new ptsd claim

[calicic]

hello everyone 

I just had my c and p for ptsd . I have been diagnosed by my sw and  psych doctor also with major depression and anxiety . I'm a gulf war vet so its been 25 years.

 I don't think my c and p went well , my examiner was a women seem nice first we started 45 minutes late cause she wasn't notified of me checking in. We rushed through the exam and we went over the area pre post military. she had my file and had notes already taken , not to bore anyone my childhood had one even which i witness a suicide. she ask about the war i told her of three different combat related stressors and broke down with each recall. told her about nightmares , fears , not able to sleep , all the symptoms of ptsd. as soon as I started to tell her how I was feeling the past year , she said you don't have ptsd you have major depression with some symptoms of ptsd , she said its been 25 years so why is all this coming about now and pretty much every question after that each answer was thats not a symptom of ptsd but depression. and i was have the due to my father second bought of lung cancer last year. I tried to tell her i had theses feeling since after the war and she just shook her head and shoot down my answer each time , At the end she said i do have service connection but it was unclear what she meet by that , i have a form of ptsd unspecified mental issues and major depression. anyone have this happen in a exam? she read all my psych notes where i told  the all about my axis and flash backs and all the symptoms which are document with my prolong exposer therapy . 

any input would be great 

 

thanks 

[DSherman408]

Do you have the official diagnosis from a VA shrink giving PTSD? You definitely do not want to disclose your childhood. You were fine until the military and when you came back you were different. I had filed a while back without the diagnosis and this lady jacked it all up. I never realized until a 4 years ago that I had PTSD. I refiled with my diagnosis and had my local Vet Center submit my entire jacket to them so they HAD to Read it. I got my 70% and last year after trying to get a IU claim done I had to revisit my evaluation. This time had an Air Force veteran as my examiner. Completely agreed with the first C&P diagnosis. Still working on other issues related to that day but all is slowly improving with my health. Never for the best, remember we are always broken. Never say you are OK, or good. Say well I'm still here dealing with my issues or I wouldn't be seeing you if I was good. . They can always reduce your disability based on a comment. You can't talk to them like you would your neighbor. Off topic: but I'm dealing with 4 blood clots post op surgery that were not diagnosed by 2 VA doctors. First my primary care and second an Orthopedic doctor for a post op appointment. On warfarin for at least 6 months with 2 DVT's and 2 PE's. So I'm slowly improving since my hospital visit of 6 days.

 

[TALON II FE]

I agree with Buck, I think you need to start over.  Not just that, seek treatment on a regular, scheduled basis.  At the very minimum, find a peer group.  Once you are receiving more consistent treatment, the diagnosis and records will work themselves out.

  This part is VERY important!  Don't get hung up on what they call 'IT'!  First and foremost, seek help!  We as Vets are already members of a shrinking minority; we cannot afford to continue losing our brethren to complications of mental illness.  For rating purposes, it does NOT matter what your mental health issues are, it is rated off of the same scale based on SYMPTOMS.  It does not matter what they call it, the rating is the same.  MDD, PTSD, even bi-polar are all rated on the symptoms, not the diagnosis or diagnoses.  There is not a "PTSD" bonus, tax shelter or discount card.

  I know the VA process is broken, slow and adversarial.  And worse.  With mental health issues, that is compounded and magnified.  I wish I had some good advice for handling that additional stress, and I know I received some, but I couldn't follow it at the time myself and can't remember it now.  The one nugget I will try and impart is this: seek help, get treatment, do it on a schedule and "always get back on the horse".  Don't let it fade into the background and stop going.  If you make it part of your routine, get support from family or friends, and work at it, it gets more controllable.  It may not just go away, but more manageable is a good start.  I drive 45 minutes away to go to my PTSD Counselor, once a week.  It is the only time I regularly leave my property. I have been actively engaged in treatment for a year, though I was diagnosed on AD maybe 2 years before that.  Any treatment I received on AD was a joke, but that may have been just my experience.  I did a week long WWP combat stress recovery program, which really helped me get the ball rolling on getting treatment and helped me to understand how almost universal some/most symptoms can be.  Focus on getting better and the rest will follow.

 

[calicic]

Just an update I was awarded 30 % for ptsd I guess the actually went back in my file and read all my exposure therapy notes and didn't side with the c an p examiner, I recorded a call Saturday morning and was given an update on my claim , said my sleep apnea 2nd to ptsd was not handled correctly and was going to have it redone , I'll read up on sleep apnea and read the Dbq , thanks everyone of the advice and thought , now at least I don't have to worry about paying for my treatment , also now that I'm 40 % doe it change my va benefits as far as health care ? 

Thanks 

calicic 

[GARYLINN]

YES!  They will now pay your mileage for visits to the VA Hospital.  The next magic number is 50%.  That is when you get your meds for free.  Of course, any meds that are related to your disability will be free now.