ptsd Results From Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Treatment Team (pct)

[betrayed]

I start anger management group theraphy for 8 weeks next week and I also start PTSD Education Group therapy next week for eight weeks. I guess I am officially diagnosed with PTSD now. I am waiting for the copies of my last few physch appointments and cant wait to see PTSD listed in AXIS I of a pysch diagnosis.

Then I will have to call my VSO and tell him, and make him eat the words I will never win a PTSD claim, I am still waiting on a PTSD C&P

[Pete53]

Good luck with your treatment. If you don't feel like your VSO is on your side maybe you should look for another one?

Being treated by the VA for PTSD is one part of three parts that you need to win your claim. You also need a connection to your service usually an opinion by an MD showing your current diagnosis and offering an opinion that your service caused it does the trick and also for PTSD you will still need to show a stressor that you can prove. Plus what they call continuity or how it has been a problem for you between now and your Service.

Hadit can help you perfect your claim.

[Tbird]

I start anger management group theraphy for 8 weeks next week and I also start PTSD Education Group therapy next week for eight weeks. I guess I am officially diagnosed with PTSD now. I am waiting for the copies of my last few physch appointments and cant wait to see PTSD listed in AXIS I of a pysch diagnosis.

Then I will have to call my VSO and tell him, and make him eat the words I will never win a PTSD claim, I am still waiting on a PTSD C&P

pace yourself, anger management is very good, remember the whole claims process can make you very angry...so keep an eye on your symptoms.

[betrayed]

the whole claims process can make you very angry...so keep an eye on your symptoms.

Yes I agree and thats why I have been in the pysch ward twice, I keep telling the doctors that the stress of all this crap is gonna give me a heart attck or a stroke. I have much anger and hatred against the VA for the way they have treated me.....................

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As far as service connection the doctor told me anyone who was in law enforcement for 20 years is going to have PTSD, he told me I would never recover and it will never go away. I will always be hypervigilent and on the constant look out for danger.

In March I sent in three stressor letters which all can be verified very easily, death of two military crew mates and a collisoin at sea.

I have seven more stressor letters (all law enforcement related) with buddy letters for two of them. My service record documents 20 years military law enforcement, and 5 years reserve/auxiliary police work with a large city department and a county sherrifs department.

I have the diagnosis, I have the varifiable stressor letters, I have the Nexus to active duty, and I continue to have symptoms which prevent me from working.............The VA has done some ridiculus (SP?) things as far as my claims which causes all the anger, but I cant possibly forsee not winning my PTSD Claim.

[Guest jstacy]

Jim, also remember that the VA will do anything in their power to find the negative points to offset the posative points.

They will push the Law Enforcement issue to the maximum.

You should be expecting this so you can plan your next move.

[betrayed]

read these two articles

Residuals_of_Police_Occupational_Trauma.doc

The_Relationship_of_Posttraumatic_Stress_Disorder_to_Law_Enforcement.doc

[john999]

Jim

Put your anger to work and prepare the best claim possible. Every time you send in more evidence imagine your fist coming down on the RO's head. Winning your claim is the best revenge. I think everyone here has been F'ed over by the VA. We are all angry at the VA. That is why we are here I think. We are standing up and demanding to be compensated.

[Berta]

Jim- this is good evidence and I think your VSO gave you very inappropriate negative remarks about your PTSD claim.

I got crap like that from the DAV and proved them wrong- and I went through similiar negative stuff with my present POA.

John said it all- the VA screws us all over if we let them-

In the end the medical evidence and the nexus is what succeeds and that is what will overcome negative vet reps and wrong VA decisions.

These vet reps and NSOs have a mission statement that their organizations provide.

I never see in these mission statements where they are supposed to discourage a vet or somehow have a crystal ball to forecast what the VA will ultimately decide.

Some-but certainly not all- will play on a veteran's disability or a widow's sudden life-altering situation.

I went through stuff with my present POA that I still cannot fathom.

