Thoughts on C&P exam MDD fit/unfit??

carrieem

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PEB Forum Veteran
Registered Member
So it's been several months since my C&P exams, and exactly one month since my package has been in PEB. I haven't heard back on fit or unfit yet but I was just reading the results of one of my C&P exams. I'll take a few things out of it to see if anyone has any thoughts on what might happen. I'm so anxious that I'm going to be found fit.

Mental Disorder Diagnosis #1: Major depressive disorder with anxious distress ICD code: F33.9
For VA rating purposes, check all symptoms that actively apply to the Veteran's diagnoses:
[X] Depressed mood
[X] Anxiety
[X] Chronic sleep impairment
[X] Disturbances of motivation and mood
[X] Difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances, including work or a worklike setting

She was well groomed. Her reported mood was depressed, her affect was dysphoric. Speech and thought content were within normal limits. Thought processes were logical and goal-directed. No evidence or report of delusions or hallucinations. Memory and attention appeared grossly intact. Insight and judgment were intact. The SM denied current suicidal or homicidal ideation.

4. Other symptoms ----------------- Does the Veteran have any other symptoms attributable to mental disorders that are not listed above?
[X] Yes[ ] No
If yes, describe: poor concentration, loss of interest

5. Competency ------------- Is the Veteran capable of managing his or her financial affairs?
[X] Yes[ ] No
6. Remarks (including any testing results), if any: ---------------------------------------------------
Claimed: Major depressive disorder, recurrent, severe; Generalized anxiety disorder
Diagnosis: Major depressive disorder with anxious distress
Rationale: Meets DSM-5 criteria
Prognosis: Guarded, would likely improve with psychotherapy
 
Just found this bit as well
a. Which of the following best summarizes the Veteran's level of occupational and social impairment with regards to all mental diagnoses?
(Check only one) [X] Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity
 
Based on your occupational and social impairment statement you are looking at 50%. Of course you can VARR and no concur/appeal/FPEB but be prepared to make the case for why they should rate you higher. If you can get your local MH provider to fill out a dbq it carries more weight. Yeah u can upload any outside sourced dbqs thru Ebenefits.

VA mental health Rating criteria key wording:
Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought process or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name …………………..100%

Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships ...................................... 70%

Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining Effective work and social relationships ………………..50%

Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events) ............................ 30%

Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or; symptoms controlled by continuous medication .................. 10%

A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication .............................. 0%
 
So it's been several months since my C&P exams, and exactly one month since my package has been in PEB. I haven't heard back on fit or unfit yet but I was just reading the results of one of my C&P exams. I'll take a few things out of it to see if anyone has any thoughts on what might happen. I'm so anxious that I'm going to be found fit.

Mental Disorder Diagnosis #1: Major depressive disorder with anxious distress ICD code: F33.9
For VA rating purposes, check all symptoms that actively apply to the Veteran's diagnoses:
[X] Depressed mood
[X] Anxiety
[X] Chronic sleep impairment
[X] Disturbances of motivation and mood
[X] Difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances, including work or a worklike setting

She was well groomed. Her reported mood was depressed, her affect was dysphoric. Speech and thought content were within normal limits. Thought processes were logical and goal-directed. No evidence or report of delusions or hallucinations. Memory and attention appeared grossly intact. Insight and judgment were intact. The SM denied current suicidal or homicidal ideation.

4. Other symptoms ----------------- Does the Veteran have any other symptoms attributable to mental disorders that are not listed above?
[X] Yes[ ] No
If yes, describe: poor concentration, loss of interest

5. Competency ------------- Is the Veteran capable of managing his or her financial affairs?
[X] Yes[ ] No
6. Remarks (including any testing results), if any: ---------------------------------------------------
Claimed: Major depressive disorder, recurrent, severe; Generalized anxiety disorder
Diagnosis: Major depressive disorder with anxious distress
Rationale: Meets DSM-5 criteria
Prognosis: Guarded, would likely improve with psychotherapy


So it's been several months since my C&P exams, and exactly one month since my package has been in PEB. I haven't heard back on fit or unfit yet but I was just reading the results of one of my C&P exams. I'll take a few things out of it to see if anyone has any thoughts on what might happen. I'm so anxious that I'm going to be found fit.

