Veteran's Affairs failed

Before I start I would like to say I am using voice dictation and will make edits that I miss.

Also please feel free to ask questions as I will be brief here and will elaborate when needed.

-Some Background - I served in the US Army (Active) in the in the late 2000s. I deployed to Afghanistan twice.

For the past 18 months or so my physical health had started to tank. I had developed more severe lower gastroenterology based issues, blood pressure issues, and multiple sudden stage four hemorrhoids that had a habit of bleeding profusely.

Over 2 and 1/2 years ago I stopped drinking, smoking, consuming energy drinks and like products, went to a mostly vegetarian / low sodium diet. And hadn't done everything I could to triage symptoms I was having. I ended up putting my body into shock and had a light heart attack at the age of 30. Ultimately I was able to recover.

I would like to be clear I do not have weight problems and I'm quite active compared to the average American especially.

I started seeking aid through the VA. By the time I was actually seen by somebody I was passed off by three separate practitioners. This was because they quit working through the department of veterans Affairs and their cases got handed off. Each time this resulted in a two month wait just to be seen for an initial physical. At the same time as dealing with LHI to get my disability rating appointments started as well.

One side finally got in front of the doctor I was very anemic, falling apart mentally in, and unable to eat. I ended up getting emergency surgery to rectify the hemorrhoids and a light arterial bleed.

His surgery which was supposed to be working and under an hour ended up going for five. I came out of the surgery in a horrible pain even though I was in sedated and supposedly numb. I was pumped with high amounts of different medicines because I was having to get discharged. For pain management I was given a total of six oxycodone fives. And was told to drink mineral oil and over the counter Advil. The Veteran Affairs clinic was 2 hours or so away from home and my ride cannot stay. There are other circumstances that will not allow me to stay at the time. The main one being that my spouse does not drive. She is terminally ill and was not able to support at that time.

A week later after discharge I ended up in a local ICU because I had started to go septic. I lost 20 lb within a span of 3 days. And had not been able to eat or keep fluids down. I also had developed some upper GI bleeds. I was able to stabilize. The recovery from that surgery was an archaic pain that I would not put my worst enemies through. I have a very high pain tolerance and new very well that going into it it was going to be a rough surgery. When I was in the ICU my body was convulsing and forcing vomit to the point where my sutures busted. They could not do anything about this.

Since then I have had no luck getting in front of a primary care doctor. Especially since for a 15 minute visit It takes me 2 1/2 hours to drive. They won't prescribe anything, and their referrals never get to where they need to.

My mental health has failed to a drastic degree. I reached out for help through all the channels including the veteran crisis line. After 2 years I ended up with a psychologist finally. This individual had talked me into driving to the inpatient facility at veterans affairs. They assured me that my job would be contacted and there was no chance I would lose it. This was a stipulation for me to go there. In the short time is there they did not contact my job. And I ended up losing my job. There was no chance of keeping my employment because while I was gone my boss thought I went AWOL and had replaced me.

The social workers refuse to communicate with me. The psychiatrist on our second appointment diagnosed me with bipolar disorder on top of my PTSD, clinical depression, clinical anxiety, and ADHD.

The medication that she tried to put me on for the newly discovered bipolar disorder was such an aggressive medication that it quite literally would have worse than my other situations to a point where I would likely die taking it within a span of a month or two.

So right now I'm without a job working to find any help to pay for rent and my phone bill.

I've already worked with my local social service office, Vet Affairs social workers, local churches, Salvation Army and more.

Until I get a renter quit no one will help. Or because my spouse and I do not have a child we do not qualify for most of the aid.

I did end up with food stamps, Medicaid, a $600 credit for a power bill, $30 a month credit on to power bill, and had gotten rent relief for a short while when the program was up.

Currently I'm needing the following if anybody can help.

• Point me in the direction of a non-profit veteran organization that can help with my disability rating. I've not heard anything back from the VFW. And the State vso offices are exactly why my claim had issues. I'm struggling to find anybody who knows the system well enough to help increase my rating.

Submitted August 07, 2022 at 12:48AM by An_Squirrel https://ift.tt/bqBlCYW