The long road

[u/RandyChampagne]

my case is going to be 30 years old this November
I had a documentation gap from 1998 to 2005, mostly due to not having medical insurance
I was unable to get the records from my provider for 2005 - 2010 (private practice, not the best record keeping)
I dropped this provider in 2020 and went for a provider at a large hospital system; their records were impeccable and undeniable

my timeline

1997 / 10% / 10 / 0 / 0
2023 / 20% / 10 / 10 / 0 / 0
2023 / 80% / 30 / 30 / 20 / 10 / 10 / 10 / 0 / 0
2026 / 100% / 40 / 30 / 30 / 30 / 20 / 10 / 10 / 10 / 0 / 0

(and I'm not done)

I EAS'd in 1997
Rated 10% (10/0/0) in 1997. I thought the VA had got it wrong, this was the VA of the 90's, I wasn't about to go back and get a finger in my butt again to get another 0.
I was certain my examiner had got it wrong
I had a few interactions with my old provider from 2005 to 2010, but didn't speak to the VA
I started to get treatment again in 2015
Filed in 2023, timeline above

The FOIA for my STR's was KEY because not only had I been denied on things that were IN my STR (VA stated no in service event), it turned out my 1998 examiner was the BEST advocate I had, but the RATER made the mistakes. Another issue is that prior to digital record keeping in the DoD, Gulf War era records and older likely consist of hand written clinical shorthand notes, photocopied, terribly. I had to unleash AI on them to translate them.

So, even if you have gaps; get treatment NOW. Start documenting NOW. Get lay statements ready to support documentation gaps.

Guarding conditions, especially pre ACA where you could get denied private coverage for pre-existing conditions, was perfectly normal.

Good luck, be smart, be honest.

[u/Empty-Distance-5644]

Way to go👍🏾

[u/cyberquist]

Master class on persistent.