C&P exam and alcohol

Usaf9498 · August 16, 2019

I filed my claim for PTSD, and secondaries for PTSD Tinnitus, Hearing Loss, and Sleep Apnea. Thinking ahead to my C&P exam, I was thinking about alcohol usage. I am a beer drinker. I drink every day and I probably drink 10 beers on most days. I drink way too much and I know that.

When the VA psych diagnosed me with PTSD before I filed a claim, he asked me about alcohol usage and I told him that I drank a couple of beers a day. I was not honest with him and if I am honest with myself, I am embarrassed about it.

I am thinking it will come up again with the C&P exam. I read the what to expect document on this website and it says to tell the examiner that I am not there to talk about alcohol.

Is this still the correct or best advice I can follow? I spoke with a vet the other day and he is 100% disabled with ptsd, tinnitus etc. He said that at one time they lowered his rating because he told them he had gotten his drinking under control.

I don't want to go in there lying, but, if it is better to not answer that to admit how much I drink......

Thank you for any insight. I did search here before I posted by the way, just didn't find exactly what I was looking for.

Buck52 · August 17, 2019

(JMO)

I agree above on all these post GB Army Vetquest 63Charlie all are good post,

Admit your drinking problem to yourself first and then seek professional help.

I think a lot of us with PTSD that consumed alcohol or let it consume us drink to mask/hide our problems it made us feel better, for some of us we stopped & some of us can't stop , so what does a veteran do that can't stop or drink in moderation? that is a hard question to answer...

My self I got in therapy and learn some different tools to use to cope and as I aged that made a big difference the therapist was great in helping me see the light and I had put my spouse and sons through a living hell for years and years and of course they missed out on a lot of things life had to offer because of me and my behavior and my drinking problem......until one sees what this does to his family and can start a good therapy program with a NO. 1 Therapist and wants to get better not much else is left but a wasted life.

Unfortunately the problem (PTSD) never will.be cured it will always be with us WE JUST NEED TO LEARN TO COPE WITH WHAT EVER IT IS THAT HELPS US GET BETTER and it sure ain't alcohol.

.....I stopped drinking maybe I was one of the lucky ones but I just could not go on and put my family through all the pain and nightmares I caused them....Think of your family first and foremost and tell yourself you can stop drinking get in a good rehab program until then threes not much anyone can do we as Veterans have to want to get our selfs better other wise the alcohol will consume your life.

Edited August 17, 2019 by Buck52

Buck52 · August 17, 2019

As for as your C&P Exams??

Always be honest with the examiner, if you drink and he/she ask if you drink just be honest with him/her no matter what..if they catch you in a lie that lie will follow you through out your entire claims process no matter what your claiming.

Original claims or secondary claims the lie you tell and they catch it it will haunt you the rest of your life with the VA.

Note* I would not say well I am not here to discuss my alcohol problem..it is a problem and a big problem with a Veterans with PTSD.

GeekySquid · August 18, 2019

I will share my experience on the VA and the topic of Alcohol.

In my initial reviews with VA Shrinks & MSW's for my PTSD claim, I was honest about my alcohol consumption. I had found that drinking a single ounce of good whiskey before bed pushed my night terrors farther away, making them more manageable and less harmful.

I didn't drink, party or any of that. Just the single ounce almost every night.

A particular MSW stated that was 'abusing alcohol'. The Shrink, who did little more than push drugs, wanted me to stop drinking and take things like Seroquel and Lithium.....I did stop the nightly whiskey and tried the Seroquel and my condition got worse. I refused Lithium but that is another story.

In my C&P the doc asked about it and then in his opinion concurred with the MSW it was abuse and caused by my PTSD.

So despite not being an alcoholic in the traditional sense of the word the VA considered my single drink per night as abuse. Funny they had no problem trying to dope me to the gills with harder drugs, but a single drink was abuse...

The original award stated Alcohol dependence.

In my review PTSD C&P and in other medical reviews with PCP's i made sure to correct that description by telling them the facts I posted above and showing the MSW's notes making that conclusion. My Review bumped me to 100% schedular P&T and the reference to alcohol now oddly says..."formerly claimed alcohol abuse " which by itself is so odd.

So the short answer is this.

Alcohol abuse is common among PTSD sufferers. If your Caluza triangle is strong, then the excessive drinking could be to your benefit as it is a symptom of your PTSD. A coping mechanism.

In my case getting that cleared off the award, even in the weird way it is stated, did not negatively affect me, in fact because the other parts of my PTSD symptoms got worse they bumped my rating.

