Hello, New Member Here

[nando]

Hi guys, new member here. Prior enlisted Marine, discharge date 9-11-01. Been out for quite some time now and am starting to fall apart. I'm guessing all those tough years in the Marine Corps are cathing up to me.

I'm having issue with both my knees, they hurt every morning, can't even jog 100ft because the pain is too much. In my SMR thereis 1 or 2 entries where i complaned about R knee pain.

The issue that is bothering me more at this time is that my R shoulder is hurting, has been for a very long time now, range of motion is limited and lifting heavy is out of the question. There are zero entries in my SMR about this but I can't help but think that all the tough physical training is to blame. I'm pretty young, 27, and I should be as healthy as a clydesdale. I have seen my primary physician and a specialist each for my shoulder and knees. The specialist for my shoulder suggested surgery, after 1 shot of cortisol (helped for about 90 days).

The pain is intense. Now I have surgery scheduled a month for now but I know these claims take forever, what can I do? Push my surgery back til I file a claim and then have surgey or will having surgery screw my chances of winning my claim?

Not sure if this is in the right section, please any help and insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks you

[carlie]

Nando,

Welcome to hadit and thanks for your service. You might want to check out hadits homepage to begin gathering some answers to your questions. Other will post to you soon.

carlie

Edited March 22, 2007 by carlie (see edit history)

[Tbird]

nando welcome aboard

this link will help i think http://www.hadit.com/VA_Benefits/p2_articleid/29

[Berta]

MARINE - Welcome aboard-

Do I understand your discharge date was 9 -11 ? WTC?

I am surprised they let you out. My daughter was on Stop Loss at some point and then she extended a year more anyhow- due to 9-11. Her MOS changed within hours of this horrible event.

WHat was your inservice MOS and how would that cause your problems?

the nexus is everything- the nexus or link or cause-in service of what disables you today.

Have any of your docs asked about your service dutiies and stated that this might be cause of those problems?

Your claim-I suggest you file it ASAP- and include these probelms in it-

will depend on medical evidence showing that these disabilties are directly from your service.

[Vike17]

nando,

As Berta stated, the nexus or "connection" of your medical issues to your military service is everything.

From the looks of things, your knee condition wasn't chronic while in service, as you stated you were only seen 1 or 2 times over your period of enlistment. Therefore, you'll need to show continuity of treatment of your knee(s) since your discharge. If you do not have any type of documented treatment of your knee(s) since your discharge, you'll then need an IMO from a doctor stating that your current knee (insert diagnosis) is "at least as likely as not" some way, shape, or form related to the entries in your SMR's. The doctor must have shown he/she reviewd your entire SMR's and he/she must give a rational as to how and why they came to such a conclusion. They should cite relevant medical litrature to support hi/her opinion.

You shoulder is going to be more problematic since you weren't seen for it while on active duty. First of all, if you have any contact with any of the members of your old unit, you may want to contact them to see if they witnessed you having any problems while in the service, and if they did they will need to write a sworn statement stating as such. Sworn statements may satisfy the inservice occurance of an injury portion of any VA claim. Second, you'll again need an IMO from a doctor stating pretty much the same thing I pointed out about your knee(s). The doctor will need to opine something to the affect that your current shoulder (insert diagnosis) is "at least as likley as not' the result of you military service. Again they must give their full rational as to how and why they cam to such a conclusion. One thing that might help is if you were seen for you shoulder within one year of your discharge, and a MRI or any type of radiological imaging was done and shows degenerative arthritis being at least 10% disabling at the time, the VA can grant service-connection on the basis of "presumption" This means that they presume that your shoulder condition happened while on active duty even though there isn't any record of a inservice injury.

To be honest, you're going to have a tough time obtaining service-connection for your shoulder if you don't or can't get the evidence I mentioned above. The VA needs to see with medical evidence that your claimed disabilities are some way connected to your military service.

Vike 17

[Pete53]

Nando:

Welcome to Hadit.

[Hoppy]

nando,

As far as your knee goes it depends on the diagnosis. As VIKE says the best way to go about it is to get your SMR and go over it with a doctor. Even though you were to file a claim do not count on the VA scheduling a C&P. The VA is supposed to schedule a C&P for the purpose of extablishing nexus when the veteran has both an inservice and post service diagnosis. However if a lenth of time goes by the RO might start playing doctor and ASSUME that there is no continuity of symptoms (only a doctor can address the isssue of continuity) and decide not to schedule a C&P. I was treated for a short period of time for my knee. I filed a claim at discharge and was rated 0%. I went ten years without treatment and refiled and was rated 10%. I got lucky and was rated because they scheduled a C&P based off the original 0%.

