Misdiagnosed for years - Now What

[Galen Rogers]

Howdy all. I have suffered from allergy symptoms and chronic sinusitis symptoms for years. My STRs all hypothesized that I had moderate chronic sinusitis but never an absolute diagnosis.  I had xrays that indicated there might be retention cysts or polyps but were not conclusive. I had a CT scan in 2004 that definitively stated there were bilateral retention cysts in my sinus. When I filed in 2000 the VA gave me 0% for allergic rhinitis but denied that I had chronic sinusitis. Now I have had the constant pain and pressure around my eyes and ears clogging up for more years than I can count during service and after. I ate pseudoephedrine like candy for years until it started affecting my ability to urinate.  It is the only thing that lessens the pain and pressure. The allergy medicine only helps with the normal allergy symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes, etc.. So I finally had it and went back to the doctor asking to be sent to an ENT. Instead she sent me to an Allergist. He confirmed that I was correct in that my allergies were not the true cause of the pain and pressure. He informed that I have vasomotor rhinitis along with my allergic rhinitis. SI guess I need to go back to the VA and request an increase in my Rhinitis since they both are rated under the one code. But I also feel it should be back dated to my original claim. Am I just being wishful or is it something I should pursue.??? I know the most I can get is 30% but that is better than 0%.

[Galen Rogers]

Berta -  No  I was never prescribed Pseudoephedrine by the VA. While in the Navy I was and they also had in their cold packs that you could just go to the pharmacy  and ask for without a prescription.

broncovet - My VSO has told me that they can't find enough data in my STRs to support my sinusitis CUE even though I have a NEXUS letter. I was never sent to an ENT to be treated. Navy always just treated me in the clinic by GPs, flight surgeons, or corpsman. They always mentioned it could be chronic sinusitis but never was it definitively diagnosed. My CT scans showed the cysts or polyps but showed everything else as normal. Now that I've been  diagnosed with the  Vasomotor Rhinitis I figure I can't really claim sinusitis anymore. Of course my continuous symptoms equal and exceed what is listed for 30% chronic sinusitis. Unfortunately those symptoms are not part of the criteria for 30% vasomotor rhinitis/allergic rhinitis. So I guess I will try to prove that the retention cysts are the same as polyps.

[Migo☹️]

I also suffer from Sinusitis and Allergy's for decades from my Military time also and could not figure why VA saids it's nothing but give me Allergy's Shots and then they stop it And didn't find another way because of beta blocker they claimed which is a lies according to the Surgeon and Pharmacy .I put a Lawyer on the case . and Also find out The Military and VA biggest sercert was they never told a single Solider or Retired the they were posion by Radiation from the Chernobyl explosion Nuclear Power Plant which cover most of European countries and the Chernobyl Radiation travel thousands of miles . This explains a lot of illnesses today April 26 ,1986 Chernobyl Radiation Cloud over Germany and European Countries. The same affects as a atom boom .