Don't lie to your docs or C&P, but if after rating you do reduce your consumption, and you should consider that, just don't make an issue out of it in any VA exam or future C&P. It may be a can of worms you don't want opened.

GBArmy · August 18, 2019

Not to get philosophical about this topic, but it does bring up a recurring point. We all are on here to do one thing, which is to help our brother and sister Veterans get what they deserve from the evil empire. And I think advising people to use this form or that form,or do this rather than that is usually correct. If not, it looks like someone will chime in and suggest an alternative. But this particular problem alerts us to something that we should also be mindful of, and that is this. Sometimes it isn't about the right solution to the problem because it more depends upon individual people rather than the correct course of action. For example, Geeky obviously is in the camp of never lie to an examiner or doc. He didn't, but they, the particular people he told, twisted it and used it to diagnosed him as an abuser. It was the right response by him; but those people chose to mis label his consumption as excessive. So he chose the right answer but it turned out a bad result (at first). I will bet some of us, if asked would have advised not to tell them he was having one shot a night. They wouldn't know, and he would have avoided the situation. Would it have been completely honest and forthcoming. No; but because of these VA people, it might have been a lot easier on Geeky. I think that, unfortunately, this happen a lot because of the human factor. The current situation where no one at the VA will help this disabled Veteran and his family from becoming homeless is another. I hope she takes all the advise the Geeky and Shrek and others are giving her and it turns out well for them. But the human factor comes into play here as well. Maybe the agency contacts are too busy to handle her inquiry or their internal chain of command are out or they don't get the message. Maybe she can't get a newspaper editor to run the story of her protest. Maybe she tries but just doesn't express herself well and they don't accept the urgency of their situation. So I guess I am saying that we should be mindful that sometimes the right course of action doesn't result in the correct result just because of people.

GeekySquid · August 18, 2019

6 minutes ago, GBArmy said:

So I guess I am saying that we should be mindful that sometimes the right course of action doesn't result in the correct result just because of people.

spot one GB spot on.

Usaf9498 · August 18, 2019

3 hours ago, GeekySquid said:

I will share my experience on the VA and the topic of Alcohol.

In my initial reviews with VA Shrinks & MSW's for my PTSD claim, I was honest about my alcohol consumption. I had found that drinking a single ounce of good whiskey before bed pushed my night terrors farther away, making them more manageable and less harmful.

I didn't drink, party or any of that. Just the single ounce almost every night.

A particular MSW stated that was 'abusing alcohol'. The Shrink, who did little more than push drugs, wanted me to stop drinking and take things like Seroquel and Lithium.....I did stop the nightly whiskey and tried the Seroquel and my condition got worse. I refused Lithium but that is another story.

In my C&P the doc asked about it and then in his opinion concurred with the MSW it was abuse and caused by my PTSD.

So despite not being an alcoholic in the traditional sense of the word the VA considered my single drink per night as abuse. Funny they had no problem trying to dope me to the gills with harder drugs, but a single drink was abuse...

The original award stated Alcohol dependence.

In my review PTSD C&P and in other medical reviews with PCP's i made sure to correct that description by telling them the facts I posted above and showing the MSW's notes making that conclusion. My Review bumped me to 100% schedular P&T and the reference to alcohol now oddly says..."formerly claimed alcohol abuse " which by itself is so odd.

So the short answer is this.

Alcohol abuse is common among PTSD sufferers. If your Caluza triangle is strong, then the excessive drinking could be to your benefit as it is a symptom of your PTSD. A coping mechanism.

In my case getting that cleared off the award, even in the weird way it is stated, did not negatively affect me, in fact because the other parts of my PTSD symptoms got worse they bumped my rating.

Don't lie to your docs or C&P, but if after rating you do reduce your consumption, and you should consider that, just don't make an issue out of it in any VA exam or future C&P. It may be a can of worms you don't want opened.

I just re-read what I said when I was questioned during my first eval. I said that occassionally I drink 5 or more drinks when with family or friends. I said I'll have 3-4 drinks 4x a week.

I know it wasnt honest, and I know that it's always my standard answer when speaking to docs. I have a problem and know it, but I seem to never be honest about it.

If asked I am going to honest. I'm sure the c and p examiner will read my file so maybe they won't bring it up. I hope I didnt bite myself in the ass by not being completely honest. If I did, well than I'll deal with that. First things first and one step at a time. And I know it's time to do something about the drinking.

I thank you all for you time and help.

Here is my exam docs If you are so inclined to view them.

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