It was as if the vet rep right from the git go tried to sabotage my claim.He hardly read it and immediately said it was going to the BVA and the CAVC. Then another rep at a higher level seemed to tell me a story that was not true -based on documentation-as to the DRO review. This POA then gave me no support whatsoever for my BVA remand request in August and they were shocked when the remand suddenly occurred in September.

It was remanded due to violation of basic VA case law.

You must wonder why I don't change POAs-

I will succeed in my claim due to 2 factors-

undisputable medical evidence and

for spite!

Everytime the DAV gave me very negative remarks in the 1990s as to those two claims-

it just caused me to fight even harder for the proper awards which I did get-and they were surprised at the awards.

What advantage is there in a POA being so negative?

I just don't get that. Maybe negativity covers up their stupidity.

[Guest jangrin]

Question,

To what advatage is it for the VA staff, be it the 800#, or the IRIS response, or the VSO or the RO or even the appeals arena BVA etc. WHY DO THEY LIE ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE CLAIM.

What is the truth and why do they feel the need to lie??????

I really do not understand this mentality. Why don't they just say it is on the shelf and no one has looked at it for two months or whatever.

WHY LIE????

If we know that these claims files are not being worked on then maybe we could summon the government for help for these people. But when they lie and tell everyone their fine, then no one feel that they need additional man power to process these files.

I wish I could understqand thier rationale.

[Berta]

This is another thing I dont understand Jangrin-

In the beginning of 2006 my AO claim went through numerous hands at the VARO-

from January to July- appeals team, predetermination team, in and out of rating board, Dro to coach, back to adjudication, 3 authorizations on three different days- supervisor ,coach, and then rating again- and then to my POA----at one point in March an 800 vet rep who always seems on the ball told me it looked like I would have a decision in days-he said the 3 signatures showed it had not been denied.But then more action took place for 4 more months-

In July when my claim was transferred to the Board -I was shocked!

In all of that time- and I have a log of how much it was passed around- not one thing- not even the 646 that my POA prepared- indicated that any of my evidence or my IMOs were even read.

The POA statement never mentioned the IMOs or the VCAA violation.

The VA had also informed me in January that my response to an SSOC would be considered as my formal appeal but I didnt like that idea at all- and had prepared a formal I-9 appeal and stated right on page one that all of my medical evidence still remained unread and that the VA had violated basic VA case laws.

Perhaps they just read the SSOC response instead of my formal I-9. ????

Of course they got it all back in Sept as the BVA didnt even docket it due to the legal errors that had occurred.

How can -in some cases- a claim isn't stagnant but is getting some sort of attention as it goes from person to person- yet the evidence still remains unread?

When the claim came back they immediately appeared to start working on it again-appeals team, rating, coach, regional counsel, rating, RC, rating board, appeals team- sameo sameo-

In all this time I supplied more evidence and now have 3 IMOs to support the AO claim yet have no idea whether any of it has actually been read yet. By Feb it will be 4 years since they got this claim.

They have responded to my CUE claims asking for more evidence.But the AO claim was filed way before these CUEs.

Two weeks after they sent the claim to the BVA, someone at this VARO filed a Motion for reconsideration in my behalf on an old CUE claim I had at the BVA which I never appealed.

It almost seems to me that someone at the RO saw something wrong in the way this whole thing was handled and looked for a way to change this.

They told me yesterday this CUE reconsideration of a 1998 decision that they filed was still an open issue. ????

Edited November 30, 2006 by Berta (see edit history)

[betrayed]

Doing my research and looking for every article I can find relating law enforcement to PTSD.

WOW, its on the VA's own website for PTSD

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An Overview

A National Center for PTSD Fact Sheet

Matthew J. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Director, National Center for PTSD

Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, Dartmouth Medical School

quote from that web page

"There is great interest in rapid interventions for acutely traumatized individuals, especially with respect to civilian disasters, military deployments, and emergency personnel (medical personnel, police, and firefighters)."

[nlualum82]

There is always some satisfaction in proving the nay-sayer wrong, but I didn't think the stress of doing it WITH him was worth it.

After more than 2 decades I was a newby to all of this. I decided it was time to make my first visit to my POA, listed as a major service org. on my paperwork.

