Secondary Claims

[lcurle]

Hey all,

I just put in a claim. Since I was denied Tendonitis for my R ankle and due to the chronic nature of it, I filed for Tendonosis. In addition to that I filed a secondary "Chronic Back Pain" to my lower lumbar degeneration as well as IU due to said conditions. Since I am in now unable to move very well, 32 years old btw, I am debating about going to the VAMC ER since the muscle relaxers and naproxin that was prescribed to me does nothing. The only thin that touches my pain and allows me to move freely is cannabis. Unsure what to do, this morning I was unable to move until my wife helped me out of bed. Debating about going to the VA today....any advice is appreciated. If this is what my life is going to be like unsure if I can handle it.

[Andyman73]

What about radiculapathy(sciatica), do you have any issues with that? Could be something to check into if you do.\\

Andy

[TALON II FE]

The MRIs cost a lot more than x rays, so they don't like to do them, that's the bottom line. AD is the same way now and has been for over 5 years, they make it very difficult to get MRIs or CT, and I have seen docs in the past frustrated with it on AD, so I know it was coming from "up the chain" as a cost cutter.

The other thing about them is the experience level of the tech interpreting them. 3 techs can look at an MRI and get 3 different results, unfortunately. I have MRIs where 2 state an issue and one in between says nothing about it. I even had a pain management doc prior to my neck fusion come in at an injection appointment and tell me there was no reason to do one, since it hadn't helped the last 3 times and, when he looked at the imagery, he could see issues up higher where they could not inject, so I guess my other ones were training for someone or performed for someone to reset a threshold for them to stay qualified or any other of various reasons that weren't "to help me". Their are just so many variables.

Andy makes a good point about radiculopathy. Look at symptoms and relate it to that vs specific issue. That may make it harder for them to just blow you off and they will have to define it for you, if that makes sense.

[lcurle]

What about radiculapathy(sciatica), do you have any issues with that? Could be something to check into if you do.\\

Andy

I would have to have my PCP diagnose that and he stated "You're too fat to be taken seriously for back pain, what do you want me to do."

Hmm....6'0" 288lbs with enough force to crush mens head like sparrow eggs between my thighs. anyways, unsure how to proceed, for got to take my Naproxen this morning and my non bulging discs have me laid up.

I guess I would have to go get some IME's? Seems like Im always claiming stuff that my PCP diagnosis me with which then gets thrown out due to service connection. I have told my PCP and other examiner that I have no reflexes anymore when they test, they all say "really?" then proceed to test and find out that I don't and shrug it off and dismiss it as a culprit for something.

Edited July 1, 2015 by lcurle

[Andyman73]

I think that you got to stop crushing sparrow's eggs between your thighs! Lol! But seriously it is beginning to appear to me that you may need to email allison hickey ASAP. "Allison won Kanobe, is your only hope!" Let her know what you've been dealing with, as far as they have been disregarding your PCP DX and service connection.

From what I've learned from here, you don't need to be actually DX'd while on AD, just symptomatic. Like for me, I mentioned several times over my enlistement, that I was experiencing sciatica type sensations. While it doesn't show a DX, it does show I was suffering from it whilst on AD.

[ArNG11]

I think that you got to stop crushing sparrow's eggs between your thighs! Lol! But seriously it is beginning to appear to me that you may need to email allison hickey ASAP. "Allison won Kanobe, is your only hope!" Let her know what you've been dealing with, as far as they have been disregarding your PCP DX and service connection.

From what I've learned from here, you don't need to be actually DX'd while on AD, just symptomatic. Like for me, I mentioned several times over my enlistement, that I was experiencing sciatica type sensations. While it doesn't show a DX, it does show I was suffering from it whilst on AD.

You're right in that respect. The diagnosis is not the final nail in the coffin so to speak. It is the symptoms and documented evidence. Also the final tack on the head is a medical experts opinion to tie it together.

[Andyman73]

That last bit is the hardest step of all! Getting them to opinion in your favor!

Semper Fi!