Appeal disappeared on Vets.gov

[MeddacNurse]

Good Afternoon, 

I had a combined appeal pending; for migraines and fibromyalgia since 2013.  I was contacted by a VRO in January 2020 who stated that I had been scheduled to see a judge in March 2020 for fibromyalgia and that Migraines were not listed and I would only be seen for Fibromyalgia. Migraines were listed and stayed listed on Vets.gov.  June 2020 I checked Vets.gov and it stated that the judge was reviewing and both issues were still listed.  The next day I checked Vets.gov and Fibromyalgia was granted, but migraines had disappeared. I received a letter granting Fibromyalgia this month, but know mention of Migraines.  I do not know what to do next, because I have no paperwork to even do a reconsideration for migraines.  It is as if I never had the appeal in for migraines the last 7 years. Any information anyone can provide will be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you

[GBArmy]

MeddacNurse The only thing I can think of, albeit not a great answer, is that the Migraines was split off and that is all the current judge ruled on.  Maybe it was remanded back on a separate action before he got it? You have a copy of the paperwork I assume. Did any of the paperwork have both disabilities listed? Send in an inquiry to IRIS for an explanation. 

[MeddacNurse]

Hello,

I only received paperwork for Fibromyalgia which was granted.  I do have the original paperwork as well as the fax confirmation when my appeal was filed with a VRO. I did an IRIS inquiry and was advised that if my migraines had worsened I can do a request for a rating increase.  So, that really did not address the issue. I just so frustrating to have waited on this appealfor the past 7 yrs. So now I guess I will have to try to do the increase.  Thank you so much for your prompt response. 

[pacmanx1]

My suggestion is before you submit a new claim I would contact BVA and ask them what happened to your migraine claim on appeal.  My apologies, you might want to re-read over your fibromyalgia award letter to see if you missed it or if the BVA decision remanded it for further development.  When you contact BVA make sure you have the fax confirmation in front of you and ask them why was not addressed. Be polite and respectful. I apologized because it seems so that I am a little numb dealing with VA and nothing surprises me. If that doesn't work instead of doing a plain IRIS Inquiry do a complaint IRIS Inquiry asking how could your migraine appeal get lost.   Call the white house hot line number and ask for assistance or you contact your representative. Check VA.gov and Ebenefit and you can even call Peggy the 1(800) 827-1000 and ask them if you still have a pending migraine appeal claim.  Always keep duplicate document that you send VA including  in the request forms. You might want to invest in a mobile flash drive to save all your documents. Hope the best.

[MeddacNurse]

On 8/28/2020 at 11:22 PM, pacmanx1 said:

My suggestion is before you submit a new claim I would contact BVA and ask them what happened to your migraine claim on appeal.  My apologies, you might want to re-read over your fibromyalgia award letter to see if you missed it or if the BVA decision remanded it for further development.  When you contact BVA make sure you have the fax confirmation in front of you and ask them why was not addressed. Be polite and respectful. I apologized because it seems so that I am a little numb dealing with VA and nothing surprises me. If that doesn't work instead of doing a plain IRIS Inquiry do a complaint IRIS Inquiry asking how could your migraine appeal get lost.   Call the white house hot line number and ask for assistance or you contact your representative. Check VA.gov and Ebenefit and you can even call Peggy the 1(800) 827-1000 and ask them if you still have a pending migraine appeal claim.  Always keep duplicate document that you send VA including  in the request forms. You might want to invest in a mobile flash drive to save all your documents. Hope the best.

Thank you for the valuable info.