ptsd DDD appeal need help winning, only getting worse

[DD0351]

Currently 70ptsd 10 bi foot condition 0 ecemza and bi shoulder awarded TDIU ssdi 

in 2012 I filed my first claim for DDD I was denied for not having a current diagnoses and I didn't know better so I appealed it, amd well I been waiting and since than I've gotten tdiu

Now to my back I have 3 herniated disc with a tear and artithss which cause serve pain which have also cause nerve damage and pain in my legs, my current treatment is epadorial shots and now I'm about to get my nerves burned in my back, so I'm pretty screwed up on my back and now I have several diagnoses for my back.

 So what can I do to help get me a rating for my back because it pretty bad now, I have the events and the diagnoses just need someone to read my medical records right . Thanks 

[Vync]

Did you appeal to the regional office or to the BVA?

If you have not already done so, I recommend you familiarize yourself with the arthritis and spine rating criteria: http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5;node=38:1.0.1.1.5#se38.1.4_171a

Having herniated/torn discs by itself is not necessarily a rating. They rate by range of motion, abnormal spine curvature, gait, and also by IVDS (doc prescribed bedrest episodes).

As you know, the VA will need 3 things for direct service connection:
1. Event in service
2. Current diagnosis
3. Doc opinion connecting 1 and 2 ("as likely as not", "more likely than not", "due to/caused by")

Keep in mind that you can also file for secondary peripheral nerves neuropathy/radiculopathy in one/both arms/legs depending on the problems.

Good luck!

[waccamawwild]

I had to appeal to BVA and it was a long road but I got rated 40% for DDD. I also got an Independent medical opinion and that ended up being the difference.

[RUREADY]

3 hours ago, waccamawwild said:

I had to appeal to BVA and it was a long road but I got rated 40% for DDD. I also got an Independent medical opinion and that ended up being the difference.

If you are rated at 40% for DDD that's pretty much the most you will

get for the back you could get a rating for the legs if you are having trouble

with them unless you have bed rest, or spine is in a fix position nothing more

to get.

	Rating
General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine
(For diagnostic codes 5235 to 5243 unless 5243 is evaluated under the Formula for Rating Intervertebral Disc Syndrome Based on Incapacitating Episodes):
With or without symptoms such as pain (whther or not it radiates), stiffness, or aching in the area of the spine affected by residuals of injury or disease
Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine	100
Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine	50
Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine; or, forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine 30 degrees or less; or, favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine	40
Forward flexion of the cervical spine 15 degrees or less; or, favorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine	30
Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 60 degrees; or, forward flexion of the cervical spine greater than 15 degrees but not greater than 30 degrees; or, the combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine not greater than 120 degrees; or, the combined range of motion of the cervical spine not greater than 170 degrees; or, muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour such as scoliosis, reversed lordosis, or abnormal kyphosis	20
Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 60 degrees but not greater than 85 degrees; or, forward flexion of the cervical spine greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 40 degrees; or, combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 120 degrees but not greater than 235 degrees; or, combined range of motion of the cervical spine greater than 170 degrees but not greater than 335 degrees; or, muscle spasm, guarding, or localized tenderness not resulting in abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour; or, vertebral body fracture with loss of 50 percent or more of the height	10
Note (1): Evaluate any associated objective neurologic abnormalities, including, but not limited to, bowel or bladder impairment, separately, under an appropriate diagnostic code.
Note (2): (See also Plate V.) For VA compensation purposes, normal forward flexion of the cervical spine is zero to 45 degrees, extension is zero to 45 degrees, left and right lateral flexion are zero to 45 degrees, and left and right lateral rotation are zero to 80 degrees. Normal forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine is zero to 90 degrees, extension is zero to 30 degrees, left and right lateral flexion are zero to 30 degrees, and left and right lateral rotation are zero to 30 degrees. The combined range of motion refers to the sum of the range of forward flexion, extension, left and right lateral flexion, and left and right rotation. The normal combined range of motion of the cervical spine is 340 degrees and of the thoracolumbar spine is 240 degrees. The normal ranges of motion for each component of spinal motion provided in this note are the maximum that can be used for calculation of the combined range of motion.
Note (3): In exceptional cases, an examiner may state that because of age, body habitus, neurologic disease, or other factors not the result of disease or injury of the spine, the range of motion of the spine in a particular individual should be considered normal for that individual, even though it does not conform to the normal range of motion stated in Note (2). Provided that the examiner supplies an explanation, the examiner's assessment that the range of motion is normal for that individual will be accepted.
Note (4): Round each range of motion measurement to the nearest five degrees.
Note (5): For VA compensation purposes, unfavorable ankylosis is a condition in which the entire cervical spine, the entire thoracolumbar spine, or the entire spine is fixed in flexion or extension, and the ankylosis results in one or more of the following: difficulty walking because of a limited line of vision; restricted opening of the mouth and chewing; breathing limited to diaphragmatic respiration; gastrointestinal symptoms due to pressure of the costal margin on the abdomen; dyspnea or dysphagia; atlantoaxial or cervical subluxation or dislocation; or neurologic symptoms due to nerve root stretching. Fixation of a spinal segment in neutral position (zero degrees) always represents favorable ankylosis.
Note (6): Separately evaluate disability of the thoracolumbar and cervical spine segments, except when there is unfavorable ankylosis of both segments, which will be rated as a single disability.
5235   Vertebral fracture or dislocation
5236   Sacroiliac injury and weakness
5237   Lumbosacral or cervical strain
5238   Spinal stenosis
5239   Spondylolisthesis or segmental instability
5240   Ankylosing spondylitis
5241   Spinal fusion
5242   Degenerative arthritis of the spine (see also diagnostic code 5003)
5243   Intervertebral disc syndrome
Evaluate intervertebral disc syndrome (preoperatively or postoperatively) either under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine or under the Formula for Rating Intervertebral Disc Syndrome Based on Incapacitating Episodes, whichever method results in the higher evaluation when all disabilities are combined under §4.25.
Formula for Rating Intervertebral Disc Syndrome Based on Incapacitating Episodes
With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 6 weeks during the past 12 months	60
With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 4 weeks but less than 6 weeks during the past 12 months	40
With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 2 weeks but less than 4 weeks during the past 12 months	20
With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least one week but less than 2 weeks during the past 12 months	10
Note (1): For purposes of evaluations under diagnostic code 5243, an incapacitating episode is a period of acute signs and symptoms due to intervertebral disc syndrome that requires bed rest prescribed by a physician and treatment by a physician.
Note (2): If intervertebral disc syndrome is present in more than one spinal segment, provided that the effects in each spinal segment are clearly distinct, evaluate each segment on the basis of incapacitating episodes or under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine, whichever method results in a higher evaluation for that segment.