TYPE 1 DIABETIC, 20% and 20%, Need Help!

J

Jimmy Ayala

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Registered Member
I was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes back in May the day after my 2nd child was born. This whole process has been a nightmare for me and my family and has almost caused my wife and I to get a divorce. There is no way 20% is going to hold me off with a family, home and 2 cars!

I know Im being cheated on my rating. The day I was admitted to the hospital I was having chest pain, issues breathing along with other issues. These have been ongoing even with me controlling my BS and working my A1C from 10.5 to 7.2 in the 4 months since being diagnosed. I cant PT for any more than an hour due to hypoclycemia and cant go any more than 3 hours without a snack, even with lowering my Insulin dosage. Im still losing weight with taking in more than 60 grams of carbs per meal and 15-30 or so per snack. I have constact headaches and migranes and the chest pain is there daily. All of this has been reported to my doctors and is all documented but what pisses me off is that they cant and wont rate anything but the diabetes since they cant figure it out.

If theres any advice anyone can give on submitting my rebuttal and fighting the findings it would be much appreciated. I know with diabetes every case is different but I cant physically stay in the Marine Corps as a Sergeant in a dying MOS so I have to at least get into a comfortable rating zone and call it a day with my military career.
 
First, congratulations on getting your A1C down and thank you for your service! BS numbers that high can really do some damage on your body. I'm a Type I diabetic also. It gets better once you get a routine down. To get a higher rating than 20%, you have to show "regulation of activities". That's usually done by your PCM with a statement like "avoid strenuous occupational and recreational activities." If you're saying you can PT for up to an hour that's showing you are capable of some form of strenuous activities. See if your PCM will agree to put a comment in your records about avoiding strenuous activities in order to prevent severe hypoglycemic episodes. That will be key in getting an increase. Good luck.
 
I already have an appointment for the chest pain issues and I see my endo next thursday. She's already a little worried since I was running low, eating a lot but still losing weight. Ive lost about 18 lbs in the last 4 months and its still dropping. Im gonna see what she can do. Thanks for the help DanZman.
 
Yea, there must be some underlying issues for your weight loss. I can tell you that when i started on insulin I gained about 30 lbs in a little over 2 months. I asked the doc and he said that because my BS's were getting back to normal and that I can expect that. Took me about a year to get back to normal weight. But if you're still losing weight and your A1C is almost back to normal, then there's more than likely something else involved. Anxiety and depression can be factors too. Do some research on the internet on how anxiety can affect BS's, there's a bunch of stuff out there. The migraines too play a big role in all this. I also have those, sometimes so severe I can't move without feeling like my head is gonna explode. Incidently, I was only given a 0% rating for that. I plan to fight that one. ;) But they did rate my diabetes at 40%, so I'm truly happy with that. I think my CC letter and NARSUM had a lot to do with that decision. So many factors in how the VA makes their decisions. But don't get discouraged and don't ever give up.
 
The 40% rating for diabetes hinges on the requirement to regulate both occupational and recreational activities. You need to make sure your MEB, VA C&P exams and other medical records properly document the need to regulate both occupational and recreational activities if such is the case.

Mike
 
Just came back from legal and Im in contact with my endo to have her give me a write up stating all of this. Its sad that the VA doesnt recognize this disease for what it is and automatically rate it at 40%. Its kind of funny because they automatically assume type 2 and then you have people stating "You should be fine, you'll get better you just need to not eat as much sugar!". Either way I have an appointment next wednesday with my endo and shes gonna help me get my information straightened out so I can push for the full 40%. Ill update once I find out whats going on and thanks to everyone for the help.
 
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