Departmental Review-Advice

Your right on the zeal part bigrex. Consider the time. At 50ish I ain't no 30 no more. Didn't want to ramble, but a young bpa albeit 30 years ago may well have had more pxxx and vinegar tenacity than when they are older? Same holds true for lawyers. politicians, etc...etc...
everybody.
Speaks volumes of some young whippersnappers who are sharp, have not yet become lazy and still have... integrity don't it?  
And old age ain't an excuse for their freaking complacencies of said job to us and the Canadian public. They have a responsibility. I'll just leave it at that.

Must hop along. Hope I made sense.

Pinger, after 25 years, I'm sure your BPA lawyer lost some of her zeal for her job. I would rather choose someone who had just taken the job, and is still eager to help Veterans, while trying to prove themselves as a lawyer, than someone who may be more experienced, but has realized that they get paid the same regardless of how much work they put in, or how hard they argue on your behalf.

Tacking in, I hear you Supreme. But prudence tells me not to have any tunnel vision, rather to be at least aware of ALL options. Kinda like if your barking up the wrong tree, find a better tree lol.

Bearing in mind variables (understatement) here's food for thought. A bpa helped me enormously 30 years ago when I was 5/5 ent. She fought my dva denial and won. Now around 5 years ago, same bpa "helped" my buddy who's only 1/5 ent.
Worst ongoing she-devil of his nightmares. When I mentioned her name, his BP went zooomy.
He let me read everything. Mindboggling.

My point is... options. Be aware of them. I ain't touting bpa either. Legion S/O's, doing it all yourself/homework, hiring a lawyer, courts, appeals...
Outsmarting GoC 3 steps to begin with ahead don't hurt much either.

If you use every option and get the same result??? Then... you are VERY truly fracked. jmo

Stay well all.

Good job Rex. Doctors can say good positive evidence but we both know they do what they want.

Newf wrote:That is a big help guys.   However, the Vrab advocate told me not to send them any articles because they have access to the same information.  I really don't think they the going to spend much time searching for me.  I will submit these articles and see what the reply will be. Thanks bigrex.

Bpa? Lmao useless, they get paid regardless if you win or lose bud. Waste of time and energy. Give up and don't waste your life fighting them the little that you can, go enjoy your life. Or try.

I'm appreciative, but it's my honour to help other Veterans, especially when it comes to research.

Bigrex, my dentist used your medical references in his medical opinion letter. The letter is very supportive and now I await a decision. Just wanted to say thanks again for your support. This is such a great site for helping each other. Hats off to moderators/creators.

I have other conditions for which I can not be compensated financially because I am 110% already.

Absolutely, bigrex. VAC officials spend more time looking at reports and publications that will go against an applicants claim to try to deny it then actually trying to help him or her. Perhaps, if it was the other way around the service would improve ten fold. Thanks again for that info. Much appreciated.

Well, if Veterans affairs had access to all the same publications and reports, and adhered to the benefit of doubt, you should not have been denied in the first place. Considering that one of the links I provided, was for the OSI clinic in BC, which was using a report that stated that 58% of PTSD patients in the study complained of TMJ pain, versus just 3.26% of those without PTSD. To me that is pretty significant findings in support of your claims.

Thanks Trooper. I will take your advice

Newf ,

you have every right to be paranoid , don't be afraid to let your Pension Advocate know of your concerns.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with speaking your mind when it comes to your BPA.

Sometimes it's best to be up front with them before your appeal is brought forward , making sure they understand that you yourself know that their suppose to fight for you with everything they got...if that means you providing them with certain info , they should at least have a look at what it is you have.

I do believe it's in your best interest , to ensure your BPA is doing everything possible for you , in representing you.

That is a big help guys.   However, the Vrab advocate told me not to send them any articles because they have access to the same information.  I really don't think they the going to spend much time searching for me.  I will submit these articles and see what the reply will be. Thanks bigrex.

Good work Bigrex. I am off to the dentist on monday for three repairs to my teeth from bruxism. I was diagnosed with this through BC-OSI Dr. Oxana Frizen , as part of my GAD/PTSD diagnosis, who saw me in Comox. I have not applied for this through VAC as I just blanked on it. Of course I have no dental insurance to cover the costs of the work needed either, but I cannot let another year or so of my life slip by waiting for the lumbering giant that is VAC to help with coverage.
Slightly Shattered Smilin Sap

Have you researched to see if this is a common side effect of PTSD or not. If you can include reports from Canada or even other countries, it would add a lot of weight to your claim.

Here is a few.

http://www.bcosi.ca/resources/publications-archive/2012/masticatory-muscle-and-temporomandibular-joint-pain-in-croatian-war-veterans-with-posttraumatic-stress-disorder

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17547122

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221683977_Masticatory_muscle_and_temporomandibular_joint_pain_in_Croatian_war_veterans_with_posttraumatic_stress_disorder