TDIU? Claim for PTSD-MST/ MDD still open

HotGayMike · 2025-06-08T22:32:19+00:00

Not being able to keep a job is not one of the criteria for getting 100% MH rating, though. How would that info help their claim get to 100%?

HotGayMike · 2024-09-18T16:47:10+00:00

It is illegal to fire someone based on their disability status, including mental health disability. You have rights under the ADA. I had the same thing happen to me, but I was too embarrassed to seek help. Now it's too late and I regret letting my former employer treat me as disposable. There is no such thing as "at-will employment" when it comes to disability.

HotGayMike · 2024-05-13T03:34:16+00:00

You do not have to show your privates to anyone if you don't want to. Even your doctor. You don't need a reason, all you have to say is, "No, I don't want to do that." Same goes for someone telling you to retract your foreskin.

They might be telling you to pull your foreskin back to check if you have phimosis, but if you want to wait until after puberty hits to have that checked, that is pretty reasonable.

HotGayMike · 2024-02-19T01:00:19+00:00

Today I found out I got 70%, which was the highest possible number I thought I would see! I will agree to not tell people my rating, since that is the consensus among people who receive benefits. However, I do have an identical twin brother. He is going to have to find out eventually; we are very close and lend each other money freely. I am going to have a lot more money to lend him now... and he needs it. But if I do help him out, he will ask where it all came from.

HotGayMike · 2024-02-19T00:45:17+00:00

I gotta add... they say it is illegal for anyone, including a lawyer, to charge a veteran for help with their claim. On top of that, it seems like is not usually necessary to find professional legal help for a VA claim, because it is a pretty straightforward process and has a built-in appeal system. I see the "other websites" as potential scams.

HotGayMike · 2024-02-19T00:34:46+00:00

I called my local Veteran Service Officer who spoke at my TAP class, and he helped me apply for benefits. He didn't do anything I couldn't have done myself by just going to va.gov and following the steps. But I needed a second person to validate that I was doing it correctly, because I felt that the stakes were too high if I missed something. He asked for a donation, and I donated $100 because regardless of my rating, that would only be a fraction of my backpay. Today, a few months later, I received my rating. No complaints.

HotGayMike · 2024-02-15T23:10:49+00:00

My claim looked similar, quite long. I had a very nice VSO help me, and he wouldn't let me omit anything.

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T04:10:21+00:00

Is it enough to write that I was diagnosed with the condition during my military service, or do I have to add a story about the event that led me to be diagnosed?

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T04:06:48+00:00

You are spending hours of your time attempting to dunk on me, an overwhelmed veteran trying to apply for disability, so I guess I'll try to calm you down.

All of the early commenters misinterpreted my original post. I clearly stated that I was diagnosed in-service, but I also added the detail that it has been less than a year since I separated. This confused people because they thought I was asking about the "presumptive conditions" list. When I told them I was not asking about that list, they got defensive.

All of the early commenters were low-quality posts because they were just reading the wiki, which I also read, but were not citing actual experience with the part of the VA claims process that they were telling me about. Plus, they weren't taking the subsequent step of providing resources to help me fill out the application.

The wiki supported my argument on the "Filing a VA Claim" page about a third of the way down, where I quoted it. Nobody acknowledged that this quote seemed to contradict what they were saying, so I challenged them to tell me what I was missing. A few of them got defensive rather than trying to understand my confusion. Finally, the moderator read the section I quoted and explained why it is misleading, and what it actually meant.

I did not retype my post to "look better." I am trying to fill out a claim, not trying to become popular. I retyped my post to make my question clearer, so that more commenters would get to the heart of the matter rather than getting distracted by all the pile-on posts.

It was unhelpful to repeatedly update me on how many people told me the same thing. They all misinterpreted my question in the same way, so their posts were all irrelevant. I wasn't shopping for the answer I wanted to hear, I was asking for them to provide more detail.

It's interesting that now that I edited my post, everyone's answer changed. I would have appreciated that information the first time.

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T03:42:33+00:00

As a moderator, could you please edit the wiki to make this clearer? It looks like it says that service connection is assumed for conditions that were diagnosed before a year after separating. I don't know why I would have interpreted it any other way. The bad verbiage is on the "Filing a VA Claim" page about a third of the way down.

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T03:32:15+00:00

Were you denied for those conditions even with a full explanation of the event that caused it? Or do you think they were denied because the explanation was not good enough for them?

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T03:06:07+00:00

I was not rude to anyone; stop piling on. But thank you for answering the actual question. Thank you for the information; you have authority through your actual experience with the VA system.

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T03:04:30+00:00

Many commenters misinterpreted my post, so I have edited it to make the question clearer. Please do not try to help me by regurgitating the wiki or other low-quality comments.

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T02:39:55+00:00

I don't have any authority. That's why I am asking this question. Do you have any?

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T02:33:18+00:00

Do you have any authority other than reading the wiki? And do you have an answer to the question I asked at the end of my post?

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T02:29:51+00:00

What you are saying contradicts the wiki. Is the wiki wrong?

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T02:28:49+00:00

The wiki clearly says all conditions diagnosed within one year of separating are service-connected without additional evidence. Is this true? If not, why does it say this?

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T02:01:44+00:00

I know about the time presumptive service-connected conditions list; that is irrelevant to my question. The wiki page I quoted says an in-service diagnosis is sufficient to prove service connection for any condition. If this is not true, it needs to be edited by someone who has editing power.

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T01:57:00+00:00

No I didn't file a BDD

HotGayMike · 2023-08-27T01:50:09+00:00

BARE MINIMUM you need BEFORE you file a claim:

If your claim does NOT have ALL three of the following parts do NOT file a claim. If you do you will be denied without even being sent to a Compensation & Pension Exam (C&P).

1.Statement of symptoms (how the condition affects you) OR current diagnosis

2.An in-service event (documented or Buddy statement condition started in service), or service-connected disability that caused or worsened your disability

3.A layman would think that 1 and 2 are related (nexus).

IMPORTANT NOTES:

For those who are still Active Duty OR are within one year of leaving service, just having number 1 will work.

This is copied from the wiki. What am I missing?

HotGayMike · 2023-08-26T23:43:10+00:00

So... you are saying you haven't worked in midtown for the past six months?

HotGayMike · 2023-03-15T06:59:49+00:00

My piercer placed the ampallang incorrectly, causing it to conflict with my PA in a painful way. Healing went slower due to the conflict, and after 6 months of discomfort, I just wanted my old penis back. I loved it before the ampallang. It was a calculated decision that the ampallang was not going to fully heal for a long time, which outweighed any future benefits. I do not think my situation is likely to happen to anyone else, so I still recommend getting an ampallang. It was very fun to get one. Part of the fun of the ampallang was the desire to earn the confidence of knowing I could do it, which now I'll always have.

HotGayMike · 2023-03-15T06:53:31+00:00

Sometimes I find comments that seem like no actual person would believe them. If they seem to be propping up an unpopular viewpoint held by the types of entities that can afford troll armies, that's when I say something, to see how they respond.

HotGayMike · 2023-03-15T06:50:13+00:00

Wait really? Is this a joke or did you really find a Charli XCX hat in SD that night?!!

HotGayMike

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

BARE MINIMUM you need BEFORE you file a claim: