New Evidence

[ronn]

On 3/13/07 I had a swollow study done [va] in connection with residuals for treatment of throat cancer It was like a video x-ray where i swollow various textures of food while x-rayed Stricture was quiet evident and the pill they gave me would not go down,pudding went down ok. The doctor said it was the result of radation therapy. I have a working claim that is close to a decision. [filed 6/06 ] Is this good enough for an increase ? Is there anyway to have it considered with current claim or do i start all over ? Just don't feel my current claim is strong enough as it stands and time is my enemy!

[Berta]

Ronn-does the throat problem have anything to do with the 30% you get now?

Is this an Agent Orange cancer claim?

Is the cancer situation already linked to your service by medical evidence?

"The doctor said it was the result of radation therapy."

If this is a ratable residual disability from radiation that you needed for a SC cancer, then this should be claimed for secondary service connection.

[ronn]

The answer is yes to all of those questions. More info: 30% evaluation was assigned for cancer of the trachea,larynx and tongue. The 30% is assigned for hoarsness of my voice and evidence of malignancy. Now please take in to account that i was mad as hell and very uneducated when i filed the following:service- connected for stroke,peripheral neuropathy upper/lower,hypertension,increase for cancer of trachea,larynx and tongue,and unemployability. Couldn't think of any thing else at the time ! Can i throw in GERD and sleep atena now too? How bout COPD ?

[Berta]

Marine-2 questions- are you employed?

If not do you believe that these SC disabilities hinder your ability to be employed?

Do you have diabetes and if not- did the VA ever check you for diabetes during the AO physical or anything?

You can add anything else to the claim-- the GERD could be secondary to the throat problems as I bet you cannot eat and digest food like you used.

One more question-sorry if I already asked-

did you make formal claim for unemployability on the 21-8940 TDIU form?

Did you tell them of any side affects of your meds (maybe that too could cause the GERD) that render you unemployable like

do not take and drive, causes confusion, causes drowsiness, etc stuff like that.

Do any of those SC meds cause digestive or intestinal stomach problems?

Gee one more question-

How does the VA figure out in VA math your overall rating %?

I see the PN as most certainly due to the stroke- what did VA attribute your stroke too?

Veteran-we here all were uneducated in the ways of the VA at some point-

the VA wants to keep it that way-

but as you can see our motto is Knowledge is Power.

Welcome aboard!

[Berta]

Marine-2 questions- are you employed?

If not do you believe that these SC disabilities hinder your ability to be employed?

Do you have diabetes and if not- did the VA ever check you for diabetes during the AO physical or anything?

You can add anything else to the claim-- the GERD could be secondary to the throat problems as I bet you cannot eat and digest food like you used.

One more question-sorry if I already asked-

did you make formal claim for unemployability on the 21-8940 TDIU form?

Did you tell them of any side affects of your meds (maybe that too could cause the GERD) that render you unemployable like

do not take and drive, causes confusion, causes drowsiness, etc stuff like that.

Do any of those SC meds cause digestive or intestinal stomach problems?

Gee one more question-

How does the VA figure out in VA math your overall rating %?

I see the PN as most certainly due to the stroke- what did VA attribute your stroke too?

Veteran-we here all were uneducated in the ways of the VA at some point-

the VA wants to keep it that way-

but as you can see our motto is Knowledge is Power.

Welcome aboard!

[ronn]

Berta, no I have not been able to work since 1/03 when i first became ill . I'm doing good just to walk. I don't have diabtes and am pretty sure i was checked. Remenber getting one insulin shot while hospitalized for stroke but do not take them now ,.Don't know if they checked during AO physcial . Your oh so right about things changing . ENT doctors told me, Acid reflux desease comes with the territory . I take 40 mg pantoprazole twice a day . Doctor has perscribed Zoltrex , to be taken at betime that i will start taking with my pill cocktail soon. It was just a strait 30% awarded for hoarness, no math involved. I was not informed of my egilibity for compensation and did not learn about it for the first two years of illness . If it were not for SSDI and family and friends I'd be homeless , so forgive me if i sound a little irrate. Thanks, I'm through venting !

Marine-2 questions- are you employed?

If not do you believe that these SC disabilities hinder your ability to be employed?

Do you have diabetes and if not- did the VA ever check you for diabetes during the AO physical or anything?

You can add anything else to the claim-- the GERD could be secondary to the throat problems as I bet you cannot eat and digest food like you used.

One more question-sorry if I already asked-

did you make formal claim for unemployability on the 21-8940 TDIU form?

Did you tell them of any side affects of your meds (maybe that too could cause the GERD) that render you unemployable like

do not take and drive, causes confusion, causes drowsiness, etc stuff like that.

Do any of those SC meds cause digestive or intestinal stomach problems?

Gee one more question-

How does the VA figure out in VA math your overall rating %?

I see the PN as most certainly due to the stroke- what did VA attribute your stroke too?

Veteran-we here all were uneducated in the ways of the VA at some point-

the VA wants to keep it that way-

but as you can see our motto is Knowledge is Power.

Welcome aboard!

[Berta]

"Remenber getting one insulin shot while hospitalized for stroke"

Ronn-insulin is not used to treat stroke -it is used for high glucose (diabetes)

If I were I would make sure you have all your VA med records, go to all the Blood Chemistry Reports and see whether they actual gave you HBIAC or Glucose tests and what the levels revealed as far as high or normal etc-

By failure to rule in or out diabetes in 1988, the VA committed malpractice and killed my husband-

Undiagnosed diabetes had caused significant brain damage,major CVA and numerous transcients strokes, PN, candidiasis, undiagnosed heart disease , accelerated atherosclerosis,a heart attack they misdiagnosed as a sinus infection in 1988 and then he had a fatal heart attack.

All of above due to VA malpractice.

Diabetes can become expensive disease.

4 years after his initial heart attack some VA docs who were more on the ball in another VAMC knew he had DMII-

what did they do? treat 2 symptoms of it and covered up the actual cause of his disabilities-

they even told me there was nothing wrong with his heart-I believed them-it was a cardiologist who told me this-

after he died I found out the truth.

One single doctor was onto the true cause- his suggestions to diagnose the diabetes were overruled.

He left VA and I found him in private practice and wrote to him-

he agreed with my medical assessment as to Rods DMII and prepared a short statement-

then I got Dr. BAsh for IMO and Dr. Bash loved that statement-

I had prepared a full rationale as to Rods undiagnosed diabetes and how it contributed to his death.

Dr. Bash reveiwed every single available record and agreed with me and prepared not one but two separate different opinions that Rod had DMII from AO and that it contributed to his death.

I cannot stress enough here that you should all review your med recs carefully and make sure to ask the right questions of the docs -and then make sure it makes sense.

I still wonder why I dodnt question the cardiologist more-

but he had just done EKGs and an ECHO-

when I finally learned what these reports meant-(I needed medical books for that)he was covering up significant heart disease by telling me that

the veteran did not have heart disease.