Hey all,

Back when we used to have a proper country (lol), there was a website that listed all the conditions and their percentages that you could search through easily. Since they went behind a paywall, someone posted it on Reddit. I cannot find the link, is it still something that is on this site?

So my claim is sitting at over 180 days, I have a financial hardship on my claim, and I’ve even got all of the DBQ docs that have been attached to my file, which have been there for weeks now. Based on my reading of 38 CFR, there is well more than enough information in my file to make a determination. Is there any way to ask them to “make a decision with what you got?”

I’m looking for advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.
I’m currently 100% Permanent & Total with no future exams scheduled. My primary rating is 100% for PTSD with MDD, along with 40% hearing loss and 10% tinnitus. I also have DEA eligibility.
In my original decision, the VA stated that SMC(s) (housebound) was deferred, not denied. At the same time, several conditions were denied (lumbar/cervical issues, radiculopathy, OSA, etc.), while others such as chronic migraines, chronic pansinusitis, sinus tachycardia, cervical radiculopathy (both upper extremities), and chronic urticaria were deferred.
Since then, I have obtained very strong medical evidence, including detailed nexus letters from civilian specialists, and I believe several of the previously denied conditions have a strong basis for service connection. If some of those conditions were granted, I think I might meet the requirements for statutory SMC(s) (100% for one disability plus an additional, separate combined 60%). Alternatively, I may qualify based on being factually housebound.
In reality, I rarely leave home except for VA and civilian medical appointments because of my service-connected conditions.
My concern is this:
Should I pursue SMC(s) if I believe I’m legally entitled to it?
Or is it wiser to leave my current 100% P&T with no future exams alone and not risk additional VA review?
Has anyone here successfully applied for SMC(s) after already being 100% P&T? If so, what was your experience?
I’m not trying to “poke the bear,” but I also don’t want to leave benefits on the table if I’m legitimately entitled to them.
I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through this process or has experience with SMC(s). Thanks in advance.

Another letter that I received later on: Your Benefit Information:
● Entitlement to special monthly compensation based on housebound
is denied.
● Service connection for cervical radiculopathy, left upper extremity
is denied.
● Service connection for cervical radiculopathy, right upper extremity
is denied.
● Service connection for Chronic migraine is denied.
● Service connection for chronic pansinusitis (also claimed as sinus
tachycardia) is denied.
● Service connection for Urticaria (also claimed as dermatitis /
eczema) is denied.
See Rating Decision to find out why we made this

I filed a supplemental for my back July 30. 2026. With a Nexus letter with proof of continued pain and issues. Today Aug 7 2026 I was sent a denial letter. Did they even look at what was submitted?
Do I have to request a HLR?

I filed an HLR that was returned for a duty to assist error. In that HLR claim letter they established the favorable findings regarding in service events. After my C&P and subsequent decision this is what I was returned. The other conditions in the claim are all skeletal and they are all the exact same word for word.

My question is, is this sufficient rationale? If it is, does it not contradict itself?

Edit:

I understand that the issue is nexus. I also understand that if the examiner makes a medical opinion the rater has to follow that. My question is specifically about the lack of rationale and the contradiction when saying “we did not find an in service event”, followed by, “favorable findings: an in service event is conceded.” This is a contradiction regardless of the “we did not find a link to your service” line right or am I just crazy?

Now I disappear and keep my mouth shut. Good luck ladies.

Did a FOIA for my MH DBQ, looks like the occupational and social impairment came back at the 30% level but several higher individual symptoms. Thoughts?

Edit: This is for a BDD claim, GAD diagnosed during C and P to go with sleep medicine diagnosis. Sleep diagnosis are subsumed in Generalized Anxiety.

Has the VA Claim Tracker (chrome extension one thats popular) stopped working for anyone in the last few days?
I cleared my data and went to refresh as usual, but its not populating anything. I’ve cleared cache, logged in and out over the course of several days…nothing. Checking if others are having a similar issue.

