I served in Gulf War one. Din't think much about it. The other day I decided to put in a claim. After many years of taking care of Family going for the mithy dollars. Never thought I had PTSD. Crying in situations my sevicemen and women will get in mainly death and wounded, crying in movies like Hamburger Hill or platoon. My first experience was in I think Desert Shield. A bunker made for seven soldiers, turn out to be use by about thirty soldiers. At first I ran somewhere, all training was out the window. I made maybe two to three steps I regained my posture and I was about the second person in the bunker. In a moments notice I found my back againts the top of the bunker, soldiers under me, everywhere. I was scared, could not bread anxiety big time. I thought about my boys not seen them again. Funny; Not my wife who I love so much and still together today. My arrogance got me to just the begining of outside of the bunker looking out. waiting for the all crear. and when it was giving it took a while for us to deploy.From that moment I played the John wayne. every one get in, moved, moved. I was directing soldiers in. But; Not me. many years later. I stii cant go in tight places, drive in rush hour. (Wife drive I close my eyes). much crying, even watching movies that someone get put in the trunk of a car, I shiver. My psychiatrist diagnose me with adjustment disorder with depressed mood. Pain disorder associated with physical and psychological factor. Chronic. Hope is not too late. The story of my life, a day late and a dollar short. I told The spychiatrist and He wrote it down, trigger and all. Any advice. Please Help me How can I get the doctor to adjust to PTSD. Since the other diagnostics will give me zlich. I have couple more incident that affect my daily life. will post them another day sorry for been long winded Love you all. One love Brother, Sister. In ARM. What a horendoze thing happened in FT Hood. Prayers for our Fallen Conrads. Amen

I forgot to mention I was in the third herd. 3rd AD C co. 122 MSB Love you all.

sorry i cant be of much help to you but you will get a very informative response soon

Welcome to Hadit

Don't feel like the lone ranger, there are military personnel from WWII that are just coming forth and realizing that they have PTSD. You have made a big step. It will be a long road, however, we are here to help you through the process. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask. BTW, WELCOME.

"Please Help me How can I get the doctor to adjust to PTSD. Since the other diagnostics will give me zlich."


A chronic adjustment disorder can sometimes generate an award of SC such as :
http://www4.va.gov/vetapp09/files4/0926541.txt

For PTSD comp you need PTSD diagnosis and proof of a stressor.
Unles your DD 214 has PH, CAR or CIB on it.

What you described in my opinion would not raise to level of stressor-I am sure you have other stressors but maybe the adjustment disorder claim could be granted.

Have they denied this claim yet?

Welcome home Soldier!! I served in the USMC in RVN in 1966, discharged in 1967. Took me 41 years of living with alcohol, drugs, crying, flashbacks, rage, nightmares and the the rest of it before a very kind gentle soul that worked at the VA asked me to come in for the help I was always too proud to ask for. This stuff pretty much ruined my life, or should I say I let it ruin my life because I didn't know I had a problem, thought I was the only one that felt that way. Now I know better, there are untold thousands of our fellow veterans that suffer from PTSD, many like you and I that "humped the boonies in Indian country" have neglected to admit our problem and seek help. Now that you have, welcome aboard! We veterans are very fortunate to have this board and the number of members that have walked in these shoes and are willing to help other veterans navigate the right course when dealing with the VA and other Federal and State entities that can provide assistance. All you have to do is ask for help!

Pigdriver

You know one of the main symptoms of PTSD is denial, so don't feel too bad because you did not get treatment for years. It is hard for a guy who has survived the horror of war to admit he is not OK. This is why a lot of older guys with PTSD finally arrive at rock bottom and start to cry out for help. You have to be a strong individual to survive combat. In our day signs of emotional distress were looked on as weakness by the army, or even a conduct problem. Unless you were stark, raving mad any drinking or drug problems or other signs of PTSD would get you in trouble. The military psychiatrists were not sympathetic. They worked for Uncle Sam, and were eager for you to accept some kind of less than honorable discharge to get you out of their hair at behest of the command.

