Mental health thread request

[SFCWPDirect]

Just a suggestion here, I noticed that there is a PTSD thread in the medical area, but there is not a general "Mental Health thread. It is my experience that there area multitude of mental health conditions that are unrelated to a PTSD diagnosis. In fact the C+P exam guidlines are different for a mental health condition rating without a PTSD diagnosis... I am rated at 70% for a non PTSD mental health condition myself and found information hard to come by in the past.

[NamGuardianAngel]

This is my first, hopefully successful post. I had trouble getting in because of the security on my PC. I'm not very good with technical stuff. What I am good at is PTSD. I've been doing outreach work and advocacy for 25 years with veterans who have PTSD. My husband is a Vietnam vet and he has it. There isn't much I don't know about this. The need is great, but this is just the beginning. Advocates like me are looking at figures of at least 800,000. Using the information from Vietnam, the statistics on PTSD rates and the fact redeployments increase the risk of PTSD by 50% for each time back, the experts they are listing to are wrong. Time will prove us right but by then they will be so overwhelmed, too many more will suffer.

The good news is that today there was a change in the rules thanks to Senator Akaka. From now on the veterans will not have to prove a traumatic event. There is much more work to be done. I will try to post on here as much as possible but until then, you can go to my blog at www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com. There are videos there as well as a ton of information. It's free use to all so please feel free to share it. The more we talk about this, the more will be accomplished and the sooner the stigma will vanish.

[nurseflo]

Hi Angel,Welcome to veterans resources.I skimmed your blog spot.It looked like there was lots of info.My son is on his 2nd tour of Iraq.He had some pretty ugly memories engraved on his brain.Most of the time he does well and seems well adjusted.Then he has the days he calls his black hearted days .When I'm not quite so tired I'm gonna actually read some of the blogs.Thanks for sharing your knowledge.Gloria

[NamGuardianAngel]

Lean on us. Vietnam veterans and their families know what you are going through. You are not alone in any of this. I hope this all ends soon but the problems our troops face will go on for years. The good news is that the sooner they get help, the better they recover. They can heal and learn how to cope. My husband did. He went from just being alive to living a life again. He is chronic and will never be the same, but with medication and therapy, he is so much better than he was without it. He came home in 1971, was not diagnosed until 1990, not treated until 1993 and didn't have his claim approved until 1999. If he can go from the abyss to where he is now, anyone can.

[Slapyo]

If there is enough demand (i.e. requests) for a mental health subforum I will create one.

[TinCanMan]

The good news is that today there was a change in the rules thanks to Senator Akaka. From now on the veterans will not have to prove a traumatic event.

This statement is simply wrong. I did some research and came to find out Military Times Group reported it incorrectly. The reported change only applies to veterans whose PTSD was first diagnosed on active duty. VAWatchdog is now reporting the correct info. http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nf...nf022008-1.htm

The smart money is to take everything you see on a blog or in the "news" with a grain of salt until it is verified.

What caused me to question the AF Times article is the assertion it was about "combat" vets but combat vets have never had to write a stressor letter because of 38 USC Sect 1154

[NamGuardianAngel]

Larry Scott is a hero in all of this. While it is good news, for the ones who have been diagnosed by the DOD, there are many problems with this. They do not address the veterans who received zero disability ratings or low ones from the DOD. They do not address the ones who had been diagnosed with PTSD by the DOD but the VA turned down the claim for lack of evidence they already processed. Dishonorable discharges under "personality disorders" which is just more of the same misdiagnosed issues plaguing them along with the new out of "bipolar" instead of looking at all the evidence of the connection to traumatic events, the list goes on. A new report finally nailed the other issue they are trying to get away with TBI. They are trying to pull a double header on this by saying TBI causes PTSD instead of the event itself causing both types of wounds. This way they only have to pay out on one claim instead of two. I do still think it's good news for those stuck in the backlog of claims who were in fact diagnosed right by the DOD.

[NamGuardianAngel]

What caused me to question the AF Times article is the assertion it was about "combat" vets but combat vets have never had to write a stressor letter because of 38 USC Sect 1154
Sorry I should have addressed this too. This is not always the case. My husband was in Vietnam on two bases near the DMZ. His MOS had him as a "clerk" but since he only had to do that job a couple of hours a day, the rest of the time he was on bunker guard duty and on sweeps. They all did that. Hardly no one was exempt. He had to fill one out. So did his best friend, a Green Beret with multiple tours. He had to fill one out too. If you go to grunts space Lost and Found, you'll find thousands of veterans looking for support of a claim and someone to back up their stressor letter. While my husband's claim was tied up for 6 years, it took his friend 19 years for his to be approved. My husband's nephew was with special forces and he had to fill one out. He ended up committing suicide because of PTSD.