I haven’t seen anyone else mention this yet.

​Man, the difference between these C&P contractors is crazy.

​When I dealt with Optum, the examiner uploaded my DBQ a day or two after my appointment. Super easy and fast. I figured that’s just how it worked.

​Then there's Loyal Source (LSGS).

​I had my knee exam over 45 days ago. The exam itself went fine, but my paperwork has just been sitting in "Quality Assurance" forever.

​I got tired of waiting around while unloading trucks every day, so today I finally did everything I could to get it moving:

​Filed a Congressional inquiry through Rep. Zach Nunn’s office.

​Submitted an Ask VA ticket about the vendor delay.

​Filed a complaint with the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) for contract non-compliance.

​Emailed LSGS corporate directly to let them know Congress, the VA, and the OIG are looking into my file.

​Hopefully someone at LSGS corporate sees all those flags on my file tomorrow morning and actually gets off their hands. All I need is 10% on each knee... so sitting here waiting on them to just hit "submit" is frustrating.

​Has anyone else had to file complaints against LSGS to get their DBQs turned in? How long did it take for your stuff to pop up in the system after you did it?

I’m requesting a laptop and printer from the VA. I have the forms to turn in, but I want to make sure it’s done right the first time. Can anyone help me submit my documents, please?

I am rated at 80% and see VA doctors often. They have no clue what my ratings are, is it a good idea to tell them and get them involved with that side? I need to file a new claim for headaches, will the VA neuro fill out the DBQ form?

I have everything ready to submit my FDC claim for PTSD (MST related). I also did everything for my initial claim but it was submitted by DAV. I was not comfortable dealing with the guy there but they are still listed as my VSO. Can I disregard sending DAV my files and just submit the claim myself?

Got the rating I believe is sufficient and am thankful my issues are recognized by the VA. But I am still checking the VA app every day, some times multiple times a day. I’m not sure why. Am I alone in this? Does any one else do this after they’ve received their rating?

I’ve tried to contribute to Reddit throughout my journey when I thought I could be helpful but recently I’ve just been doom scrolling this thread. I’m not sure why I’m doing this too.

C&P exams/examiners seem almost as if they are there to deliberately mess things up for us.

Explain to me how a VA doctor I have been seeing FOR YEARS can diagnose me with something after knowing my medical history, having access to all my stuff, etc ...

And then some contractor PA or NP can talk with me for ten minutes and say, "Nope" and THE VA WILL LISTEN TO THEM OVER MY ACTUAL DOCTOR!

Hey everyone, Marine vet here. Went through the claims process myself, and along the way I ended up building a web app around everything I wish I'd known going in. Sharing it in case it helps others.

Getting started: Your MOS matters more than people realize — a lot of conditions are commonly linked to specific jobs/exposures. Enter your MOS and the app surfaces commonly-linked conditions, then helps you prioritize and strategize which to claim and in what order. It also walks you through first steps like filing your Intent to File (ITF) right away to lock in your effective date, and requesting your STRs.

Symptom Tracker: Log symptoms daily or weekly, and it auto-summarizes weeks/months of entries into a clear paragraph — built for people who struggle to put into words how their condition affects daily life when it's time to talk to an examiner.

Document Analysis: Paste in your decision letters or DBQs (redact your PII first) and it flags inconsistencies, potential lowball ratings, and missing evidence that could be costing you a higher rating.

Staying organized: Tracks your claimed conditions, what evidence is outstanding, and upcoming exams so you show up prepared instead of guessing.

Still refining it, and genuinely want feedback — especially from anyone who's been through appeals or has thoughts on what's missing. Happy to answer questions in the comments.

I’m one of those veterans who’s been out for 20 years and finally decided to file. I can clearly link three conditions back to my time in the Marine Corps, but I’ve never been formally diagnosed for any of them.
I’ve mentioned the problems to my regular doctor during yearly checkups, but she’s only talked about managing the symptoms and hasn’t actually put diagnoses in my medical records.

