AMA Supplemental Time

[armyvet05]

Hello and thanks for reading. Please offer any opinions as to my going back to Supplemental Claim. Denied in Oct 2019 for Sinus Headaches sec. to Chronic Sinusitis. The VBA never looked at my private nexus but they did my private DBQ. Appealed for HLR but denial continued. EX-VSO dropped the ball on Conference Call. 

Will File Supplemental with new and material evidence as VARO never looked at my physicians’ nexus combined with DBQ.

Any thoughts? 

From my private Drs IMO and DBQ

[broncovet]

I understand what you are trying to do and it "may" work, but I do have my doubts.  

It looks like you are wanting the VARO to give a different decision the "third" try.  VARO already denied, then supplemental claim, denied.  Instead of going to the VARO 3 times, my advice is to appeal to the BVA.  

The BVA decision makers are required to be fluent in "visual interpretation of English letters".   That is, they can read unlike VARO's.  To train as a rating specialist they show you a rubber stamp 'labled" denied, along with the ink, and train them to mark "denied" on each Vets claim.  There is no reason these people need to know how to read.  The letters "DENIED" have an arrow going up, so the rating specialist can tell whether the rubber " claim denied" stamp is upside down.  

[Vync]

For what it's worth, I am SC for both sinusitis and migraines, so I am familiar with the rating criteria and symptoms of both. Sinus/regular headaches are significantly different than migraines. 

 

Here are my concerns about the IMO/DBQ:

Under SECTION II - MEDICAL HISTORY. "He also endorses migraine headache, but these are different...began after separation, and are not addressed in this report." This part says you indicate having migraines, but doesn't develop the contention.

Under SECTION III - SYMPTOMS, 3B is checked NO, which are symptoms frequently experienced by migraine sufferers.

Under SECTION IV - PROSTRATING ATTACKS OF HEADACHE PAIN, 4A migraine/prostrating is checked NO, but 4B non-migraine/prostrating is checked YES. 

 

 

Migraines tend to have different phases. Look up premonitory, aura, and postdrome phases to learn more.

Migraine symptoms also differ. For you, absence of notable symptoms under 3B and 4A are probably key obstacles to getting a migraine rating. Migraines impact the body differently and can be very debilitating. Mine can literally take me out of commission and residual symptoms can last for hours or days. They cause me to have nausea, sensitivity to light/sounds/smells, blurred vision, nausea, and intense throbbing pain on the sides of my head that goes down my neck into my arms and hands. The best way I could describe it is as being a tormenting experience. I wanted to give you an idea of what I have notices.

The rating decision did hint that some of your sinus headaches may in fact be migraines. It is very likely you do get them, but might have attributed the symptoms to something other than a migraine. Learn more about them and consider keeping a migraine diary. For example, when you feel one coming on, keep track of how long it lasts, what makes it better or worse, and most importantly the specific symptoms. My migraines did not really begin until after the military extracted my third molars and left me with TMJ. When I filed my claim years later, I included a migraine diary containing about three months of notes.

[armyvet05]

29 minutes ago, broncovet said:

I understand what you are trying to do and it "may" work, but I do have my doubts.  

It looks like you are wanting the VARO to give a different decision the "third" try.  VARO already denied, then supplemental claim, denied.  Instead of going to the VARO 3 times, my advice is to appeal to the BVA.  

The BVA decision makers are required to be fluent in "visual interpretation of English letters".   That is, they can read unlike VARO's.  To train as a rating specialist they show you a rubber stamp 'labled" denied, along with the ink, and train them to mark "denied" on each Vets claim.  There is no reason these people need to know how to read.  The letters "DENIED" have an arrow going up, so the rating specialist can tell whether the rubber " claim denied" stamp is upside down.  

Thank you. Do I need to re-submit Evidence VBA has but doesn’t read or 4138 the situation or just file the BVA appeal form and come back in few years? 

I will do all three.

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by armyvet05

[armyvet05]

39 minutes ago, Vync said:

For what it's worth, I am SC for both sinusitis and migraines, so I am familiar with the rating criteria and symptoms of both. Sinus/regular headaches are significantly different than migraines. 

 

Here are my concerns about the IMO/DBQ:

Under SECTION II - MEDICAL HISTORY. "He also endorses migraine headache, but these are different...began after separation, and are not addressed in this report." This part says you indicate having migraines, but doesn't develop the contention.

Under SECTION III - SYMPTOMS, 3B is checked NO, which are symptoms frequently experienced by migraine sufferers.

Under SECTION IV - PROSTRATING ATTACKS OF HEADACHE PAIN, 4A migraine/prostrating is checked NO, but 4B non-migraine/prostrating is checked YES. 

 

 

Migraines tend to have different phases. Look up premonitory, aura, and postdrome phases to learn more.

