PTSD and bipolar condition

[Jose H Cordova Terrys]

Yes wanted to know if I am being pay for my disability of ptsd rating and I was also  diagnos with bipolar condition a few weeks ago may I put a separate claim for the bipolar condition.

[Vync]

Welcome to Hadit!

VA mental health ratings can be a bit confusing. Just keep in mind the VA gives a single mental health rating, but you can become service connected (SC) for more than one mental health diagnosis. Let's assume that you are rated 30% for PTSD. You then file a new claim for bipolar. The VA will send you to a C&P exam to determine if bipolar is secondary to PTSD or was caused by something else. If it is found to be secondary or is SC directly, the VA will rate you based on symptoms. However, if the VA determines that it is unrelated to your PTSD and not considered SC, then they would deny the increase.

It might be helpful for you to obtain your medical records and get an idea of the symptoms they noted. It could be easier to just request an increase in your PTSD percentage based on what you find.

§4.130   Schedule of ratings—Mental disorders.

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General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders

	Rating
Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.	100
Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.	70
Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.	50
Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events).	30
Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.	10
A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.	0