[nando]

Yes my discharge date was WTC. THey gave me some hassle when picking up discharge papers but since there was no Marshall Law declared they were unable to keep me. My original EAS was 8-12-01 but I had extended for 30 days to try to re-up. They had no choice but to let me go.

MARINE - Welcome aboard-

Do I understand your discharge date was 9 -11 ? WTC?

I am surprised they let you out. My daughter was on Stop Loss at some point and then she extended a year more anyhow- due to 9-11. Her MOS changed within hours of this horrible event.

WHat was your inservice MOS and how would that cause your problems?

the nexus is everything- the nexus or link or cause-in service of what disables you today.

Have any of your docs asked about your service dutiies and stated that this might be cause of those problems?

Your claim-I suggest you file it ASAP- and include these probelms in it-

will depend on medical evidence showing that these disabilties are directly from your service.

[nando]

My knee wasn't a chronic illness. I do however remember my knee specialist saying that my knees had been used (running, ground and pound type of activities) more than the average person and because of being in the Marine Corps that might have an issue with my knees being in this condition. All I would need is for him to put it down on paper, an IMO, correct?

I do have friends that I keep in touch with that were in the same battallion, I'm sure a few would be okay with writing something down. WE are all hurt in one way or another. We all feel "older" than we should be. I seriously feel like an old man. No offense. I think I know what 50 year olds feel like.

I have my original SMR, and no where on there does it state anything about my R shoulder. My question is, if I have surgey after filing a claim but before any final decision as to wether I am eligible for xx% disability will I screw myself? Tenatative date for surgey is Apr 18, 07.

nando,

As Berta stated, the nexus or "connection" of your medical issues to your military service is everything.

From the looks of things, your knee condition wasn't chronic while in service, as you stated you were only seen 1 or 2 times over your period of enlistment. Therefore, you'll need to show continuity of treatment of your knee(s) since your discharge. If you do not have any type of documented treatment of your knee(s) since your discharge, you'll then need an IMO from a doctor stating that your current knee (insert diagnosis) is "at least as likely as not" some way, shape, or form related to the entries in your SMR's. The doctor must have shown he/she reviewd your entire SMR's and he/she must give a rational as to how and why they came to such a conclusion. They should cite relevant medical litrature to support hi/her opinion.

You shoulder is going to be more problematic since you weren't seen for it while on active duty. First of all, if you have any contact with any of the members of your old unit, you may want to contact them to see if they witnessed you having any problems while in the service, and if they did they will need to write a sworn statement stating as such. Sworn statements may satisfy the inservice occurance of an injury portion of any VA claim. Second, you'll again need an IMO from a doctor stating pretty much the same thing I pointed out about your knee(s). The doctor will need to opine something to the affect that your current shoulder (insert diagnosis) is "at least as likley as not' the result of you military service. Again they must give their full rational as to how and why they cam to such a conclusion. One thing that might help is if you were seen for you shoulder within one year of your discharge, and a MRI or any type of radiological imaging was done and shows degenerative arthritis being at least 10% disabling at the time, the VA can grant service-connection on the basis of "presumption" This means that they presume that your shoulder condition happened while on active duty even though there isn't any record of a inservice injury.

To be honest, you're going to have a tough time obtaining service-connection for your shoulder if you don't or can't get the evidence I mentioned above. The VA needs to see with medical evidence that your claimed disabilities are some way connected to your military service.

Vike 17

[nando]

What is C&P? My diagnosis I believe is Patellar Inflamation.

nando,

As far as your knee goes it depends on the diagnosis. As VIKE says the best way to go about it is to get your SMR and go over it with a doctor. Even though you were to file a claim do not count on the VA scheduling a C&P. The VA is supposed to schedule a C&P for the purpose of extablishing nexus when the veteran has both an inservice and post service diagnosis. However if a lenth of time goes by the RO might start playing doctor and ASSUME that there is no continuity of symptoms (only a doctor can address the isssue of continuity) and decide not to schedule a C&P. I was treated for a short period of time for my knee. I filed a claim at discharge and was rated 0%. I went ten years without treatment and refiled and was rated 10%. I got lucky and was rated because they scheduled a C&P based off the original 0%.

[Guest jangrin]

Nondo,

Here is a link to Frequently Asked Questions on the Hadit.com main page. This should help you alot. Scroll down to the various questions that seem to relate to you. You are going to have to do some reading and some research to understand the VA system and how they handle claims (yours too).

http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showforum=38

I hope this helps. Welcome to Hadit.

