I didn’t want to post all of the details as this is a non-combat related mental health claim and quite honestly, I’m fucking embarrassed that I have allowed what happened to affect me the way it has, but it is what it is. I don’t want to hear anyone’s bullshit. I want help. I have a legitimate claim. I’m not chasing 100%, I do well enough for myself, I just simply want it acknowledged by the VA in the event that it does get worse and so that my treatment through the VA is covered in its entirety for the condition.

Posted earlier about a VA mental health denial. I have added the denial letter. Diagnosed with GAD in 2018 but I couldn’t balance my professional life and health so I chose professional life and put further treatment off. I eventually found myself in a position to start taking care of my mental health in 2023 and at the same time,  decided to file a VA claim for the GAD knowing it would like be denied but I could gather evidence and appeal it later. The C&P examiner concurred with the GAD diagnosis and also diagnosed me with MDD but the claim was denied. I started building my case and attending appointments. It took me 8 months to get in with a local therapist and their availability was so limited I stopped and switched to the VA which until earlier this year, I was unaware I qualified for VA healthcare without copays again because of the tinnitus service connection. Since then, I have been seeing VA therapy with moderate to severe GAD/MDD symptoms (based on the evals they did). I submitted a supplemental claim in April with a Lay statement from one of the Marines from my shop in Okinawa, family statements from my mother and my wife detailing behaviors. My wife noting what she had seen since we met in 2017 and my mother noting what she had seen through my time in service. I also completed my own personal statement outlining the events. Now, this is a non-combat related “event”. I say “event” because it was a laundry list of things over the course of 2 years. My room mate beating the shit out of me. Coming back piss drunk and pissing and vomiting all over the room. Requests for a change of room being denied despite reporting these events and no repercussions for my room mate ever transpired. My Platoon Sgt sabotaging my career (which is corroborated by all the lay statements I have), and genuinely dog shit treatment despite statements also stating I was a squared away marine. It was bad enough I considered eating a bullet in 2014 while home on leave. Anyways, that supplemental claim was denied as well. So I began searching for provider to help me with a nexus. I found one through a referral from a local psychiatrist. Not one of those bullshit claim shark services. A legitimate provider who has helped other Vets. I told her about my mental health claim and that I was looking for a second opinion as my initial C&P exam had almost no questions regarding my service. I wanted the opportunity to get everything out and I provided her with the lay statements I had. She then diagnosed me with PTSD which I didn’t really agree with initially but she noted that GAD and MDD are often major components of PTSD and it can undiagnosed because of this. She completed a DBQ and Nexus with a thorough link to service based on what I provided, which does list PTSD as a diagnosis, and I submitted a new claim for PTSD along with a more in depth personal statement with specific timeframes of certain events and more details pertaining to certain things. I also got 2 additional Lay statements from another fellow Marine of the same grade and one the Sgts from my shop who also corroborated everything. They also have access to my VA treatment records and I provided what I had for medical records pertaining to community based care. I submitted my in depth statment and my Sgt’s statement yesterday afternoon. They denied my claim today again.

Please note that I am a RN and I do work for the VA. I have extensive training in mental health and because of this I am able to have a degree of introspection on what I’m experiencing and likely causes. My interest in mental health stems from me wanting to better understand why I felt the way I felt. I can identify the problem, but treating it is a lot easier said than done.

Follow up to earlier post