I recently received 50% for PTSD. I also filed for my messed up back which I hurt in the Army, which has progressively gotten worse over the years. There’s pain every day…terrible sciatica and nerve pain, and sometimes it just completely seizes up and is unbelievably painful to even take a few steps for a week or so. Honestly, I figured if anything, I’d get the back claim and not the PTSD. My issue is that I’ve moved around quite a bit since getting out and I don’t remember the various doctors I’ve seen for my back over the past 10 years. And for a lot of that time, I didn’t have insurance so I couldn’t really afford to get it fully checked out. So I would just go to Urgent Care when it was really bad.
Other than one chiropractor, which I didn’t even have records for when I first filed my claim, essentially, my “proof” was the Army troop medical clinic I visited when I was first injured. I’m not sure how well I can establish a good paper trail other than the chiropractor records which may not be very convincing to a review board.
I’m really thankful for my 50%, but wondering if it would be worth it to have them look at my back claim again? Maybe resubmit with the chiropractor records. I’m a little hesitant after reading other vet stories of having their percentages downgraded after taking a second look. I’m assuming the answer is likely that if I can’t find more proof, then it’s probably best to just leave well enough alone. I’m new to all this, and just filed on my own with no help from any of those companies or anything. Was wondering if anyone here had any insight on getting them to take a second look. Not even sure how that works really.
It’s a shame that there’s probably so many vets out there who leave with injuries, but are unable to have those injuries treated when they get out because they don’t have insurance or otherwise can’t afford to see a doctor to get a full evaluation and treatment.