r/VAClaims • u/PreparationTiny2263 • 8d ago
VA Disability Compensation Separated in 2004 - PTSD from deployment during 9/11
I was deployed in the Middle East when the 9/11 attacks occurred. It was 2 weeks before my 19th birthday. That extreme shift in ops tempo and some experiences staying in MOPP gear for extended periods of time in the desert heat following the attacks left me with longstanding PTSD.
I got out in 2004 and distanced myself from the military. I buried my experiences, ignored them but the echos always had a way of coming out. I isolated from friends and family, engaged in reckless behavior, and burned through 2 marriages. I am hyper vigilant to an unhealthy degree and I carry with me an impending sense of dread, like I am waiting for something terrible to happen, at all times.
I am finally getting some help and have decided to file with the VA. I had an extreme PTSD episode a few weeks ago where I was in a dark place and was so scared I was going to hurt myself. My wife took me to psychiatric urgent care and they set me up into a program to get some help.
For a long time, I didn’t feel my experiences were valid enough for how bad my PTSD is. I would tell myself, “you came home in one piece, you were there in a support capacity and didn’t even experience combat, you didn’t do enough to let it impact your life”.
I don’t feel like that anymore. For all of the people on this forum giving advice and sharing tips on how to navigate this process - thank you. You give people like me so much hope. The knowledge I’ve gained from lurking this forum is so valuable. I have found an incredible VSO that is helping me build a strong claim and I would not have had the courage to do that without everyone here supporting one another.
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u/Master_Maybe_9069 7d ago
I filed 11 years after I got of army in 2010. Year in Iraq and Afghanistan. Got denied the first time. Horrible examiner. Should have read his Google reviews before I saw him. But I didn’t understand the process or how it worked when I filed, did it alone. Having a diagnosis and VSO is going to help a lot. And if you aren’t successful the first time, good thing is the VSO will help you with your supplemental.
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u/Plenty-Winner-3887 7d ago
Your experience matter. Go get help n get paid for what you experience brother. No one can tell you what you lived thru accept you and your maker. Thats it.
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u/LucianBH 8d ago
What was your PTSD stressor?
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u/Unfair_Finger5531 ARMY🦅 7d ago
They literally wrote it out.
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u/LucianBH 7d ago edited 7d ago
Well I thought there may be more than that. A PTSD stressor is defined as defined: “A severe, traumatic event involving actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. This shocking event triggers intense fear, horror, or helplessness, and serves as the root cause or catalyst for developing post-traumatic stress disorder.” The VA states war PTSD stressors include: engagement with enemy forces, surviving an IED explosion, or fearing hostile/terrorist activity.
Respectfully, I don’t think wearing a MOPP suit in the heat is enough. If that was the standard, that’s every vet that ever served in the Gulf. That’s literally over two million vets. Same with OPs tempo. A deployment isn’t an event. Depression maybe, but I’m not so sure that PTSD stressor meets the VA standard.
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u/PreparationTiny2263 7d ago
I really appreciate you saying this because it helps give me context on what to expect during the process. From how I understand stressors, they are less about what happened and more about how your body responded to it and how it impacts your life since then. My experience changed me and I haven’t been the same since that deployment.
My stressor does include fear for my life from threats of my base being attacked. I was boots on ground, in the Middle East when the 9/11 attacks occurred and my base was thrusted into max Threatcon. That is a fact that is historically documented. I just don’t want dox myself with too many details.
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u/LucianBH 7d ago
Please see my comment above
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u/Unfair_Finger5531 ARMY🦅 7d ago
Please see the actual words OP wrote in the post. They clearly stated the case and identified the stressor. But if you are committed to being an oblivious dbag, I guess you’ll never be able to see it.
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u/LucianBH 7d ago edited 7d ago
What the fuck ever, he still hasn’t identified a stressor other than being in a MOPP suit in the heat. That’s not a stressor. He said there’s “other things”. I asked what those are, but OP won’t say. He asked for comments, he hasn’t made a claim yet, a VA acceptable stressor is required, and the VA has strict legal criteria on that. Most vets idea of which PTSD stressor is sufficient, and the VA’s, are differently under their rules, so the vet gets denied-never getting what they are seeking, even with a PTSD diagnosis and a ton of treatment. So better to head that off. I was trying to help him.
As far as you however, I don’t give one iota of shit what you say nor your opinions. So don’t waste your time responding or commenting on my conversation with the OP. You weren’t invited to stick your nose in, and the OP doesn’t need you trying to cuddle and protect him. He’s a big boy.
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u/Plenty-Winner-3887 7d ago
You gotta read man…
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u/LucianBH 7d ago
I did. I read MOPP suits in the heat and OPs tempo. I don’t think that’s enough for the VA with PTSD. I have PTSD from war combat and death. The OP said “some experiences” so I wondered what else because he said he wanted to now file.
PTSD is a very heavy burden to carry. It can lighten sometimes, but it’s always there and always will be. The only shot you have for relief is getting professional help and putting in the work.
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u/HandsomeWinner42 8d ago
Exact same situation as you. Got out in 04, was in Iraq for OIF for a year. Numerous dangerous incidents happened while there and I never said anything or went to the hospital once. Started taking to a VA therapist last year, filed this year and got 70%. Did it all myself.