A Personal View From A Veteran On The VA Scandals.

You're lucky. I can't get the VA to admit that ACL that I blew out while I was serving in Iraq in the Army was a service related injury. Have to refile for disability and wait a year+ every time I do. I've explained to them that because of this injury, I'm not able to run for long periods anymore, but I guess that doesn't matter to them...

For the record ?

It is EASIER.

It is FASTER.

For civilians to get their benefits, and seen than military veterans.

Same entity= US Government.

1 group of people deemed to be more 'important' than another group.

And that is because of POLITICS.

I gotta tell ya all.

Those who serve in the military, have served in the military represent the best this country has.

They get shot at for a living byforeign 'enemies' they get treated like absolute dirt when they come home by civilians. by that same EFFING government that sends them off to fight for their little causes.

That is a personal view from a civi.

a reply to: usmc0311


Thank you for your service!

I find it appalling that we treat our heroes like this and it sickens me that so many are suffering and dying without getting treated.

I read something today which sounded like a good idea: Make every member of Congress have to use the VA system and it'll be fixed quickly.

originally posted by: Expat888
The va system has been in serious need of overhaul for years .. lost several friends over the years due the incompetence of va doctors .. they should let veterans get tricare like the retirees do at least then the veterans would have a chance at better healthcare than what they endure now ..

The thing about Tricare is, retirees pay for it. You have to have enough money to pay the monthly premium, which granted is fairly low. But many veterans can't even afford that, plus you have to pay copays for doctor visits and most prescriptions. When my husband enlisted in the 1970's he was "guaranteed" free health care for life if he stayed in, well he did stay in for 32 active duty years, plus 7 reserve years, 39 years total. That guarantee is now gone, we pay a monthly premium, copays to see doctors, therapists, and prescriptions.

But he was told when you turn 65 and are forced onto medicare with tricare for life as secondary, then it will be free. Not so my friend, the latest is that when he turns 65 in 3 years that a monthly premium etc will be required for coverage just like current Tricare.

So, while tricare is better than the VA, if you are living on disability then the money isn't there to pay for premiums and copays.

He has not used the VA for his health care because he had heard about the poor care.

However, in the nursing homes we have experienced, the care was very good. My father was in a VA nursing home in Texas that was excellent. My husband volunteers at the local VA nursing home and says the care is very good. So not all VA facilities are bad, for sure.

Thank you for your service.

Your story is somewhat similar to mine. The cause is likely different, but I too had a very difficult time re assimilating to civilian life. The military served as a safety blanket where I could ignore what I experienced and soldier on. Once I left that controlled environment - I crashed and burned! I still kick myself sometimes, and tell myself I'd have been better off remaining in. I go to the VA in Saginaw MI. Now even though they did treat me with a variety of head med cocktails that ultimately did more harm than good...

Once I put my foot down and told them I wanted a cognitive therapy plan instead of medication...

They complied. The VA does good by me. As far as mental health care goes and general care. They have always been kind, thoughtful, and caring. You just got to put your foot down, and be an active participant in deciding your own care plan.

CdT

I avoid the VA facilities like the plague. I'd rather ask the meat-cutter at Kroger's to work on me than the butchers at the clinic in my city.

when clinton was in office, enlisted members of the armed forces qualified for food stamps and often lived in hovels, barely squeaking by. to add insult to injury, they were used like guinea pigs during bush sr.'s administration, during which they were injected with experimental vaccines in preparation for the gulf war, from which many died, including some of their spouses and children.

the concept of treating the military badly is directly related to their oft times conservative roots. since it's clearly evident that neither republican or democrat leaders actually care about the american people as a whole, the chances of them caring about the military is in lockstep with the fate of rest of the nation. we are all expendable assets, apparently.

the solution to all of this is for the people to start caring about each other and themselves, since our leaders can no longer be expected to do so themselves. i say we quit expecting them to care, as the expectation is then shifting the responsibility to anybody but ourselves.

to the op

have you perhaps considered checking into an anti-fungal diet? an example is a diet to rid yourself of candida albicans infestation. if i recall it goes something like this:

your entire digestive tract is infested with various bacteria that help to assimilate your food. however, one of those critters is yeast and it is only advantageous in specific amounts. if it grows out of control, it kills the little villi in your intestinal tract, further complicating health issues. antibiotics target the good bacteria thus allowing the yeast to grow out of control. so sounds like to me that you need to go on an anti-yeast diet.

