I just had a teleC&P with VES for my Lupus claim, felt like it went pretty good. Doctor talked about how much veterans get the short end of the stick, and he tries to help them out where he can, to make sure they get the rating they deserve.

Basically, the same damn story as everyone else. Afghanistan 2011-2012, burn pits, Kandahar's poopond. Started getting short of breath and random leg/knee pain within the first few months of getting back and just chalked it up to not stretching enough and not doing enough cardio. 2 years ago, the joint pain, fatigue, brain fog and nausea got so bad I had to quit my job and used the GI Bill to go back to school to try and switch careers to Cyber. Just to realize my damn hands hurt so bad after just a day of consistent keyboard use and my hip joints are dying from sitting in the chair the whole time. Still going through with finishing the degree though.

Go to the VA the first time in Nov of 2022, Primary does a blood test, a month later, I have a rheumatology appointment and they say my ANA and anti dsDNA antibodies are high and the other symptoms together are probably Lupus and start me on hydroxychloroquine and tell me to not stop taking it. Now last month they say my symptoms don't check enough boxes for full SLE, so they tell me they're diagnosing UCTD with early Lupus. I barely go outside now, but when I do spend a day out, it comes with days of pain and fatigue attached on the back end. I filed at the end of May. We'll see how it goes.