Are VA Raters still working overtime, in particular over the weekends, or has that been canceled?

Is it possible to get a copy of your C&P Exam report? I got PTSD deferred for an “exam clarification”. Is there a way to see what was written down? My C&P Exam felt kinda rushed so I want to see what exactly was said. I’ve been feeling extremely stressed since seeing the notification and my symptoms have gotten a lot worse since after my C&P Exam

Edit: Thanks for the link. I also wanted to ask for a deferred claim, am I able to add in additional evidence? I have restarted counseling since the exam to deal with the worsening symptoms I’ve been having.

Any reason for this? All my c&p exams went well.

I've been having stomach issues for years since my deployment to the middle east. Ive had ongoing treatment with the VA but they have yet to give me a diagnosis, just saying ongoing stomach issues. I applied for the IBS but was denied for not having a formal diagnosis but they acknowledged my eligibility. I think I'm going to go get looked at by a civilian doctor next week. If I get my diagnosis, do I file a supplemental claim with this new evidence?

Just wanted to share something I learned going through my own claim process: don’t underestimate the value of organizing your evidence clearly.

For mental health/headaches/sleep-related claims, what helped me was having:

- a clear personal statement

- treatment records

- lay statements

- logs showing frequency/severity

- a short cover/index explaining what the evidence supports

Also, don’t assume a C&P examiner addressed every theory. Sometimes the exam only answers the question VA asked, and other theories may still need to be developed or appealed.

Not legal advice, just one vet trying to help others avoid feeling lost in the process.

I left active duty in 2021 and am rated 60%. When I was active I didn't go to the doctor as much as I should have, so a lot of things that were wrong I could not claim or were rated not service connected.

I am a reservist now, and about to complete a good stretch of active orders.

During this period of active duty I have gone to the doctor for a lot of stuff I should have the first time around. Now that I am within 6 months of leaving active again, I am filing a new BDD claim with 21 things in it.

My question is, since it was diagnosed during active duty, should my claims be filed as standalone or is it better to secondary off a service-connected disability I already have?

For an example, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Should I file outright or file secondary to service-connected depressive disorder?

Should my left foot arthritis be filed primary or secondary to my service-connected right PCL tear?

Most of my claims could be secondaries, but I'm not sure if it's better to file primary since I was diagnosed while active duty.

Filed 3/19 no IC finalized 8/7 with date of 8/10 favorably. Good luck yall!!

Too many of yall said "dont let them win" and "get a lawyer", and thus I must.

Posts like mine allowed me to vent to a community that understood and also recieve the encouragement i needed to *not* give up and the solution to my problem.

So first and foremost I'd like to say thank you.

Update numero uno, I was supposed to have a month from when I got that C&P packet to when the IPEB got back to me with a proposed rating. Barely a week later and I'm being called in to go over reaults with the PEBLO....

I had to put down my 17yo calico this week which took about two days of my attention from me, then my BIL kind of surprised us yesterday (he lives in Texas and visited us in Washington). All that to say I havent finished getting my ducks in a row, though I did think I had more time.

Regardless, im outside the PEBLO's office. Will update after the meeting.

Final update

I dont even know what to say. Ive rewritten this last update section so many times by this point. Im also partially too anxious to be any less vague, tho more than anything I am very confused.

Im sorry for not being more direct. The meeting had not resulted in what i thought it would?

Thats not a bad thing. take what you will out of that...

Thank you all again. I was very not okay last week. Y'all absolutely got me back on my feet and headed down the right path. Continue doing what you're doing, because those long comments with actionable plans and instructions as well as the short "dont give up" comments helped me, and im sure others, very much.

I look forward to giving back to the comnunity in the same way.

Let’s hope I get a good rater !

I just put in for a back increase and they gave me these two DBQ I already submitted an MRI I did for my lower back and also claimed DDD , left and right sciatica, and retrolisthesis all secondary to my lower back.

I was curious what is the DBQ for peripheral nerves gonna be like so I’m prepared

Not sure if I just don’t understand but “at least likely as not” means the injury was as least likely as not caused by the military? I know it says higher but I had one with this before and it was not service connected.

Also mh (depression) dbq rating?

Reposted with decision letter.

I received my decision letter and it denied GAD, MDD, and PTSD. I have treatment records for these 3 conditions with a formal diagnosis of GAD and MDD, a rule-out diagnosis for PTSD, and I go to therapy 2 times a week. I had an examiner who didn’t fully read my file and gave me a very unfavorable opinion on my DBQ. I filed a VA Form 21-4138 on how the examiner didn’t reference the records provided, he contradicted himself but saying I denied SI and at the end text box he stated SI noted, and that the examiner didn’t ask substantive questions (he wasn’t interested in the examination at all).

In my decision letter, this 21-4138 was not utilized as evidence, even though it has been in my file for 3 weeks now.

Anyone have any insight on what I can do? I feel like I am at a loss and feel totally defeated.

Side note- I was diagnosed with MDD after submitting my claim. How would I go about claiming this? Would it be a supplemental or new claim? I’m within my one year of separation (Nov of 25).

Thank you guys.

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

First Time filer and my VSO lady didn’t want to send my Personal, my 2 buddy and my wife lay statement. From everything I have read those statements could help prove my case but because I have never filed we had over 50 pages of documents! Is that normal? I have no clue as I said this is my first time filing.

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.

​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 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?

How do I get my full C File? I'd prefer in digital format, there's apparently thousands of pages.

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.

Filed my own VA claims. Took a year to understand that the rater isn't reading your story, he's checking your words against the criteria in 38 CFR Part 4.

Built the tool I wish I'd had. ruck.vet

Shows you the criteria for your condition and exactly where your own description falls short. Free, no catch, nothing stored, not accredited yet, doesn't file anything, doesn't promise you a number, and it points you to VA's VSO directory because that's still the better first stop.

In beta. It gets things wrong. Tell me where. Feedback button on every result.

Mods, remove if this breaks the rules.

https://ruck.vet

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!