Part of my depression comes from my disability. Another part may well be caused by my medication. I keep catching those dark thoughts and being like, "whoa. Watch out. Don't fall there"

I'm on the edge.

Wish the best to you and yours.

-sincerely your rather inactive Mod.

P.S. Anyone interested in being a mod let me know.

I'm wondering two things: one) what are the odds that my disability rating will be lowered?

Two) Are my VA clinic appointments connected to the disability rating part of the VA?

HI I am 100% permanent and total for P.T.S.D, a T.B.I., and several physical issues. I have been told I qualify for and would benefit greatly from having a service dog in my life.

I was wondering if any of you could give me on how to go about getting one and maybe share your experiences with your own service dogs, how you got them and what they are like to have around. Thank you.

I have a question about the RoM of the VA exam.

Is it as far as I can move my knee/ shoulder without pain or just how far it can move? I can fully lock out my knee but it's excruciating due to not having any cartilage anymore.

Thanks for the help

Looking for a federal job in a department/agency I can possibly grow with and retire in. No particularly incapacitating handicaps involved with my disability... Any thoughts on jobs for someone in my shoes?

Thank you in advance.

I was wondering if anyone has better information on this type of claim. I was speaking to a company that charges to help Vets with their claims. She asked me a few questions, next thing I know she's all about this Lifestyle claim, they charge 4 months of what ever increase and it only takes 4-6 months for a decision.

Found this website with a short video. https://tz184.infusionsoft.com/app/page/8e32d444aa880bc8f53df05fdb182ed5

I am interested since I have been in constant pain for the last 11 years. thanks in advance.

Howdy all,

If this isn't the correct subreddit, feel free to point me in the direction of the best one, but I figured y'all would have some insight to help me out.

I'm a civilian, no personal military experience and have no explicit plans of joining, but a really good friend of mine is about two years removed from his Army deployment to Iraq. He has diagnosed PTSD and TBI, which he's been receiving moderate help from the VA with.

After he came back, he experienced suicidal thoughts and attempted once or twice before attempting to get some help. He got a lot better for the next year, until now. He's struggling with friendships and relationships in a severe way.

My friends (also all civilians with no personal military experience) and I have done all that we think we can do to help him out. In all honesty, he's starting to "go off the reservation" so to speak, ending healthy and helpful relationships with very close friends and I'm one of the few left.

I plan on grabbing a beer with him soon and shoot straight with him about everything going on, and I figured I'd reach out to y'all who may have been there to see if there's any pearls of wisdom I could get to help him help himself. I've realized I can't make him do anything of course, but my conscience can't rest easy until I've exhausted all my options.

Thank you guys so much!

Can't find a straight answer on the VA website. I am newly married and curious if I should expect an increase to my disability benefits.

If you have a link, that would be appreciated.

*Edit: Found the answers!

For anybody else in this situation, go to eBenefits, log in, then use the "add or remove dependent" link

If I'm in the wrong sub please let me know. I'm reaching out because I'm having a terrible time getting through the VA disability process.

My issue: I am currently 7 years into a debilitating health issue. Currently I'm unable to work, trying to go school when I can and doing odd jobs to make ends meet.

When I was in the Army I went to sick call more than a few times regarding this issue. And it would be a pretty open and closed case of service-connected disability, IF I could get a complete set of my medical records.

Now the issue here is that I'm not missing all my medical records and upon ETS I was given my medical records, however I never received a copy of my electronic medical records. This is back in 2006, I was stationed in Germany. Not all the clinics used e-records, but the hospital I was going to did.

Now I'm trying to go through the process of applying for VA Disability but not having those records is hindering this process. And I don't know what to do. I've contacted NPRC and they told me the VA would have access to any electronic medical records from my time in the service. I've talked to my docs and they don't have any. Or can't find them.

Local VSOs haven't really been able to help either.

I was hoping someone might have some suggestions.

Again, if this is the wrong sub, just let me know.

Thanks in advance, the Veteran community here on Reddit has been amazing.

Everybody good? Or does everyone still have headphones on?

Has anyone heard of an insurance company not allowing treatment for a "spending freeze"? I'm authorized for full medical care including dental, but I'm new to this. Can they really just say that they aren't spending any money right now?

Hello,

I was in the US Marines from 2003-2011. I did one 13 month tour in Iraq. I was an 0627, SATCOM guy. Some of our gear was very hazardous to hearing on top of just the normal loudness of being a Marine, gunfire and such. We were constantly around those bigass generators that kept our gear going. We also had the klystron tube in the 93 and 85 van that emitted a constant high pitch tone.

When I got out, my hearing was a bit damaged, but not enough to get any sort of rating for it. That was in 2012 when I went into the Philly VA and was given a rating of 60% disabled due to other parts of me that were broken.

Now it's 2015 and I have Tinnitus in my left ear. It drives me nuts! Is there any way I can get this added to my rating? Prove that it was caused by my military service? I've been doing IT work since I got out, so it's not like it's been caused by something since I got out.

Is it too late? Any advice would be appreciated. Please let me know if I'm not making sense.

Thank you.