First of all, I want to apologize for the two blank pages it have seen to got lost. one momemnt I was posting the next, I could not find it.(?).Now I want to thank you all that took the time to encorage me with thoughts and links to sites plus just knowledge. The diagnostic of adjustment disorder with depressed mood, chronic. also with pain disorder associated with physysical and psycologycal factor. A single word that VA has used to dissalowed much of my claims is CONGENITAL. Wich is due to anomalies of my spine with a double scoliosis. Example my lungs diagnose with ubstrutive lung disease. dissalowed because of my congenital back. wich means, I was borne with a bad spine. Pigdriver, Berta, And John 999 Thank you so much. I am so concerne with the PTSD diagnogsis because, I'm imagining they (VA) will use my back pain to conclude adjustment disorder is from my physical pain wich is couse by congenital spine. I have three claims I summited, got the response the recieved it. One is Gulf War Syndrome, I thought I was too late. another is rashes from below shoulder back and front. the other is memory lost. scary. sometimes cant remember to go from point A to point B, close family name is a strugle to remember thire spouses name before she or he answer. read book pasages over ana over again. movies my wife says we had seen, no clue with me. counting money several time, like i dint past the fifth grade. I was their to give my ALL. Now a different system (VA) deciding my lot in life. since I cant do for self too well. No more before I start boo huing. Love you all. They could not have done it with out US. .Go third herd 3rd AD C co 122 MSB.

maset:

No problem I fixed it. After you have been here a while you will be able to edit posts

The VA can determine if a congenital condition has been aggravated by service.Then they have to SC and rate the aggravated part of the disability.Then they would have to determine if any psychological disability is due to the aggravation.

Was this listed in any way at all on your entrance physical as fact you had this congenital condition?

Or did the VA come up with that idea themselves with no medical rationale?

Are you able to cover personal info and scan the exact denial as to how they denied?

Do you have a vet rep who can help you with this claim? There are cases at the BVA on aggravation of congenital disabilities due to service.Maybe all of your conditions can be service connected that way.

It would be great if we knew what they actually said as to the congenital part.

PS here is a claim where the veteran did have congenital disability -and service connection for aggravation of that disability due to military service was granted:

http://www4.va.gov/vetapp09/files1/0901042.txt

There are over 700 cases at BVA regarding congenital disabilities so whether VA is right on that or not -you do have chance for service connection unless they are compltely wrong but you can find a link directly to your service for your scoliosis.

If you go to the BVA web site, put Scoliosis in search doo dad or search for congenital-you will find mpore claims similiar to yours and how they were awarded or why they were denied.

You could even have depression as secondary to this condition-and VA has recognized the pain disorder you have as well.
I would think however you should definitely claim these disabilities and state that the adjustment disorder is also directkly due to your service or secondary to aggravation of pre existing congenital condition.

That would not be a PTSD claim but whatever they would call it -would be valid reason to ask for compensation for both mental and physical disabilities.

Comp is same amount too for any SC mental disability-but they only rate and pay for one type of mental disability.

According to the VA's logic anyone who developes any emotional disorder probably has a congenital factor that is triggered by the stress of military service. By this standard no one with flat feet would ever get compensation. They took you into the service as being medically fit. The VA does use the congenital excuse every time they misdiagnose a person with PTSD, depression or anxiety disorder as a personality disorder. The personality disorder is congentital disorder they say. Before the hubbub about PTSD the Army was kicking out 100's of soldiers suffering from PTSD as personality disorders so they would not have to pay. If you are marching and humping for hours and days that would aggravate a back problem that otherwise may never have hurt you.

Thanks a million miss Berta. I was in my sixteenth wk. just ready to go to jump school. So at the exam for jump status, I fainted.. God was with me, anyway, went in the hospital to get a work up, there they found it in an x-ray. A doctor said they Army will kick me out. I was born in Panama Canal Zone, a Panamenian national. That was like a blow to my heart. I was seventeen and in good shape. so I did a gymnastic move by standing straight and putting my head between my legs. without bending my knees. The doctor was impress. So they recycle me from infantry to engineers. somewhere down the line I was having back pain the army solution was two fold. call doctors, nurses, maybe the janitor also; to showed a diforme back; the second was moultrin. I dint think of nothing I was a soldier. But now at 53 I can't walk to the maibox and back without a different stroke, cane in hand. Maybe one mistake on my part was not to appeal in the one year window. I came out the service after four years 1978 and came back in 1981. Now I am thinking the army never tried to fix it in those twenty two years. (two reserve). Do you know I am mad, But how can I get mad at the army? They took me in at seventeen showed me to take care of my buddy, and gave me citezenship. But I also retained the uglyest part of it, Is that why I might cry so much in the midnight, when I cant sleep even with 150 mg of trazadone. Cymbalta to calm me down yet not put me in REM sleep. and thirteen other pills, I just went off, sorry Miss Berta. I just meet you and I can say I love your knoledge on subject matter expert. Thanks