The guy went ballistic on me because I was getting 40% and he thought I should get 20%! And I had the gall to be filing for a new evaluation! (this is on my hearing, by the way, which is fairly objective and applied to a scale).

I am relieved to finally be treated and compensated for things I had just "lived with" (90% now combined) and never would've been any better off if I hadn't changed POA. Luckily I found a guy who was good at his job and made it as pleasant as possible.

We have enough problems, put this one in your rearview mirror. If you feel like it you can always let him know when your claim succeeds (though I'd exercise a little restraint).

Gary

70% PTSD/MDD

50% bilateral hearing loss

10% tinnitus

10% L knee injury

10% L knee degenerative osteparthritis

[LarryJ]

Question,

To what advatage is it for the VA staff, be it the 800#, or the IRIS response, or the VSO or the RO or even the appeals arena BVA etc. WHY DO THEY LIE ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE CLAIM.

What is the truth and why do they feel the need to lie??????

I really do not understand this mentality. Why don't they just say it is on the shelf and no one has looked at it for two months or whatever.

WHY LIE????

If we know that these claims files are not being worked on then maybe we could summon the government for help for these people. But when they lie and tell everyone their fine, then no one feel that they need additional man power to process these files.

I wish I could understqand thier rationale.

It has become sort of a "game" to me.

I'll call up the AMC and speak with someone (Pearl or Ernest or one of the other folks), and I'll make a note as to what they tell me, so's I can share it with my wife, you know, kinda the "high spot" of my week. She gets to go to work and interact with other people, so I figger what-the-hey, I'll call up the AMC and interact with people also, that way not only she will have something to share with me, but I also with her. Anyway, Im up to, lessee, about 8 different stories that keep getting repeated over time, and again, and again.........

It's not Pearl or Ernest's fault, after all, they gotta tell ya something, right? Otherwise they'd have not a job, right? And they don't dare tell the "TRUTH" (kinda reminds me of a movie with Jack Nickolson in it), for if they told the troooth, that NOBODY knows what-the-fook is going on, then that'd get 'em fired also.

So, we play the games...........................

[Cavman]

I start anger management group theraphy for 8 weeks next week and I also start PTSD Education Group therapy next week for eight weeks. I guess I am officially diagnosed with PTSD now. I am waiting for the copies of my last few physch appointments and cant wait to see PTSD listed in AXIS I of a pysch diagnosis.

Then I will have to call my VSO and tell him, and make him eat the words I will never win a PTSD claim, I am still waiting on a PTSD C&P

I think we live about 25 miles apart. I`m wondering what service organization does your VSO come from? I have totally ignored mine and do not want his help.

Cavman

[Josephine]

LarryJ,

It has become sort of a "game" to me.

I'll call up the AMC and speak with someone (Pearl or Ernest or one of the other folks), and I'll make a note as to what they tell me, so's I can share it with my wife, you know, kinda the "high spot" of my week. She gets to go to work and interact with other people, so I figger what-the-hey, I'll call up the AMC and interact with people also, that way not only she will have something to share with me, but I also with her. Anyway, Im up to, lessee, about 8 different stories that keep getting repeated over time, and again, and again.........

It's not Pearl or Ernest's fault, after all, they gotta tell ya something, right? Otherwise they'd have not a job, right? And they don't dare tell the "TRUTH" (kinda reminds me of a movie with Jack Nickolson in it), for if they told the troooth, that NOBODY knows what-the-fook is going on, then that'd get 'em fired also.

So, we play the games...........................

I laughed at this until my sides ached.

Well, Pearl told me that she had been promoted to a Rater, who knows, maybe she will work on your file or mine.

Ernest can't answer a thing and there is a Mrs. Cooper, that I spoke to the other day and she wouldn't let me speak a word. Smart Alick. Goodness! If I ask a question, she jumped to the defensive.

I was told that the Judge is expecting an answer on my claim the 6th of December. I sure hope that my stay there is coming to a postive close.

Keep up the good humor!!

Josephine