Chronic Sinunitis

[spike]

I have not been able in 5 years been able to find out how to SC sinunitis....I have been shown many things that I was treated for it several times in the Marines. I have shown I was in a warehouse exposed to a lot of things. I even indicated to the VA that I was exposed to petro exposure for 4 years. Yet they say they cant prove SC for this. I know I only suffered from this since i was in the USMC and I dont know how to prove it. Please help.

[Hoppy]

Spike,

Rather than just cite a BVA case I think it would be better to understand the logic cited in any doctors reports shown on the BVA awards. Then try to get a doctor to write a similar report for you that applies to your claim. You could take the BVA report to the doctor to show him what other doctors are saying. Your front line attack is with the doctors not the adjudicators. Once you have strong medical evidence the adjudicators have a difficult time denying the claim.

There are many ways to get strong medical evidence. I am glad to hear you have found the BVA cases and are no getting a better picture of what goes on with claims that are awarded.

[spike]

Thanks for the advise Hoppy. I will do that but I think i should wait until my I/U case is done....too bad they can multi task over at the VARO

[Hoppy]

Spike,

Some more things to keep in mind when you do your research.

I recall you were diagnosed a couple times with sinusitis while on active duty. The problem was that the RO did not think it was chronic. I do not know much about this disease, so my thoughts on your claim will wonder around many options I have read about in various BVA cases.

The fact that you had the diagnosis would be hard to dispute by the RO. Thus, you would have a condition that would at least be considered sinusitis of unknown etiology. They might refer to it in BVA cases as "idiopathic sinusitis". That is they know you have it but they do not know what is causing it. Thus, it could be episodic and not chronic or part of a more chronic condition. The VA can rate idiopathic conditions.

The big question at this time is do you have ongoing symptoms that occur 24/7 or structural changes such as polyps. If the symptoms are episodic and come and go then the question may arise as to what is triggering the episodes. If the trigger cannot be identified and your episodes are sufficiently chronic to meet the requirements of the rating schedule then you are still on track for a valid claim. If the trigger is identified and it can be removed and avoided the VA generally does not rate these. However, if the trigger is very common and the continued episodes are sufficiently chronic to be disabling then your are still on track. You can research this by reading allergy claims. Allergy claims and other idiopathic claims of episodic conditions are dealt with in similar fashion by the VA.

I have been wondering if sinusitis can be caused by smoking cigarettes. If so and you were a smoker this might confuse the claim.

A nexus between the current condition and the in-service condition or continuity of treatment can also become an issue. Depending on the frequency of episodic conditions the continuity issue can be only addressed by a doctor. If the RO tells you that there was to long of a lapse between the military and post service treatment without seeking a medical opinion then the door is open to get a medical opinion that states otherwise.

A good question to ask doctors is once you start having symptoms of sinusitis, how is it that a doctor would determine if and when the disease completely resolves. Additionally, what is the frequency in the general population and the likelihood that an individual would contract the condition and have an unrelated cause develop later in life. I have seen the VA wave the nexus requirement when a disease is generally considered to be chronic or has no known cure. Diseases that have no known cure and manifest later or are known to become dormant and then active are often service connected.

I was diagnosed in the military with a disease that is rare, is considered to be chronic and has the potential to become more severe later in in life and has no known cure. The reason the disease becomes more severe in some people and not others is unknown. The reason I got the opinion that progression of severity is unknown is to keep the VA from trying to say events after the military were actually inter-current injuries. I provided the VA with letters from doctors supporting all the features of this disease to the RO. I was still denied for idiotic reasons and was eventually service connected by a DRO. The RO tried to say that the medical opinions were based on my subjective opinions. I argued that I did not point any guns at the doctors or twist there arms. They wrote the reports because these were the medical facts. They did not even identify what exactly it was that I told the doctors that the doctors would have based there opinions on. I had a stack of about 40 post service reports from doctors who actually saw active and severe (life threatening) symptoms of the disease. I was treated in ER's and plugged into IV's with numerous drugs. The documentation of the symptoms and treatment was very specific and noted by about 25 different doctors. Yet it took a DRO to see through the BS.

[USACID]

I think Hoppy said it very well. With me, I have had five operations since leaving military service, and yet, the breathing still is problematic. In fact, a metal prosthesis was inserted to open the left nasal valve and even that is problematic since it causes infections around the area and the discharges cause blockages of the passage which require visits to the ENT for him to insert that nine inch device into my nose to remove the obstruction. Let me tell you that is painful no matter how much pain meds I take prior. If we used that device to extract confessions from detainees we would have a lot better intel. For me it is impossible to know if the ENT on active duty had handled this back then whether or not it would be better now.

[spike]

no im sorry they consider it chronic but they say i was treated for it in service but nothing to connect it to. However, I was reviewing my entrance medical exam and it indicated my Sinuses were perfectly normal before active duty. Would that be enough to show SC is the problem.

[Hoppy]

Spike,

They call it chronic. My question is what are the symptoms? And do you have any current exam notes indicating what the symptoms are. Do they say you have nasal obstruction or just discoloration of the tissues. I have seen these types of notes in my file.

It is important for me to know the date of the denial and if it was denied without a C&P exam. Did the people at the hospital refuse to write a nexus letter or did you have a C&P exam scheduled by the RO at the hospital?