u/New-Geologist4765

I initiated my Intent to File in May 2025. My thought was that I’d quickly gather my medical records, get a doctor to write a Nexus letter, and submit the claim.

Instead, I spent months trying to get an NHS doctor to even understand what a Nexus letter was. I tried explaining that it was just a medical opinion and used phrases like “more likely than not” to reassure them, but nobody wanted to touch it.

I then looked into Nexus letter companies, but I worried about spending the money and getting denied anyway because the VA might view certain doctors or agencies negatively.

Eventually, against the advice of my VSO, I decided to file without a Nexus letter and just see what happened.

It took me 11 months to reach that decision.

In the end, all I really needed was:

• a strong personal statement
• buddy statements
• medical evidence and diagnoses

The C&P examiner essentially created the nexus for me during the exam. He even asked how I believed my depression led to migraines, which gave me the opportunity to explain the connection clearly.

All of that stress over the Nexus letter ended up being the biggest time waster in my claim process.

To be clear: if you can easily get a Nexus letter, go for it. More evidence is rarely a bad thing. But if getting one is delaying your claim for months or causing major stress, I’m proof that it’s still possible to succeed without one.

Happy to answer questions if anyone is going through the same thing.

I recently went through the process of filing a VA disability claim for a few secondary conditions and some rating increases, and since I live in the UK, I figured I’d share my experience because there wasn’t much information out there when I was going through it.

The most important thing I did was submit an Intent to File as early as possible. That ended up making a big difference because it locked in back pay while I was still gathering evidence.

For medical records, I only used NHS providers. I requested my records through my GP (they gave me an email to contact), and I had everything back within a few days. I also found additional records through the NHS app. Dental records were from a private provider, but those were just as easy to obtain.

The hardest part by far was figuring out the Nexus letter. I spent a lot of time going back and forth, looking at Nexus letter companies, trying to get an NHS doctor to write one, and even considering paying privately. In the end, I decided not to get one at all.

Instead, I submitted:

• A personal statement (my version of the Nexus letter)
• Buddy statements (confirming tooth grinding and migraines)
• Medical evidence and diagnoses

My logic was: if the claim gets denied due to lack of a Nexus letter, I can always get one later and appeal.

My claim was based on a chain of secondary conditions:
Depression → medication → teeth grinding → TMJ → migraines

I made sure that each step in that chain was supported by medical evidence.

The timeline was much faster than I expected:

• Filed claim: 03/16/26 (moved to Step 3 the same day)
• C&P exam requested: 03/27/26
• C&P exam completed: 04/20/26
• Decision: 04/28/26

Since I’m based in London, I wasn’t sure how the C&P exam would work overseas. The VA used VES to schedule it, and they found a provider near an RAF base. I had to travel about two hours, and it wasn’t reimbursed. The good thing about VES is that you can create an account and view your appointment on there. I knew I had an appointment before they notified me. It also takes forever to get posted mail here, so this was something that reduced my stress of missing the appointment.

The exam itself was straightforward; one doctor handled all my conditions. He listened, documented what I said, and did some basic physical checks and measurements.

In the end, my claim was approved, and the whole process took about 6 weeks. I never ended up needing a Nexus letter.

If I had to do anything differently, I’d probably stress less about getting a Nexus letter upfront and focus more on making sure my medical evidence clearly connects the dots.

If anyone going through this from overseas has questions, feel free to ask.