Migraine symptoms also differ. For you, absence of notable symptoms under 3B and 4A are probably key obstacles to getting a migraine rating. Migraines impact the body differently and can be very debilitating. Mine can literally take me out of commission and residual symptoms can last for hours or days. They cause me to have nausea, sensitivity to light/sounds/smells, blurred vision, nausea, and intense throbbing pain on the sides of my head that goes down my neck into my arms and hands. The best way I could describe it is as being a tormenting experience. I wanted to give you an idea of what I have notices.

The rating decision did hint that some of your sinus headaches may in fact be migraines. It is very likely you do get them, but might have attributed the symptoms to something other than a migraine. Learn more about them and consider keeping a migraine diary. For example, when you feel one coming on, keep track of how long it lasts, what makes it better or worse, and most importantly the specific symptoms. My migraines did not really begin until after the military extracted my third molars and left me with TMJ. When I filed my claim years later, I included a migraine diary containing about three months of notes.

I thank you and I’m tracking. Valette and Team saw the file, I broke my orbital socket and max sinus cavity from blunt trauma, well documented in service as we had a brawl at Aberdeen Proving Grounds that left every body jacked up. Even drills. Hell,  they closed it down after that and moved to Lee. Have post service TBI but SC Ears, Face and Cervical Compression Fracture C7-8 T1. 

Dont know now how to claim it?

[Vync]

14 hours ago, armyvet05 said:

I thank you and I’m tracking. Valette and Team saw the file, I broke my orbital socket and max sinus cavity from blunt trauma, well documented in service as we had a brawl at Aberdeen Proving Grounds that left every body jacked up. Even drills. Hell,  they closed it down after that and moved to Lee. Have post service TBI but SC Ears, Face and Cervical Compression Fracture C7-8 T1. 

Dont know now how to claim it?

Ouch, that must have hurt.

You would need to look up the rating criteria to see what might be able to be claimed as secondary to it or any residuals.

[ShrekTheTank]

So one thing you need to look at is the list of presumptive conditions you can claim on.  I just got rated this year for headaches as a presumptive of being in Iraq.  So with this you may be limiting your self to make it secondary to another issue.

I would for sure appeal this like Bronco and Vync and prompted you to do.  I would write a Lay statement to the board when you appeal and state what is going on and talk about all your issues on appeal and how they are a presumptive or a secondary condition!

Gulf War Veterans’ Medically Unexplained Illnesses

A prominent condition affecting Gulf War Veterans is a cluster of medically unexplained chronic symptoms that can include fatigue, headaches, joint pain, indigestion, insomnia, dizziness, respiratory disorders, and memory problems.

VA refers to these illnesses as "chronic multisymptom illness" and "undiagnosed illnesses." We prefer not to use the term “Gulf War Syndrome” when referring to medically unexplained symptoms reported by Gulf War Veterans. Why? Because symptoms vary widely.

Military service connection

 

Gulf War Veterans who meet the criteria below do not need to prove a connection between their military service and illnesses in order to receive VA disability compensation.

VA presumes certain chronic, unexplained symptoms existing for 6 months or more are related to Gulf War service without regard to cause. These "presumptive" illnesses must have appeared during active duty in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations or by December 31, 2021, and be at least 10 percent disabling. These illnesses include:

• Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), a condition of long-term and severe fatigue that is not relieved by rest and is not directly caused by other conditions.
• Fibromyalgia, a condition characterized by widespread muscle pain. Other symptoms may include insomnia, morning stiffness, headache, and memory problems.
• Functional gastrointestinal disorders, a group of conditions marked by chronic or recurrent symptoms related to any part of the gastrointestinal tract. Functional condition refers to an abnormal function of an organ, without a structural alteration in the tissues. Examples include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional dyspepsia, and functional abdominal pain syndrome.
• Undiagnosed illnesses with symptoms that may include but are not limited to: abnormal weight loss, fatigue, cardiovascular disease, muscle and joint pain, headache, menstrual disorders, neurological and psychological problems, skin conditions, respiratory disorders, and sleep disturbances.

VA benefits

Gulf War Veterans may be eligible for a variety of VA benefits, including a Gulf War Registry health exam, the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, health care, and disability compensation for diseases related to military service. Their dependents and survivors also may be eligible for benefits.

Learn more about benefits related to Gulf War service.

Research on Gulf War Veterans' illnesses

VA and other researchers continue to conduct research to investigate how service in the Gulf War is linked to illnesses Gulf War Veterans have experienced. Research includes:

• Multiyear health survey of Gulf War-era Veterans to find out how their health has changed over time
• Studies by VA's War Related Illness and Injury Study Center

VA contracts with the Health and Medicine Division (HMD) (formally known as the Institute of Medicine) of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to scientifically review the evidence for possible connections between Gulf War Veterans' illnesses and exposure to environmental agents or preventive medicine during service, and the best treatments for these illnesses.