examples of what not to eat:

no breads
no juices
no pastas
no beans
no grains
no sugar
no alcohol

the idea being to avoid anything that breaks down to yeast or that contains sugar, which feeds yeast. be warned, as the yeast population declines your gut tends to have a reaction to the change that may not be pleasant but with patience, that can be overcome.

examples of what to eat:

green veggies
plain yogurt with active yogurt cultures
lacto bacillus acidophlius (the good bacteria that is being killed by the antibiotics)


since your system is currently in a state of panic, i would suggest phasing this in, very slowly, till you're comfortable and so your body doesn't go into a tail spin.

also suggest you read up on the subject.

p.s. also might want to avoid red meat. not because of yeast but because of the level of antibiotics and hormones fed to beef cattle. white meat or even pork (in limited amounts) would be preferable to beef. also might want to consider that you may be eating something you are allergic to. consider your diet. is there something you eat on a regular basis? don't eat that for a week or so and see if you have any relief.

Seems like veterans return home from one war, they end up having to face another, by their own people nonetheless. It's honestly sad and pathetic to see something like this happening today. Wonder if this issue becomes the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm definitely starting to see people from both sides of the coin get outraged over this issue, so hopefully someone will step and do something about this. I don't care which party steps up to the plate, I want a solution, not bragging rights.

a reply to: usmc0311

Hi, thanks for sharing your story. Unfortunately, it is not one that is that unique. I grew up with my stepdad who was a WWII vet and remember my mom driving him back and forth to his VA appointments and battling with them to cover services. I have no idea how she did it, but she did. I remember him calling the VA docs "butchers" and about a million other bad words that I will not repeat here. It seemed like the most miserable experience/appointments they had to go to...and the waiting was the hardest part. He felt like a number, but he wasn't. He was more than a number, he was a man (although a complicated) man, who fought for our freedoms here in the US. Despite his untreated PTSD and his temper, he gets my respect. I wish you well, OP. Take care!

a reply to: usmc0311 I can totally relate to what all you have mentioned. My husband is a 100% disabled vet, (service connected), and he has been put through the mill. It took years of waiting and scrounging to survive until he finally got his disability. We would collect aluminum cans for money at the recycling place...I would hunt and fish for food for us...it was that bad. After he finally got awarded his 100%, he needed surgery.

He was operated on and became very ill and went into a coma. They never did tell me why but I found out on my own that is was a sepsis, (hospital infection). He died and they used the heart paddles to revive him. He was in ICU for a long time, where he was poked and proded by the students and when they were finally done with him, he was shipped to a regular floor...sans an IV, no more respiratory care, no food being put into his stomach tube and a bag shoved up his butt to catch fecal matter so as the lazy heifer nurses didn't have to bathe him or change the linens. I really feel like he was put on that so-called "pathway to death" dealy they talk about now. Anyhow, I would have none of it...went to the administrator and had it out with same and they finally put his IV back in, monitors back on him, feedings started again via stomach tube and respiratory care started again. He finally came out of his coma and I took him home and got him to walking/talking again as the physical therapy was sorely lacking. That was 10 years ago...was a long, stressful haul and a horrible experience.

Seemed as if once the students were done studying on him, they gave up...well, I didn't. I was a retired nurse so that helped with me knowing what to do and what to b*tch about. I feel sorry for vets that have no one to speak for them or no relatives or friends to help. In some VA hospital situations, it is a real battle...even more so than the ones the vets fight on the battle field. I hope all will be well with you. Blessings and take care!

a reply to: usmc0311

I have a solution to this problem and many others - Universal Single Payer Healthcare in the US.

No more VA, no more WC, no more medicaid. Medicare for all. Everybody pays - personally and businesses and everyone is covered - no co-payment, no complicated forms, no crap.

I grew up military - we only went to base hospital or clinic for the most trivial of complains and never a service dentist. We paid out of pocket.

