I have been through DAV and spoke to a county VSO. All seem to just want to file an increase with little to nothing to go into it.
Background: I'm rated for a misdiagnosed "adjustment disorder" at 0% that I was also honorably discharged with. It's been over 20 years. But this was actually an MST event, and I've been suffering from PTSD on my own for years. When I finally get courage to have disclosure with my wife and my doctors, the least supportive element has been the VSOs.
DAV just bounces around whoever is working that day in the office and i dont have it in me to disclose my case to a new person everytime i deal with them.
I tried a local county VSO, and it was a woman that tells me that the VA will only accept IMOs from my treating psychiatrist and not from an independent third party (my doctor has never written one). She also claims OSA cannot be connected and its extremely rare if it does. So they dont want to file with secondaries, just PTSD as a primary and as an increase. I feel this is not true and she sounds like she hates her job on the phone and is annoyed I called.
I tried the state level VSO, and they bounce me to an office they claim is "closer" but is actually harder for me to get to and looks like a lesser equipped office.
I swear it feels impossible to get help in North Carolina.
What is true and what isnt? Who actually helps veterans like me if at all?