Thank-you in advanced for reading and if anyone can provide opinion.
I filed a VA Claim in 1990 less then year post leaving Active Duty service w/honorable discharge. I vaguely recall filing it because I was in a bad place. I remember walking into the the DC VA Hospital in 1990 to seek medical care and asked for an appointment to see a VA Dr. for a continuity of symptoms/medical issues that began and worsened in service and continued. I had no idea that I had to be SC to receive VA care in 1990 less then year off active duty. So that went down well as you can imagine especially since I was there to seek help for what I called unresolvable stress, TMJ pain/headaches and I was not sleeping. In any event, I was handed stack of forms and told to fill them out and mail them in if I wanted to see a VA Dr. It appears I filled out my 1st VA Disability Claim forms in 1990 by hand, listed my problems in layman’s terms since I hadn’t seen any Dr’s since my AD SEPS physical, and I mailed it in. Apparently, I also had a C&P because I got a copy of my C-File and it’s in my file along with the denial I received and more then likely tossed because I was barely sleeping and in a constant state of anxiety & stress. A female Veteran talked me into to going to the VA in 2010 for MH Counseling. She also ended up encouraging me and ultimately assisted me with filing a VA Disability Claim later in 2012 that service connected me at 70% for PTSD & Depression due to MST. The claim was processed pretty quick.
Now I’m looking at the details of this 1990 Claim in my C-File. It’s strange because it states in handwritten notes that my Discharge Documents ? are missing, maybe nothing. My USMC SEPS physical/dental clearly notes I have TMJ. It’s documented thoroughly in my STR both medical & dental as severe TMJ and bruxism due to stress. I had zero issues regarding TMJ in my entrance physical or dental exams until about 2 yrs in. I had 0 issues of any kind on both dental/medical entrance exams. I was given Motrin to take everyday on AD and they even made me a dental mouth guard. I was sent for psych evaluation as well and sent to specialist for heart tests and EKGs because I was passing out (Military dx’d as Vasovagal syncope) so I guess it was considered stress/anxiety related (EKG in service: normal sinus rhythm with sinus arrhythmia). Less then a year prior to discharge I was also seen in base medical after I was thrown head first into a cement wall and dx’d with blunt force head trauma to left occipital skull/head. Dr. gave me more Motrin, bed rest and sent me home. This was not the sexual assault incident in service, this was another incident after sexual assault. It was a straight up violent physical assault where my STR notes I was attacked by multiple combatants, picked up and thrown into a wall head first. The base Dr. actually drew a stick figure type picture in my STR showing angle of head impact to wall. I only mention it because 1990 decision states in absence of trauma in service..I was basically born defective with TMJ which is a lie. My records are rife (IMO). I will post 1990 claim+denial decision because I want to know if it was an error or CUE. The VA can only go by what I wrote in layman’s terms on claim and then C&P, so it’s likely not, but not sure. I still have TMJ, it’s worsened of course as has dental issues.
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Emmafrost1111
Thank-you in advanced for reading and if anyone can provide opinion.
I filed a VA Claim in 1990 less then year post leaving Active Duty service w/honorable discharge. I vaguely recall filing it because I was in a bad place. I remember walking into the the DC VA Hospital in 1990 to seek medical care and asked for an appointment to see a VA Dr. for a continuity of symptoms/medical issues that began and worsened in service and continued. I had no idea that I had to be SC to receive VA care in 1990 less then year off active duty. So that went down well as you can imagine especially since I was there to seek help for what I called unresolvable stress, TMJ pain/headaches and I was not sleeping. In any event, I was handed stack of forms and told to fill them out and mail them in if I wanted to see a VA Dr. It appears I filled out my 1st VA Disability Claim forms in 1990 by hand, listed my problems in layman’s terms since I hadn’t seen any Dr’s since my AD SEPS physical, and I mailed it in. Apparently, I also had a C&P because I got a copy of my C-File and it’s in my file along with the denial I received and more then likely tossed because I was barely sleeping and in a constant state of anxiety & stress. A female Veteran talked me into to going to the VA in 2010 for MH Counseling. She also ended up encouraging me and ultimately assisted me with filing a VA Disability Claim later in 2012 that service connected me at 70% for PTSD & Depression due to MST. The claim was processed pretty quick.
Now I’m looking at the details of this 1990 Claim in my C-File. It’s strange because it states in handwritten notes that my Discharge Documents ? are missing, maybe nothing. My USMC SEPS physical/dental clearly notes I have TMJ. It’s documented thoroughly in my STR both medical & dental as severe TMJ and bruxism due to stress. I had zero issues regarding TMJ in my entrance physical or dental exams until about 2 yrs in. I had 0 issues of any kind on both dental/medical entrance exams. I was given Motrin to take everyday on AD and they even made me a dental mouth guard. I was sent for psych evaluation as well and sent to specialist for heart tests and EKGs because I was passing out (Military dx’d as Vasovagal syncope) so I guess it was considered stress/anxiety related (EKG in service: normal sinus rhythm with sinus arrhythmia). Less then a year prior to discharge I was also seen in base medical after I was thrown head first into a cement wall and dx’d with blunt force head trauma to left occipital skull/head. Dr. gave me more Motrin, bed rest and sent me home. This was not the sexual assault incident in service, this was another incident after sexual assault. It was a straight up violent physical assault where my STR notes I was attacked by multiple combatants, picked up and thrown into a wall head first. The base Dr. actually drew a stick figure type picture in my STR showing angle of head impact to wall. I only mention it because 1990 decision states in absence of trauma in service..I was basically born defective with TMJ which is a lie. My records are rife (IMO). I will post 1990 claim+denial decision because I want to know if it was an error or CUE. The VA can only go by what I wrote in layman’s terms on claim and then C&P, so it’s likely not, but not sure. I still have TMJ, it’s worsened of course as has dental issues.
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GBArmy
Hi Emma. You have a lot of things going on and I suggest that you have so many things still on the table that you see a competent lawyer for appeal. You have to evaluate what specifically you have to
Berta
This case is a beauty: It popped up in mere seconds, at the BVA https://www.va.gov/vetapp19/files4/19129046.txt The veteran mentioned the known medical nexus between TMJ ( bruxism) and PTSD
kanewnut
It is just my opinion but I believe the VA has a hard time reading handwritten doctor notes. I have a similar situation where I was in between 1981 and 1985. I have a huge number of doctor notes about
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