Depression versus Anxiety...which will show at exam?

[mb76]

I am scheduled to be reevaluated for my combined disabilities of Major Depressive Disorder/Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Overall, anxiety is my #1 problem, with depression being #2, in my life but for the past month or so, I have been overwhelmingly depressed. I'm afraid of looking stupid trying to explain how anxiety is ruining my life while presenting as a depressed person. I still have a lot of anxiety right now but depression is my current elephant in my room.  Do I have anything to worry about in this respect? I'm currently rated 50% and this is a routine future examination.

[Buck52]

  *Note*Do not be afraid of being ''stupid'' during your exam, just answer the examiner questions the best you can and if the examiner ask you a question you can't answer or is confusing to you just simply say you don't know

The examiner will ask you questions concerning both Depression and Anxiety 

Since these overlap each other  just my opinion  they should go by your worse symptoms, you can 't get both as compensation ,but you can have a diagnose for both , but only one you can get the comp...

So just my unbiased opinion  the examiner should go by your worse symptoms and look at your last evaluation and see if your symptoms have worsen.?

if so an increase in your rating either for MDD OR High ANXIETY   THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO LOOK ON A SPECIAL CHART WHICH OF THESE TWO ARE BEST SUITED FOR YOUR COMBINED RATINGS.

Do you have PTSD? Is this the reason you have issues with high anxiety?and or Depression?

The symptoms  in both of these MDD AND Anxiety DIFFER and that's what the examiner should look at and rate according to your symptoms.

You may look into the possibility of a secondary claim that your depression or anxiety would be the cause by or related to?   if your rated for MDD they maybe other conditions that the depression is related to or caused by?

   You would need to check with a Dr to confirm this

it's not unusual that a certain service connected condition can and will cause you to have a separate  condition , so you may want to look into that?

Hearing -Loss  Normally hearing loss will aid or cause you to be servery Depressed   ect,,,ect,,,

Sleep Apnea  -medications you may take for the Depression or Anxiety

Other conditions also  just depends if you have these conditions or not?

These would be called Secondary claims to your Service connected Anxiety or MDD (Depression) 

Once a Secondary claim is approve it becomes in-part of your original claim of Depression or Anxiety

Do not rely on the examiner to bring this issue of secondary claims up  you may initiate it...so speak up    if your spouse has woke up during the night and notice you were snoring hard  or breathing different or maybe stop breathing    this needs to be address ASAP AND LET THE EXAMINER KNOW  OR BEFORE YOU HAVE THIS EXAM LET YOUR Dr's know.

[broncovet]

When you go to the exam, just do one thing:

1.  Have an answer to , "how are you Mr. Veteran?"

     If you respond the classic, "Fine, how are you?", then you may just as well go home.  If you are
"fine", then I guess you dont need Vets benefits.   If you say this, then you will be backpeddaling the rest of your exam. 

     Instead, may I suggest a response similar to this.  Be honest and use your own examples, not mine.

    Doc, "How are you?"

"Much better than last Thursday, Dr.  (Now insert what happened on your worst day, here)  That is when my wife woke me from panic attack and I hit her and got arrested for domestic violence.  I wasnt sure I would be able to come to this exam, but the judge let me out of jail provided that I dont go home, and I go right back to jail after this. "

    Your C and P exam is not a good time to "suck it up" and pretend like everything is "fine".  Again, you need to be honest and state what happened, but tell the doc what happened on your worst day, which probably isnt today. 

    Havent you ever had some bad pain, scheduled a doc appointment 2 weeks later, and by the time you get to the appointment, most of the pain is gone?  I have.  You still probably want to tell the doc where it hurts and what you were doing to make it hurt.  It doesnt mean you are "cured", many medical conditions "wax and wane".  You feel better some days than others.  You probably still have some inflammation in that sore knee, and the doc may need to do an xray to find out the cause, "even tho" you are not in pain this very second. 

     Its perfectly fine to tell the doc you dont have pain NOW, but this knee hurts 5 days out of 7, but not today because you dont have to go to work today for this appointment, if this is true. 

Edited July 29, 2020 by broncovet (see edit history)