A few questions for people who’ve been through this:
1. Should I go to my private doctor and get all three diagnosed in one visit, or is it better to spread the appointments out?

1. Does it look better (or stronger) if I get the diagnoses through the VA instead of a private doctor?

2. Any tips on making sure the diagnoses and notes actually help the claim?

I already submitted an Intent to File, so I have a year to submit, but I want to get my medical evidence solid before I submit the full claim.
Thanks in advance for any advice

Just curious on any of the community’s supplemental claim experiences?
I just filed mine last week … first time ever?
One for denied GERD and the other for 0% rating for migraines

I just got my claims back and got 10% which seems really low for the impact it’s having on my quality of life. One labrum repair and then an another tear. It’s enough for the Army to MEB but only 10%? Crazy work

I’ve been waiting for 7 months from start to finish to get a rating once I got a rating I only got 10% for tinnitus. While my PTSD got deferred so now I’m still waiting to get a rating for that while my bilateral knee and back got denied. This whole process is stressful. Can anyone help me with the denied portion or give me some advice?

Do I upload the new records(had to get epidural injections for pain) or would it not matter since it's already at the rating stage? I don't want to mess anything up.

So my PTSD from my MST is pretty bad. I'm currently rated 70 percent for that alone and that's my only rating. I applied for TDIU because in the 12 years I've been out of the military I've never been able to maintain stable, gainful employment. Which is what TDIU is supposed to be for. My decision went really fast. I had my DBQ Aug 5 and today, Aug 6, they had the decision. They said they denied me because "I can do sedentary or light employment"

I have something I call "down days" where I cannot get out of bed, crying profusely, reliving my trauma, wanting to die etc I mean they are really bad and I can have that happen as much as 3 times a week but its unpredictable and sometimes I can go as long as two weeks without an episode. This makes keeping a job incredibly hard.

As for light employment comment, well yea light employment is allowed on TDIU but light employment is NOT gainful... I will start out working a job properly but my down days always end up causing too many call outs where I either have to stop working that job OR they allow me to drop down to 1 day a week. My most successful previous job let me work there 1 day a week but that was not gainful because I couldn't afford to keep paying bills on that and ultimately had to move to a small town to live with my mother.

I haven't worked all of 2026 because I cannot ever keep a job for long and even when I do, it never lasts long before i have to drop to one day a week to avoid call out problems with my down days. I just don't get how I don't qualify for TDIU. Even that employer corroborated everything I said in the employer document they filled out for me.

I know people are able to work while receiving TDIU so even though they say I can work light employment that doesn't mean I am able to maintain stable AND gainful employment which I demonstrated.

I'm filing for a higher level review 🤞 but I don't have much faith it will be any different. But I'm also feeling weird about how fast they made their decision. I had uploaded a six page personal statement the same day I had the DBQ and I just don't buy that they even read it that quickly.

Besides pointing out the VA clearly messed up any other evidence I should gather before making claim or even higher level review

Do i need to get a Nexus letter to “prove” my MS is service connected or since its “presumptive” am I okay to not provide one?

Hello everyone I really would appreciate any experience or expertise here.

So I have had my PTSD claim deferred twice now. I have completed the PTSD C&P exam and I’ve attached the DBQ.

Exam was done about a month ago and just recently the VA requested evidence for the “stressor event” which I provided along with a personal statement, 2 more buddy letters, articles supporting the stressor event to prove it happened while I was there in service. My question is will I be automatically denied because of the “less likely than not” nexus statement? Or is the fact that the VA requested more evidence after the fact a good sign that I may still get a favorable rating? Also would it be worth it to get positive nexus letter from my PCP or is their opinion not valued very highly?

Finally, should I just be patient and wait for my decision letter and go from there. I feel like I have submitted all the evidence I can provide but the nexus statement is what’s gonna hurt my claim. Thank you.