering from PTSD or who knows what. Maybe I've went the wrong route here, but I feel like I'm doing this by myself. Maybe someone can answer this, what exactly does a VSO do for someone? My VSO does not answer my phone calls, he will reply to an email maybe a week later (if at all). I had a VSO from Ohio re-submit my claim to get me started in this second go-around with the VA, but the guy from Ohio does not represent me. I'm assigned to another group. So I've been logging into ebenefits and uploaded medical records and responding to the VA requests by myself. I had to file a "statement in support of claim", which wasn't too bad, but I felt like my VSO if he's representing me, should have gave me some suggestions on what to put on that form. Also....I am scheduled for a C & P exam on 11/19. The ONLY reason I know that I'm scheduled for this, is I was on eBenefits and happened to see a link that said "view your scheduled VA exams". I had no reason to click on this, but for some reason I did...and up comes a calendar that shows me scheduled for this C & P exam. I didn't receive a phone call, or anything in email or in snail mail. Is this normal? I know that if I miss the C & P exam, the VA will automatically reject my claim. It seems there would be a more formal process to notify someone they have this appointment scheduled than me just randomly stumbling across this calendar on eBenefits???? Should my VSO notified me of this, or mail/phone???? I spoke to another guy yesterday that works for the same organization representing me, and I complained about my VSO. He is going to request I get put in touch with someone else. But I guess I don't really understand what the VSO does. It feels like I'm doing this all by myself.

Not whinning...just wondering if I'm doing this right or not. Which is why I stated above if a guy comes back with PTSD, they are dealing with a lot in their head. Or if a guy comes back from war and is depressed over God forbid some really bad injuries...they have to deal with all this crap??? Man, shame on the government. But I'll make it through this.

I would immediately call and verify the C&P is scheduled

and be SURE to attend it.

jmho

[usaf1970]

carlie - thank you for the advice. I called the local va medical center today and asked about my c & p exam, and they stated it was a review of my records and that I was not required to attend.