[TinCanMan]

While it is good news, for the ones who have been diagnosed by the DOD, there are many problems with this. They do not address the veterans who received zero disability ratings or low ones from the DOD.

Which has exactly nothing to do with either the VA or Senator Akaka's political posturing.

They do not address the ones who had been diagnosed with PTSD by the DOD but the VA turned down the claim for lack of evidence they already processed.

Oh baloney. The only folks in that scenario are non-combat PTSD claims where the veteran is unable to show evidence of a cause (the stressor letter). The VA has a duty to care for veterans but it also has a duty to the American people to be a good steward of the public trust and the money they provided. As a taxpayer I want, no demand the VA give every veteran a full measure of the benefits entitled but at the same time I demand every claim be proven. Anything else is a handout and that's not what compensation is about. When a veteran makes a claim for compensation, he is actually telling the people he was disabled in their service. In my book, ya gotta prove that one.

Dishonorable discharges under "personality disorders"

More baloney. No one has ever received a DD on the basis of a personality disorder.

which is just more of the same misdiagnosed issues plaguing them along with the new out of "bipolar" instead of looking at all the evidence of the connection to traumatic events,

Talk to your congressman about that. The VA has nothing to do with it.

. A new report finally nailed the other issue they are trying to get away with TBI. They are trying to pull a double header on this by saying TBI causes PTSD instead of the event itself causing both types of wounds.

Oh, groan... TBI and PTSD are both conditions of the brain. You cannot be compensated for more than one disabling condition of the same organ, well with one limited exception. It called pyramiding and is not consistent with 38 CFR. If you don't agree, talk to Congress. The VA and DOD have nothing to do with it.

I'd recommend you spend some time looking at the archives. I's a good read for someone that doesn't understand how the claims process works and where to find the relevant statutes and regulations that govern the process.

[TinCanMan]

This is not always the case. My husband was in Vietnam on two bases near the DMZ. His MOS had him as a "clerk" but since he only had to do that job a couple of hours a day, the rest of the time he was on bunker guard duty and on sweeps

If he doesn't have some evidence of combat such as a CAR, CIB, PH, BS w/v, SS or paper indicating he participated in combat, he's out of luck and does not qualify for consideration under Sect 1154. Anyone can claim I was a clerk but I was in a firefight and this horrible thing happened. Congress says they have to prove it. Talk to your legislators.

[NamGuardianAngel]

TinCanMan
I realize I'm new here but your reading skills are not that great and you don't seem to know that much about what you seem to be determined to want to nail me on. If you are part of the welcome club using a club on a new visitor was not a good move. You can use whatever form numbers and order numbers you want but you lack comprehension skills.

First, my husband's claim was approved and if you read what I wrote you would have seen that. Next, you ended up supporting what I said about the VA wanting a stressor claim/form/letter, before I choose the wrong word again that does not satisfy you.

You don't seem to know that much about the difference between TBI and PTSD either.



I've been doing this for 25 years and came here to provide information and support to the new generation of veterans going through what Vietnam veterans went through. If you have a problem with that, then you are part of the reason the stigma still lives on. Now if you can get your head out of your rear understand this. If the DOD does not give them the right diagnosis, then the VA makes them start all over again. So please try that one again. Don't tell me to contact my congressman for what the DOD and the VA are failing our veterans on. I've been doing that for years too because I cannot become part of the "I got mine screw you club" and ignore what is still going on instead of what should be changed.

Please feel free to comment again but I doubt I'll be back. You seem to want to play some kind of game I really don't have time for. As for the archives, if you're in it, which I bet you post on every thread, I'm really not interested in wasting my time.

[TinCanMan]

your reading skills are not that great

Really??? That comes as a great surprise to me having taught "English as a Second Language" for half a dozen years as a member of the local Literacy Council. I think the problem is I simply didn't agree with some of the statements you made.

you don't seem to know that much about what you seem to be determined to want to nail me on.

Not much interested in nailing anyone on anything but I am interested in setting the record straight before some unsuspecting veteran tries to act on them.

You can use whatever form numbers and order numbers you want but you lack comprehension skills.

What I quoted you aren't forms or orders. Title 38 CFR and 38 USC are the statutes and regulations that govern the adjudication of veterans claims with the VA. The VA doesn't act the way it does arbitrarily. They follow the laws Congress legislated. If you don't understand that, then you are limited to cheer leading.

First, my husband's claim was approved and if you read what I wrote you would have seen that.