Jangrin

Edited March 22, 2007 by jangrin (see edit history)

[Vike17]

nando,

"My knee wasn't a chronic illness. I do however remember my knee specialist saying that my knees had been used (running, ground and pound type of activities) more than the average person and because of being in the Marine Corps that might have an issue with my knees being in this condition. All I would need is for him to put it down on paper, an IMO, correct?"

Yes, just make sure the specialist explains his rational as to why he has come to such a conlusion. He should reference any radiological images and medical litrature to support his rational.

"I do have friends that I keep in touch with that were in the same battallion, I'm sure a few would be okay with writing something down"

When they make any statements regarding your shoulder, they should refrain from making any medical determinations (diagnosis and so forth), unless they are doctors or nurses. They should just state how the shoulder was injured, if witnessed, how the pain in your shoulder affected your duties ect...

"I have my original SMR, and no where on there does it state anything about my R shoulder. My question is, if I have surgey after filing a claim but before any final decision as to wether I am eligible for xx% disability will I screw myself"

If service-connection is granted for your shoulder, the rating percentage is derived from limitation of motion. If you do have surgery after you file your claim, the range of motion may be better than what it would be before any operation, especially if the surgery is a sucess. However, I assume your ultimate goal is to get better and be relatively pain free, right! Or is your goal to try and get the highest amount of compensation regardless of trying to better your health? You wouldn't believe the number of veterans that will purposely not take medication or do physical therapy to better there health just to get a higher amount of compensation.

Vike 17

[nando]

To be honest with you, I just wanna get better, I rather have good health than collect money. I think I'm just gonna got hrough with my surgery as scheduled and try to get my claim in before then. The knees is another story so I will also start working on that.

THank you all for your help, I really appreciate it. I'm so thankful for the internet, search button is your friend, thats how I found you guys.

nando,

"My knee wasn't a chronic illness. I do however remember my knee specialist saying that my knees had been used (running, ground and pound type of activities) more than the average person and because of being in the Marine Corps that might have an issue with my knees being in this condition. All I would need is for him to put it down on paper, an IMO, correct?"

Yes, just make sure the specialist explains his rational as to why he has come to such a conlusion. He should reference any radiological images and medical litrature to support his rational.

"I do have friends that I keep in touch with that were in the same battallion, I'm sure a few would be okay with writing something down"

When they make any statements regarding your shoulder, they should refrain from making any medical determinations (diagnosis and so forth), unless they are doctors or nurses. They should just state how the shoulder was injured, if witnessed, how the pain in your shoulder affected your duties ect...

"I have my original SMR, and no where on there does it state anything about my R shoulder. My question is, if I have surgey after filing a claim but before any final decision as to wether I am eligible for xx% disability will I screw myself"

If service-connection is granted for your shoulder, the rating percentage is derived from limitation of motion. If you do have surgery after you file your claim, the range of motion may be better than what it would be before any operation, especially if the surgery is a sucess. However, I assume your ultimate goal is to get better and be relatively pain free, right! Or is your goal to try and get the highest amount of compensation regardless of trying to better your health? You wouldn't believe the number of veterans that will purposely not take medication or do physical therapy to better there health just to get a higher amount of compensation.

Vike 17

[Hoppy]

nando,

C&P is an exam by a doctor. How do you know it is not chronic? Nobody but a doctor can tell you what it is. An injury to the patella is why I was given a 0% at discharge. Later it was up graded to 10%. I think there is sufficient reason for you to get a medical opinion if they do not schedule a C&P. There were some times when the VA quit assigning 0% ratings. You could have been discharged during such a period.

It depends what is causing the inflamation. Not that I want to play doctor, however I have had two operations on my 10% service connected knee. I have had the surgeons tell me alot about knees. Cartlidge injuries including injuries to the knee cap (patella) usually present chronic symptoms until they are surgically repaired. Stage one patellar injuries were not rated by the military. The chronic symptoms are mild and usually only show up on exams. Patellar crepitis is determined by an exam wherby the doctor pushes down on the knee cap and he can feel that the patella is abnormal and was sufficient for my VA claim. I was service connected and rated without any radiological evidence. Don't drop the claim just because you cannot find any radiological evidence. If you had any knee injuries since your discharge the VA could try to blame your current condition on post service injuries.

According to the last surgeon who operated on me cartlidge injuries rarely show on x-rays and MRI's. It took four doctors six months to determine that my medial meniscus was crushed. I had xrays and an MRI that were negative for an injury. The only test that showed the injury was orthroscopic surgery that was done six months later. The pictures they took during the surgery showed that the meniscus was vascularized (crushed).

Edited March 23, 2007 by Hoppy (see edit history)