I have had chronic gawd awful back pain since my deployment to Iraq years ago. Its been getting worse year by year. Lands me in the ER now and then when it gets to the withering in pain stage. The VA had me listed as "degenerative arthritis" since 2010 and gave me a 20 percent service connected rating. Later lower to 10 percent last year as I was somehow "better"... Now get this, I ended up in the ER yesterday night with horrible pain again and the ER doc ordered up an MRI. Something the VA told me I dont need as my last was way back in time and clearly its just arthritis that magically started while out on missions in Iraq. Even had the spine clinic telling me a line of BS last month when told I dont need an MRI again. Well....... YA the ER doc just blew those #%&*$# bags out of the water. Herniated disk with a bone fragment pressing in on my nerve in the L4/L5 area. He went on that all the symptoms I described pointed to something wrong there. And ya, there is degenerative arthritis, but that is not whats been killing me for 6 years.

In one ER visit with maybe 10 minutes of face time with Doc who knew his #%&*$# solved what was wrong with me in the time it took an MRI looking in the right place and to get analyzed. I am NOT a happy camper.... VA was totally wrong and would not look at what I was complaining about after they spotted arthritis and bone spurs on the back of my spine. Short lesson, dont trust the VA, always get a second opinion if you have the option. 6 years of awful pain with no diagnosis of what was actually wrong and stone walled by an evil bureaucratic system. I am really pissed off.

ouch! surely theres a misconduct case or something there?

No idea. Some local Washington house of representatives are plopping around my area asking about vets and the VA. That is where I am going next week.

I would firstly worry about getting it fixed, then sort out the lack of due care later.

Here in the uk, back problems are hard to get sorted as well. I was in a similar state with chronic back pain for years, doctors and waiting lists nothing seemed to move forward as urgent.

Cut a long story short, pain for many years. because I can handle pain doctors thought it was non urgent. Years later I ended up in an ambulance for emergency surgery due to serious complications that I wont go into here. I have had a secondary operation a few years after.

Get it sorted mate, first and foremost. Getting rid of the pain, getting your life back (as best as possible) is what you need for your own sanity. Continued strong pain is not good for you mentally.

Anyway, if you want to chat about it, gimme a pm, as its seems I have been down a similar road.

Just get it sorted, once that's done, then o what you want with VA

I am in a pickle with this. My primary medical guy at the VA just quit or was fired. As everything starts with him not sure what to do. I know they are assigning me an outside doc for the time being but will be a week before that happens. Then however long it takes to get an appointment. And if this guy knows how to work the system is a question. Still, an outside doc is a vary good thing IMO. No tied hands for the VA monster. But now that it is known what is causing the pain and its treatable thank god. I was getting told by the spine folks that there is nothing they can do and just go to pain management classes. Like driving 2 hours one way 2 times a week is a option? Considering I do not have a car and all that makes it a bit tough. Been in a massive pickle since the pain put me out of work a few years back. Ironically, I worked for a rather good hospital in a low level gig I rather liked. But simply got to the point that running around the various floors and working places like the ER just caused insane pain. And now I know why. Never thought things where going to play out like this. Getting fixed is certainly on my mind. The ability to like stand for more than 45 minutes sounds nice. Or walk without dragging my numb leg behind me. Ride in a car or drive the thing more than 45 minutes before jumping out of the torture seat. Ya, sounds super duper. But this thing just brought out a massive fight in me. This is not how things should me. A treatable thing where a bunch of bureaucratic jack asses do not listen to their patients and do not investigate fully repeated complaints and symptoms is not ok.

However, I fully expect to get a bill for the MRI that the VA will not cover.... I hope they do that. Oh I so hope they do....

Lol, good to see it's not knocked the fight out of you!

At least you have a diagnosis, you can get treatment and hopefully get your life back.

Good luck .

The VA sucks balls, I'll tell you that much. Personal experience was horrible. They were upset because I kept firing surgeons. No, that one shakes, that one is an Ortho, but he isn't a knee specialist, etc. There was one thing we didn't come to an agreement on, but he knew and was sympathetic to my concerns and was impressed I knew what an ALL was.

That said, my ex-GF helped the nurse give the damning paperwork to the media about the Phoenix VA. So I intimately know how much they suck.

