I have submitted EVERYTHING you can imagine to VA in support my claim ....up to and including letters from my former company commader who attested to how much i struggled in boot and how i was singled out .. yet still i was denied....i'd love to REALLY UNLOAD on this site as to how i feel about the way VA does their buisness, but i won't , have you ever heard the term " it's not what you know it's who you know" ....let me just say that is precisely verbatum.

I'm not here for a bitch session and quite frankly if their are a chosen few who think i am well stop reading this post now and do yourself a favor and MOVE ON ....i am sick and tired of fighting the system( over 5 yrs now...( i dont care about eople fighting for over 20 yrs we're not talking about them we're talking about me at the moment ) , VA ESPECIALLY , yeah yeah yeah i know all about how it's back logged with thousands of files ....granted i know thats true .....hire more people or have people do volunteer work.....

Anyway perhaps i'm asking for to much, although i seriously doubt it, i just want my just due like the rest of do....about a year ago i got my congressman involved and would you believe from the time i called him ad he got invlved to the time i got the letter of denial of course it took 2 and a 1/2 weeks ....wow ....can you imagine that ......that got on the ball then ddnt they ...amazing when they have to move they do.....wouldn't want to piss off the boys on the hill...........listen i'm not trying to be difficult .....and maybe i have waaay to much time on my hands ...granted i am damn sure i do.....the fighting is wiping me out.....i have help from some damn good people who have been around the block a few times....my VSO here in Massachusetts .....i'll leave it at that ...he is uselss ....he's just another goverment employee collecting a $$$ check ....period nothing more then that.....he spends more time on vacation then he does in his office and i told him that ....if i get the chance i'll tell him again ....he never returns my calls and only when he does its weeks later and i forget why i called him to begin with.SSDI ...i've been on for about 5yrs now .....i dont work and i cant either i have adhd/ depression, Bi-polar,major depression,anger,on all kinds meds...


Coop

i dont work and i cant either i have adhd/ depression, Bi-polar,major depression,anger,on all kinds meds...

I don't see PTSD listed. File a claim for aniexity disorder, bipolar, and major depressive disorder. They do not have to have a "verifiable stressor".

I'm really suprised i didn't list PTSD i am wracked with PPTTSSDD .....i have ad it for a long time..PTSD has effected me for as far back as i can remember...

Sharon, What do you mean they don't have to have a "verifiable stressor" for a PTSD claim?

Coopsta, I am reminded of Clint Eastwood's line about "A man's got to know his own limitations". I hate having limitations! I never used to have the limitations that I do now, and it has been a humbling experience to admit that I am no longer a good employee for someone to hire; no matter how good I am in my field.
I also hate the hurry up and wait game, even though that seems to be the way the Government operates. I am currently waiting on two appeals (BVA and SSDI), and my wife and I are barely making ends meet. If she hadn't won her SSI case recently, I don't know where we would be sitting right now. So I do have something to be thankful about, and I need to remember that when I jump on the Pity Pot; because I too am bipolar, and jumping on the Pity Pot takes me down a road I don't want to be on.

Louis

Coopsta the VA does not care who you know. They are above that. They answer to no one.
I am sorry you have been fighting for over 5 years. I can tell you are barely hloding it together.

What you can do is the following. Research each of your medical conditions to the fullest. know where each issue stands as stacked up to the title 38 code of federal regulations. be sure to research your med recs and SMR to prove in service events like injuries, MD trips and ect are in the records and then put it together.
This sounds like a lot to do but it does work. Also owhen corresponding to the VA dont ever insult, chastise, or take a mean demeaner with them.
Just be blunt and straight often quote the regs but be nice.

Bonzai, Sharon is corrrect about the Stressor. if you have a PH ,CIB or some type of medal that shows you have been in combat is stressor enough for PTSD.

If you were non combat then a stressor must be proven.

J

PTSD was not included in they.

I read it wrong and became confused. Thanks for the clarification!

