VA Hospital Trip
 

Man iam getting to wonder about the VA docs, I go there each mo. and have a woman doc that cant speek english very well, couldnt understand her questions and she seemed more instreted in my tats than my neck, She told me that the human body heals it self 100% and that i shouldnt have any more problems now due to the wound being over 30+ years old! I asked her if she would like me to fragg her and lets see if her body would heal it self when a chunk of steel gets stuck in her neck bones! Gee she seemed to end the the bs on the healing thing. Then she started in checking the range of movement in my neck , she grabbed my head and started turning my head, not asking me to do it like all the other docs i have seen, if i couldnt turn my head on my own then she forced it to turn THEN said &quot; you have a good range of movement&quot; well yeah, when you push my head , I told her if she pushed my head one more time i was going to push hers end of appointment. Come to find out the other guys that went to her had the same problems as I with her, I went to the Admin office and complained about her and they said &quot;we will check into it &quot; What a bunch of crap. I went to a nerosergen and he lost his cool when i told him how she checked me, well it seems that when he went in for a look that he couldnt do a thing to help as its still too close to the nerve and told me that as the body keeps putting scar tissue there to protect it self it will cause more pressure and create more pain and loss of function in my left arm, I can live with it but iam now teaching my self to be a right handed shooter. Man the buletts hurt more when they hit but the itty bitty chunk of a fragg spring stuck there is causeing more problems now , it was a wound that i didnt know i got at the time ,until i felt the blood on ny neck, man now i know what they mean about a pain in the neck. <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> Iam glad i didnt get hit in the butt ,hehehehe <img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle>

To Accomplish Great Things One Must Not Only Act, But Dream.

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: VA Hospital Trip
 

Jay, my granddad was in and out of VA hospitals for many years for a heart condition and he complained about the same things. He said he never got to see the same Dr. and that whoever he saw was either young or he couldn't understand them or both. I guess that's a way for the youngsters to pay off their medical school bills before they go back to whatever country thay came from. Sounds like yours was a tattoo critic as well, LOL. I hope that you can find someone who can give you some help, instead of finding reasons to tell you that you're fine. Good luck sir.

***Whether you believe that you can or you can't, you're probably right.***

RE: VA Hospital Trip
 

GoTres, To coin a phrase from a long time back IT DONT MEAN NOTHIN LOL<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> Thanks buddy

To Accomplish Great Things One Must Not Only Act, But Dream.

RE: VA Hospital Trip
 

I hear ya', hoghunter51! I finally went to the Orthopedic doctor about my shoulder ~ I have a ruptured bicep & a torn rotator cuff. I'm not even considering going to the VA for surgery, after the 3-ring circus I went through last year at the Spinal Cord Injury Center at the Dallas VAMC. It's gonna put me deeper in debt, but at least I'll come out of with my sanity intact!

Later....

___________________________________

If your mind should go blank...don't forget to [mute] the sound!

RE: VA Hospital Trip
 

Sorry to hear about the way they're treating you. Seems the battles never end. Like you said don't mean nuthin' but it's stll fubar!

RE: VA Hospital Trip
 

Well is seems that all the pokeing and junk is over for now ,and yes it seems that its always a battle, but I will keep asking for what was promised all them years ago. The last doc was fantastic she told me that there have been several times the other one had refused to report all of her findings to the admin people and treats most vets with disrespect and they are now finding this out with all these guys with service connected disabiltys hitting the board with apeals and then them finding out she was wrong. It seems that she has caused more money for the VA then she is saveing as they must send these guys back to this other doc and creating a very large case load for her. I dont know how many of you have ever gone for the shock thing to check for nerve blackage or the needle test they do when the musle does not react to the shock in a way it should but it isnt much fun .
She also let my wife come in the room and this has never happend before ! She also explaind exactly what she found out and how this all works, seems the other doc was wrong again and this caused an unneed surgery on me , if she would have reported all her findings the first time it would not have been needed. I think they should send her little tail back to Inda and let them deal with her but of course this is America and we all know that wont happen. And another thing this new doc did was to tell me how she felt about this other one ha,,, they dont do that as a rule. My word it seems thare is a small gleam of hope there. BTW we all have the right to the Doc we want ,they may put you off a few weeks but they cant force any thing in us we dont want so dont let them fool ya boys.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>


Chair,, you mead your still sane ????? LOL

Edited by - hoghunter51 on 06/27/2002 12:00:51

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: VA Hospital Trip
 

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
The last doc was fantastic she told me that there have been several times the other one had refused to report all of her findings to the admin people and treats most vets with disrespect and they are now finding this out with all these guys with service connected disabiltys hitting the board with apeals and then them finding out she was wrong.
She also let my wife come in the room and this has never happend before ! She also explaind exactly what she found out and how this all works, seems the other doc was wrong again and this caused an unneed surgery on me , if she would have reported all her findings the first time it would not have been needed. I think they should send her little tail back to Inda and let them deal with her but of course this is America and we all know that wont happen. And another thing this new doc did was to tell me how she felt about this other one ha,,, they dont do that as a rule. My word it seems thare is a small gleam of hope there.

Chair ~ you mean you're still sane ????? LOL<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

It seems like getting the proper medical care depends on whether you have someone on the &quot;inside&quot; willing to buck the system. My first VA Dr., years ago, prescribed antibiotics on a daily basis. I took them for years, until I saw a documentary on the dangers of that practice. I confronted the doc, and he said &quot;Oh ~ you're fine&quot;... When this Dr. &quot;FINALLY&quot; retired, I asked my new Dr. the same question ~ he took me off them pronto! All he could do was sit there and shake his head. Needless to say, it was too late. I'd already developed multi-resistant bacteria ~ from being on the 'biotics for so long...