Where is it you think I said or implied your husbands claim wasn't approved??? As a matter of fact, I don't think I mentioned your husband at all. I simply said those folks that can't document combat service are required to submit a stressor letter with their claim. Combat veterans do not have to do this because 38 USC Section 1154 says they aren't required to.

Now if you can get your head out of your rear understand this.

Really??? Try to avoid making this personal, It's not.

If the DOD does not give them the right diagnosis, then the VA makes them start all over again.

I suspect you're talking about this "Personality Disorder" thing. If that's so, it may be debatable. It also has nothing to do with the VA. It's an issue with DoD and VA can't fix that. The problem is that personality disorders are pre-existing conditions and VA cannot award compensation on pre-existing conditions. I doubt there's any conspiracy within DoD to diagnose everyone with a mental condition as personality disorder. There are simply too many doctors across all services to have this happen without some whistle-blower coming forward.

Don't tell me to contact my congressman for what the DOD and the VA are failing our veterans on.

I can tell you whatever I believe I need to tell you. Your choice is to ignore it, or not. You can whine all over the web about the injustice of it all but the solution is a Congressional investigation and legislative changes. For what it's worth, the VA isn't failing to do anything other than what you want. That will never happen as the VA follows the law not someone's whim. If you don't want to ignore it, your remedy is legislative change. Well, I guess you could continue whining on the web in the hope someone else will assume responsibility and take the action you should have.

[RiverRat]

OK...I realize this thread is a month old but I still had to reply. This is the first I ever heard of anyone not having to submit a stressor letter with their claim.

I haven`t checked into 38 usc 1154 but I will. I want to know why...why..as a Special Operations combat crewmember with MANY missions in `Nam and Laos ,did I have to submit a stressor letter for my PTSD claim ? My roommate during my in-patient PTSD clinic was a SreamingEagle with the 101`st airborne and he also had to submit a stressor letter.
I asked this question in group therapy today and all 11 vets in our group say they had to submit stressor letters. I`m not here to argue, fuss, cuse or rasie hell with anyone. It just beats my butt to think that I had to do this when even my military records proved my stressor(s) / traumatic events. More so now that I read this and hear that some didn`t have to submit a stressor letter...

Are there any PTSD vets reading this that didn`t have to prove their stressor by letter with their claim ?

Like I stated ..Not here to argue...... just curious ?????????

[TinCanMan]

I asked a DRO: If an individual claiming PTSD has a CIB, do they still have to write the stressor letter?

His response:

It depends. The Rating Specialist who reads the stressor letter does not determine what the stressor is if PTSD is diagnosed. The doctor who makes the diagnosis does this. The stressor letter merely gives the Rating Specialist the information he/she needs to confirm the stressor, providing the information in the letter matches what the doc says is the actual stressor.

All the CIB does is confirm that one was actually in combat. This means that if the doc identifies combat as the stressor, no further verification is needed by the Rating Specialist. So in this instance, the stressor letter would not necessarily have been needed.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Just as a matter of clarification, PTSD is not a "presumptive" condition because one has a CIB, PH, etc. All the award in question does is allow VA to grant service connection for PTSD without further development of a stressor; but only if the doc says that combat is the stressor. I have seen cases where the docs identified something other than combat as the stressor and in those cases VA was required to verify whatever the doc identified even if the person had one of the named awards. Again, this is rare but it does happen.

[TinCanMan]

RiverRat:

Here's a relatively new change you might want to put in your kit:

Veterans Diagnosed with PTSD on Active Duty are no longer required to provide further evidence of PTSD.

IOW, no stressor letter required for PTSD victims diagnosed on AD.

[RiverRat]

Thanks TCM,
I was in town today and stopped by the local Vetrans Affairs office. I have never used the VSO here for a claim but he has been quite helpful in other matters. I asked him the question about the stressor letter and got pretty much what the DRO told you.

He also told me about the change for AD PTSD diag. SOOOO, there we have it . Looks as if some of the doors we have knocked on in the past are starting to open for the current war vets. Yee Haw.......

Have a good weekend all...

[TinCanMan]

No problem, glad to help. Part of the problem wrt §1154 claims is that a read of the statute, 38 USC §1154(b) isn't really clear about what evidence is required.

I need to talk with someone on the inside regarding how this comes to be interpreted by VA as not requiring a stressor in certain cases. I don't know for a fact, but I suspect it has to do with internal policy or case law.

VA decision makers have a decided advantage over folks like you and I. They're privey to the circulation of VA OGC opinions, Fast letters and regular training. All we can do iss hope to keep up after the fact.

Just reading the statutes and regulations will leave you short of real understanding in many situations. Very important to have an insider to lean on when things aren't clear as a lot revolves around interpretation of the law and just who gets to interpret it and on what basis.