I do have stressors, but no way to prove them. i.e. During the Airborne graduation run, someone started struggling, so we took his pack, and then a little while later he collapsed. I and others started CPR until the ambulance pulled up, and then we ran faster to catch back up with the others. I found out later that he was pronounced DOA. I know all this, nothing wrong with my memory on this. But I can't even prove I went to Airborne school, as it is not on my DD214 - however, my being Airborne Qualified is! I also don't know the name of the person who died is. I never even talked about this until I was out of the service for over 10 years. There are other things, but I won't go into them in detail, due to their nature.

I agree with Coopsta when he says "I just want my just due like the rest of do", and I feel very frustrated with having to wait and wait. I know... I know... Take a number and stand in line... LOL

I agree that there's no excuse for the long wait at the VA and Social Security.

We did our time, we held up our end of the bargain, and now all we get are excuses.

There is no acceptable excuse!

I'm afraid it's going to take some ugly incidents to get things moving, because that's all our government respects.

There are cases where TDIU is approved right away. It was in my claim.

Berta has long maintained that dealing with the VA causes VA PTSD. Think about it.

Pete,
I would agree that dealing with VBA Claims sure can be the cause
of anxiety and depression, but when one actually reads through
the DSM IV criteria for PTSD, I do not agree that fighting the VBA
can have a residual effect of producing PTSD
but it can certainly exacerbate symptoms of one,already having PTSD.

I do remember Berta posting as you said - but I always felt she was venting
and I personally did not take it seriously.

Some may want to debate it and I think that may be a greattopic to address,
in a separate thread.
jmho,
carlie

309.81 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Diagnostic Features

The essential features of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is the development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to an extreme traumatic stressor involving direct personal experience of an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or other threat to one's physical integrity; or witnessing an event that involves death, injury, or a threat to another person; or learning about unexpected or violent death, serious harm, or threat of death or injury experienced by a family member or other close associate (Criterion A1).

Bonzai,
I feel that many mental health professional would say this "stressor" may not
rise to a level, that would be productive of PTSD.
You posted you have other "stressors", has a MH doc provided an etiology of one
of them to PTSD?

Coop,
Sorry for going a bit off topic here.

jmho,
carlie

My TDIU and all my claims were handled in a timely manner.

I think with mental health issues, the VA doctors generally do not like to classify someone as unemployable, which kills the claim. Also the VA seems to take TDIU very seriously, and only approve it when they believe you will no longer improve or be able to work. Mental health professionals always look to improve your condition in the future.

I am rated higher for Anxiety than anything else, yet my mental health issues were not considered for TDIU. You can see posting by posting that the mental health claims for TDIU take the longest and are denied at a high percentage rate.

What did your mental health docs say in their reports about you?

airborne18-

not always true. my IU rating is for PTSD and it was granted right away, very quickly.

purple,
You are right it is not always true, but from what I see in the postings, mental health TDIU's have a high percentage rate of denial and delay.
Yours probably had support from your treating doc at the VA, which is the critical factor for success.

Yes, my VA docs wrote letters on my behalf, everyone should ask their VA docs for such letters before paying big bucks for IMOs. Can't hurt to ask.

The thing with mental health IU is that it is subjective. When you go for your C&P exam if you have a single physical thing wrong with you the doctor may say that is the reason you can't work. The doctor may say you have a personality disorder, and that is why you can't work. It is not like someone with a broken neck who can't lift his head. I was told by my VA shrink that it usually goes 30%, 50% and then 70% IU. It takes a few years to get there if you are not catatonic. Purple, I think if you got IU that fast you probably should have gotten 100% schedular. Your case must have been so obvious that even the VA could not deny it, and that is saying something. I don't mean to offend you by saying this. When I got out of the Army I could not even leave the house. The VA did not even consider IU. I was lucky to get 10% because they said I had a personality disorder, and just a little case of schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. In my day if you were not a complete basket case you did not get 100% or IU for a mental condition back in the 70's. PTSD was considered a form of bad conduct. PTSD vets got drunk and took drugs and went awol so they were bad. Many got kicked right out on their asses with OTH discharges. If they did get honorable discharge the VA had no treatment for them except to say they had a personality disorder.

I'm not offended at all. I've read the rating requirement for 100% and I did not meet that; but I easily met the 70% and all of my docs agreed. I also had a lengthy & recent hospitalization history--actual several hospitalizations.