This new doctor was a God-send ~ he actually listened, AND allowed my wife to sit in on my appointments. BUT, he didn't last long. The VA hired him because of his &quot;new&quot; treatment concepts (pro-active, rather than reactive) ~ then fired him because of how much it(he) was costing the VA.....

It took a couple of years to finally find a doc they were willing to hire. She actually reminds me of the last Dr. ~ she cares more about us vets than the VA directives. I've been having problems with my shoulders, for over a year. We tried the cortizone injections a few times, but I decided the shots could only help for a short while. Then the doc decided I needed more....she ordered me a new electric wheelchair, new wheelchair lift adaptations to my truck & a trapeze for the bed.

All I had to say is I was tired of man-handling myself to get around, and she got on the ball. I figured if I asked for everything, maybe I'd get something. She ordered everything, without batting an eye. She even added a few things! She said it was about time my life was made a little easier, after pushing myself around for 23+ years. I know better than to get used to this kind of treatment, though. I don't see her working there for very long...she speaks English, she cares about the vet & she spends a lot of $$$$.

One of the best decisions I'd ever made was to join a veterans organization. Whenever I have an &quot;issue&quot;, I call them first. I've had the same rep for over 10 years ~ she's a tiger! She's petite & very cordial ~ until someone wrongs one of &quot;her&quot; vets. We've became very close, and she always accompanies me when I have an important appt.. I just love to watch the VA employees &quot;steppin' & a'fetchin'&quot; when she's around... LOL Talk about cheap entertainment!

I've been going to the Kansas City VAMC for over 20 years, and I've made some close friends there. Now it's become a strange place, all over again. Most of the friends have been forced into retirement, so now I have to get to know the &quot;newbies&quot;. You know how it goes ~ replace the effective employees with new, loyal to the VA, ones. My charm isn't like it used to be. Just when you think you have things figured out(who to get to know), the roster changes. I ain't as good looking as I used to be, so this is going to be a challenge ~ again... :D LOL

Yes ~ I still have my sanity, albeit a bit &quot;weathered&quot;. At least I'm not doing the &quot;Thorazine Shuffle&quot; ~ yet....

___________________________________

If your mind should go blank...don't forget to [mute] the sound!

RE: VA Hospital Trip
 

Chair we vets always need an insider it seems ,it shouldnt be that way.I have seen guys on 100% that could lift more heavy things and they didnt go to a combat zone but complained about a back problem. I worked for a guy that was 100% disabled and he would think it was funny how he fooled them, when he found out i was a combat disabled vet he stoped talking and soon after laid me off, guess he was afraid i would say some thing to the VA. This guy was retired from the Army as well and got a retirement check as well.

RE: VA Hospital Trip
 

Really sorry how some of the docs are treating you guys. You're definetly right that it pays to have the right person in your corner. Several years back I started falling apart, physicaly. I couldn't understand why. It got to where I couldn't work and was hit by so many problems, that I thought I was loseing it, but the problems kept getting more and more. I was hit with serious heart, lung, thyroid, esophagus, heart, kidney, pancreas, bone, muscle and nerve problems. Finally I found a private doctor that did all of the needed tests and went to bat for me. I now get a non service related 100% disability. Although 6 doctors and one medical researcher says I'm suffering from dioxin poisoning. When the chemicals for Agent Orange was mixed, two of the chemicals used cobine to make, you guessed it, DIOXIN! I obtained a little known V.A. report that lists the problems caused by dioxin and discovered that it reads like a check list for everything I've been hit with. My problems even started according to the time frame the report predicted. Thought I'd apply for a military related disability and discovered, real quick, just what that amounted too. There's only one doc, St. Louis V.A. Hospital, that is qualified to do the tests. A private doc is not allowed. Then I'd have to track down everyone I served with. Even if I test positive, the V.A. still doesn't admit dioxin as a cause. The doc at the V.A. Hospital in Poplar Bluff, Mo., kept asking me how I got in such bad shape in such a short time. Think, honestly, that they aproved my Non Service just to pacify me, cause they aproved me practicaly over night. What bothers me most is passing my health probs on to my kids. It's sad to realise that just making it home does not mean you survived Vietnam. Did not intend for this to be so long. Wish you guys the best. Hopefully you'll continue to find doctors who care.

RE: VA Hospital Trip
 

Spirit, I sorry that you have &quot;agent orange&quot; I was tested many tines for it ,I had been exposed to it in Nam also but to this date have no real symtons ,yet they test me every time i go in. I dont under why your not service connected from this ,,they think you got this from a crop duster? Man what they come up with to save a buck! Fight them Bro!!!

RE: VA Hospital Trip
 

Sorry to hear of your situation, Spirit.... I'd think there would be an on-line group that confronts this type of situations. Maybe even a registry where men you served with could be reached.

I do know of a website called &quot;Classmates.Com&quot;, who's recently added a military version. Might be worth a look-see????

http://www.classmates.com/ Click on the &quot;Military&quot; tab, on top of the page....
___________________________________

If your mind should go blank...don't forget to [mute] the sound!

Edited by - Chairman on 07/09/2002 19:25:06

RE: VA Hospital Trip
 

I recive a &quot;agent orange &quot; news letter once a year, gives me info on all the latest things there doing and other V A stuff, so there is a group out there that watches whats going on but i think it one sided if you know what i mean. My wifes brother died from the effects and had children borne with this ailment, he wasent told by the V A at the time what he had and spent years in the civilian sector finding out, stayed a poor man due to the bills, They still havent made things right with his children . If they would just be fair with all of us then ,well ill get off my box again LOL BTW there is an online group where you can get info on a lot of things www.viet-anm vets I think thats there addy but i will get it if you cant get there from this one.

Edited by - hoghunter51 on 07/10/2002 10:25:44