Do I think veterans should be covered - yes and everyone else. Do I think verterans deserve excellant care - yes and and everyone else.

a reply to: usmc0311

I am so sorry that you have been going through this. In my experience the mental health profession as a whole is being railroaded by what insurance companies will cover and The Magic Pill mentality. A behavioral approach is more effective but more expensive and takes longer to achieve measurable results. If they can just drug you into submission it is more cost effective for them.

Having said this, my husband is a disabled vet and I can tell you that I am infinitely grateful that we are not reliant upon the VA for his medical care. We know far too many friends and family that have experienced exactly the delays and run around that you have spoken of and sometimes in rather dire circumstances. It feels like they are just waiting for people to shut up and/or die off. The older you are the worse that is. It is deplorable.

Good luck to you.

originally posted by: FyreByrd
a reply to: usmc0311

I have a solution to this problem and many others - Universal Single Payer Healthcare in the US.

No more VA, no more WC, no more medicaid. Medicare for all. Everybody pays - personally and businesses and everyone is covered - no co-payment, no complicated forms, no crap.

I grew up military - we only went to base hospital or clinic for the most trivial of complains and never a service dentist. We paid out of pocket.

Do I think veterans should be covered - yes and everyone else. Do I think verterans deserve excellant care - yes and and everyone else.

You just made the case against single payer when you said "we only went to base hospital or clinic for......and never a service dentist.

Single payer will turn the entire US into a "base hospital/clinic/VA hospital/VA clinic" these are the single payer systems currently run by the US government.

These are the shining examples of what the US government running health care will look like for everyone if universal single payer goes through.

Look at the horror stories of hospitals and care in the UK, and it is smaller than most of our states. Let's multiply the horror stories by 50 and now you know what
government single payer will be like in the US

I am a disabled veteran as well.... that being said.... I suspect that there are a lot of people out there who game the VA system for disability.


50% disabled verteran,,,,,,back injury........ bowls several times a week carries a 220 average

100% disabled veteran..... various problems..... works full time as a GS-12, makes over 100K a year and draws 100% disability.

There are vast amounts of people who draw 80-100% disability and get turned down by Social Security because SS doesn't see them as disabled.

I could go on and on...... the system is completely broken and I do not see how they can possibly fix it.


There are law firms that specialize in nothing but VA disability....

Personally, I think anyone who draws VA disability and works full time should have their disability payment reduced to compensate for their full time job.

a reply to: usmc0311

First of all thank you for your service.

I am Army, currently serving my 6 year contract.

I hope to god I never have to deal with the VA.

You infantry dudes put your bodies through hell and go back for more. The fact that you waited so long to get the care you needed is offensive to me on a level I can't even begin to describe.

My brothers in arms should never be treated this way.

Now we have ObamaCare. This will just bleed that failed system we call the VA onto the rest of the country.

I exited the service in 1990, and used the VA one time in 1991, received excellent care. About three years ago, I needed medical attention and contacted the VA once again, it had been so long since I had used their services I had to reapply. Applied for coverage online, had lost my DD214 in a hurricane, so needed to get copies of it. Long story short, within 30 days I had VA coverage, and an appointment within 10 days. I am using the VA to this day, went in on Monday the 19th, needed a consult to surgery for a minor issue, they called me on the 20th to schedule, and my consult is on Jun 4th. I think the care varies widely from facility to facility, but I have received prompt and quality care. Again, I have no major conditions, just the medical implications of getting older.

One of the things that we need to remember is that, you would have to look long and far to find a medical professional or facility that no one had ever complained about. Just my 2 cents.

a reply to: usmc0311
As the mom of a young Marine, your story scares the hell out of me. Reading what you've been through breaks my heart, and I hope things get much better for you.

The state of affairs for our veterans is completely unacceptable in this country. It's shameful, and totally unnecessary.

As far as I'm concerned, vets should be able to see whichever is the best doctor for whatever they are going through - period. Regardless of cost, and regardless of location. The amount of money wasted by our government would MORE than cover anything that anyone needed.

According to Senator Tom Coburn's annual "Wastebook", our gov't wasted $30 billion in a year.

In a freaking year. 30 BILLION dollars.

It makes me furious, and I could go on all day about it and part of tomorrow too.

If I had that kind of money, we wouldn't even be talking about this.

Anyway, just want to also thank you so much for all you've done and for posting this thread. I pray about my son and all of the rest of you every night.