What an utter disgrace about the VA system being so messed up and incompetent.

Free healthcare though, isn't that supposed to be awesome sauce?

+1

If the Federal government can be this incompetent and corrupt with providing care to those who are serving and have served in the military imagine what it would be like if they provided healthcare for the entire general population?

Get a lawyer that is versed in VA disability claims. Then fight this. You should be able to get a reviewed disability claim based upon this information.

The issue probably will be, did this happen during your service period or is this a post ETS related issue? If you have a documented continuous problem with this I am willing to bet that there may be a review and change in your disability percentage. This is the hard part though, proving that the injury is service related and not something you did on your own after getting out.

Unlike most I don't think the VA is out to deliberately screw people. Like any big bureaucracy it simply stamps everything that comes through without thinking or caring about it.

Well documented in on day one state side. But not really a full diagnosis. My systems have been the same on going garbage that really kicked in the last few months of my deployment. Funny thing is I new it was bad enough to get me taken off mission so I kept my #%&*$# to my gun truck. Figured just needed some time to get the gay gear off all would be well. Flight back stateside is where things really got interesting. Soon as I let down it really kicked in. Could not really walk right, leg was numb, and quite a bit of pain. Walked my happy butt into the TMC and got asked if I wanted to go to the wounded warrior platoon. Being a dumb ass and still thinking I just need to get home and rest I screwed up and said no. I had no idea how bad it was or was going to get. I don't think they knew either. Just some damage showed up in a couple tests they did. So stupid of me.

But this concerns me greatly, proving that this is the result of my deployment. My symptoms have never changed, only gotten worse with time. And there is a long vomit bag full of me saying so. The disability service connected side is all ate up, I had gotten 20 percent rating before I new what happened. It was when I complained like crazy about the pain increasing and after sticking myself on short term leave a couple years later from my job that started filing for more service connected. And that has turned into many years of BS. About 6 months back after 3 years of waiting they actually reduced my rating 10 percent for the back. Totally bonkers that one. Not sure what went wrong, clearly some paper work got lost in the shuffle or something. Been waiting 6 months so far for a board hearing. Also what ever that deal is with a face to face with the benefits folks. Now I have this ER MRI and a lot of questions as to how the hell the VA screwed up so bad.

There is just so much red tape and stupidity that it drowns out the good folks that work for the VA. They are not all evil, but way to many do not give a #%&*$# punch card punchers in there. My first experience going to American lake next to Fort Lewis I was asking myself way an old crusty vet with a cane was having to hobble 350 meters past staff parking to get the main building. That just sums up the VA for me. The staff comes first, the vets come in somewhere way behind.

FlashBurn, thank you for your service. Secondly I want to say that I'm thankful that you finally crossed paths with a doctor who knew his stuff and actually gave a damn. I'm glad you got an a real answer to the health issues, chronic pain and extreme discomfort and pain that you've been struggling with over the years. herniated disc is no little issue. My mother had that and a cist on the spine near the nerve and they had to lay her back open for that and those kinds of surgeries are big deals. Absolutely shameful that your VA doctors at the time may a choice not to be thorough. I can't imagine the stresses doctors and medical staff are under, like you said there's good and bad, but the folks you got unlike guys like you, must have forgotten that oath they took as they entered into the medical field of their choosing. Thirdly I am so upset and angry at the politicians and bureaucracy that hinder and do not help. Big government, hand tying, socializing, dehumanizing, dirty, irresponsible snakes. Some have certainly proven themselves to be domestic enemies. Unacceptable.

I am sorry. I pray that you'll heal, that discomfort and pain will flee, that from now on only the right people will be put in your path not only in your medical treatment but also in the legal realm and that all of this will come with little effort on your part. Its time that the others that are supposed to be there for our fighting force and their needs when they come home to do their part. You've done yours so I pray you may rest easy.

That's more or less the problem. I went to the VA in Palo Alto 20 years ago for a followup on an excruciating ingrown toenail- so bad I couldn't walk on my foot properly. When I got in there, it just looked like a ton of military dependents and war brides and spouses brought over from the Philippines were packed in there waiting in front of me. Pointless, never went back, but I figured that would have been a typical day and it's a bum rush to get in like a Black Friday sale at Best Buy.