What Information Would You Like About Gwi/gws?

[VetlawUS]

A pretty large number of followers of the Veterans Law Blog have asked me to write more about Gulf War Syndrome/Gulf War Illness.

To make sure I get the most needed information to y'all, what do you most need to know about GWS/GWI claims or appeals?

I'll check in to this post, but you can also email me at support@veteranslawblog.org

Chris Attig | VeteransLawBlog.org

[Navy04]

Thanks for your support bud, as I too have a lot of the Disabilities and illnesses caused by GWS. God Bless!!!

[Buck52]

Any information about the Burn pits would be helpful. conditions/disease & symptoms

Thank You.

..............Buck

[rootbeer22]

VetlawUS

Folks:

I had a GWI Exam in Feb 2015 and with 3 of 6 key GW illnesses were verified but the CP doctor still did not grant service connection...so it's mainly in the hands of the doctor and if it's within their belief system that these illneses exist? Frankly, he did not make eye contact with me (which was odd) and was terse with me from the get go..so it was clear that his mind was already made up. But, I will eventually challenge it in the future..Originally, I was not on the Burn Pit Registry but was notified last week that my name was entered into the system manually by a VBA Rep ...so maybe that will change things for my case with this for me in the future....

[Buck52]

yes rootbeer unfortunately you got a unfriendly veteran examiner.

I never understood the fact that some veteran examiners do have a predetermined medical opinion.

the evidence and facts will prevail over a Dr like this.

it happens to a lot of us, don't sweat it they can be beat!

What I would love to see is when this happens they take out that Dr' report that was predetermined to denied a veteran claim and not put it in our c-file because once its determined that that report is invalid & useless it never can be used against the veteran. so why not trash/shred it.

...............Buck

Edited May 26, 2015 by Buck52

[tdubya82]

[deleted]

Edited July 21, 2016 by tdubya82

[SincityCJ]

Chris,

One thing that is needed is "how to substantiate a solid connection for GWI to autoimmune and/or XXXX health issues" It's the white elephant in the room and may seem painfully obvious, but linking GWI aka "Undiagnosed Illness" to any other health issues is nightmarish to say the least. The connection seems obvious and many Docs will tell you so, but establishing a defensible position on that link is an entirely different story. There simply aren't enough specific case studies or tests that can show any link between the issues. As we all know, relying on the VA to make the connection is fools play...so the GW Vet is left to completing a jigsaw puzzle with some of the pieces gone...The presumptive service part is a huge card in our favor. However, it doesn't make filing the claim/appeal a walk in the park by any stretch. GWI is like a dead end road, full of mines... There's lots of varied symptoms, but no recognized treatment or classification unless you attack them individually. Then, you run the risk of being diagnosed with XXXX, which precludes the "undiagnosed Illness" clause... There's also a lot of misconceptions in the medical community about what GWI really is and isn't, when and how it manifests and how it progresses, since it seems to vary so significantly.