ptsd Ptsd Diagnosis

[betrayed]

Got the copy of progress notes from my last pyschiatrist visit it says

Axis I Major Depressive disorder

Generalized anxiety order v panic disorder with agoraphobia

Nicotine dependence

R/o PTSD

what does the R/o mean?

A couple of weeks ago I posted the above in this post and got various answers.

Yesterday I had a appoinment with the head of the PCT (POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER CLINICAL TREATMENT TEAM) to discuss my assessment. I told him about the above R/o in the above diagnosis. He told me that it means the doctor thinks I have PTSD but has refered me to a specialist to make that diagnosis. I asked him you are that expert, he said yes. I said and you have diagnosed me with PTSD and he said yes.

Here comes the kicker, he said even though we have given you that diagnosis it is seperate from the C&P Exam for PTSD you will get. (which is tomorrow). He told me the POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER CLINICAL TREATMENT TEAM has diagnosed people with PTSD and the C&P doc has not diagnosed them with PTSD and then he told me that The C&P Doctor has made a diagnosis of PTSD and the POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER CLINICAL TREATMENT TEAM disagreed???????????????

Now I ask you this, I have my Pyschiatrist who writes

Axis I Major Depressive disorder

Generalized anxiety order v panic disorder with agoraphobia

Nicotine dependence

R/o PTSD

then in the narrative writes probable PTSD, educated patient that Celexa will treat PTSD. He does a referal to a specialist (PCT who is two docs a MD and a PHD) and they make the diagnosis and start treatment, HOW THE HELL COULD A C&P DOC SAY I DONT HAVE PTSD?

[pipeman043]

Let me tell you a story.....

a little bit of background first, I have been playing this game since January of 2004,

my SOC is about 14 pages long, all of the claimed stressors have been verified by

the VA, I filed this claim at the direction of the psychiatrist who wrote in my treatment

record that I had chronic PTSD and that I was told by him to initiate the claim. He had

been treating me for about 6 months prior to this and had written that his impression

had been PTSD at every prior visit. Axis I = PTSD. the GAF varies from 39 up to 53

depending on my mood I guess. 3 months after I file my claim I show up for my

appointment and the psychiatrist I had been seeing has been terminated and I get

a new psychiatrist who says that while I have signs and symptoms of PTSD I also

have a major depressive disorder NOS (not otherwise specified). Due to other medical

issues such as coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure , hypertension, bilateral

demylinating peripheral neuropathy in all extremities I filed for both Non service connected

disability and for service connected. both got denied almost immediately. Filed for reconsideration

by DRO on both and S/C was denied and the NSC was granted 16 months after the original

filing date. Filed a NOD. My "C" file got lost in transit after it was certified to the BVA.

Jump ahead to yesterday, was supposed to get the travel board hearing that I requested

but was scheduled for the Video hearing. The RO does all the scheduling and notification.

Letter says that hearing is for 0830 and to arrive half hour earlier. I show up at the RO

and am told to go see my VSO first. I go over to his office in a different building and he

tells me that everyone is scheduled for 0830 and that he has to find out when hearing is

REALLY scheduled for. He can't get anyone at the RO to answer the phone so we return to

the RO. Person behing the desk says that because I was not there @ 0800 that I go to the

end of the line and that all hearings are on a first come, first served basis. I get really ugly

and demand to speak to someone in authority. So as I am waiting here arrives a VA cop

that they requested be onhand to supervise me. There are other people also waiting there

so they try to get me into an office with the door closed because " I am disturbing the other clients"

well their ploy backfired cause I wouldn't move off my chair. They had me talk to three different people

before they finally got the regional office director to come talk to me. All I got was the same BS rhetoric

about how the BVA scheduled all the hearings and I would have to contact them.....So

here we are, the VSO and myself sitting there having four people in a row come out and tell

us lies that both they and I already know are false. Hell of a system, we finally get through

the video hearing about three hours later. I asked the VSO how I am supposed to provide the additional

documents that I brought with me to the hearing, letters from my family and such. He tells me just

hold on to them for when you go to court. Don't you know that all these people are paid from the

same budget to say NO. They kept the cop right there to babysit me until after the last office person

spoke to me. then the cop left. I guess I wasn't a threat as long as someone wasn't lying to me.

God forbid that they would actually be forced to do what they are paid to do.

I thought that calling the cops on me was a little extreme, but especially so

since according to them I don't have rage issues and problems with

authority figures..... imagine that....

Thought this might be good for a chuckle, if I didn't think it was so funny and

stupid I might still be angry

[john999]

So I take it you got a NSC pension? Now you next goal is to get a service connected TDIU or 100% schedular claim. If the SC disabilities and the NSC disabilities are so intertwined that they are hard to separate as to their disabling affect on you the benefit of the doubt goes to you. The VA plays the game of blaiming your inability to work on you NSC conditions. I had that problem but eventually prevailed and my NSC conditions actually became SC'ed over time. It is almost impossible to separate many of these conditions. I had depression and other emotional conditions but had chronic pain also. One thing aggravated the other, so the VA blamed my IU on the chronic pain instead of the long standing service connected emotional problems. Also, it does not matter if you have PtSD or depression as long as it is SC. You can get 100% for either condition.

[huskerfanfl]

The hassle of proving PTSD is one reason I refuse to file for it. They can go on saying I suffer from anxiety and depression.

[jessejames]

R/O means Rule Out PTSD as a medical condition. http://www.angelfire.com/mt/medicalinks/medabrev.html