Mental Disorder Diagnosis #1: Major depressive disorder with anxious distress ICD code: F33.9
For VA rating purposes, check all symptoms that actively apply to the Veteran's diagnoses:
[X] Depressed mood
[X] Anxiety
[X] Chronic sleep impairment
[X] Disturbances of motivation and mood
[X] Difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances, including work or a worklike setting

She was well groomed. Her reported mood was depressed, her affect was dysphoric. Speech and thought content were within normal limits. Thought processes were logical and goal-directed. No evidence or report of delusions or hallucinations. Memory and attention appeared grossly intact. Insight and judgment were intact. The SM denied current suicidal or homicidal ideation.

4. Other symptoms ----------------- Does the Veteran have any other symptoms attributable to mental disorders that are not listed above?
[X] Yes[ ] No
If yes, describe: poor concentration, loss of interest

5. Competency ------------- Is the Veteran capable of managing his or her financial affairs?
[X] Yes[ ] No
6. Remarks (including any testing results), if any: ---------------------------------------------------
Claimed: Major depressive disorder, recurrent, severe; Generalized anxiety disorder
Diagnosis: Major depressive disorder with anxious distress
Rationale: Meets DSM-5 criteria
Prognosis: Guarded, would likely improve with psychotherapy

I have my C&P coming up soon any tips?
 
I did my C&P last week rajeev2liz, the advice I could give you is be truthful on you Psych C&P all that crap about go in cappy groomed and smelling like ass won't help your cause. Your exams begin as soon as that doctor calls your name when he asked me how I was doing today. I told him I felt like shit. He actually annotated that on my C&P write up. You have to explain your worst day symptoms and how it effects your ability to work which is key. For any joint ROM exams make sure to stop where you start feeling pain. I had the doctor put his hand on my back when he told me to bend foward and touch my toes. I kindly told him to get his hands off me when doing the exam if not bring me your supervisor. Let's just say the rest of the exam went smooth. Now I am waiting to see what his write up is I am sure he manipulated my ROM measurement. He seemed shady as hell. Good luck!
 
Yours seems right around the same as mine was and I was given 50%
 
I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Doctors are now leaning toward bipolar as I had been tried on I think around 8-10 different anti depressants and none of them worked and I would cycle sometimes depressed other times anxiety through the roof with lots of anger and irritability (mania isn't always euphoric) and so finally they put me on a strong bipolar med, depakote which is wonderful.

I say all that to say this, had I walked in the VA CP psych office on my worst day of mania I would have had a very different outcome than a mildly depressed day. The examiner first asked me a joke which was a lame and so I chuckled a little bit. Not because the joke was funny but it's a social norm to laugh at someone's joke. Especially someone you just met who is about to decide to check a block that will effect your pay for life. So he put in his report "patient laughs and smiles easily" that couldn't be farther from the truth. They will make every effort to make you seem like your in a good mood and downplay your symptoms, "oh you feel depressed, everyone gets sad and feels a little blue sometime"

Expect them to have reviewed your file and play these kind of silly games. Explain things to them as they are on your worst days. They are the gatekeepers and are trying to weed out the fakers who just want some VA money.
 
I did my C&P last week rajeev2liz, the advice I could give you is be truthful on you Psych C&P all that crap about go in cappy groomed and smelling like ass won't help your cause. Your exams begin as soon as that doctor calls your name when he asked me how I was doing today. I told him I felt like shit. He actually annotated that on my C&P write up. You have to explain your worst day symptoms and how it effects your ability to work which is key. For any joint ROM exams make sure to stop where you start feeling pain. I had the doctor put his hand on my back when he told me to bend foward and touch my toes. I kindly told him to get his hands off me when doing the exam if not bring me your supervisor. Let's just say the rest of the exam went smooth. Now I am waiting to see what his write up is I am sure he manipulated my ROM measurement. He seemed shady as hell. Good luck!

Thanks alot that information is helpful
 
So it's been several months since my C&P exams, and exactly one month since my package has been in PEB. I haven't heard back on fit or unfit yet but I was just reading the results of one of my C&P exams. I'll take a few things out of it to see if anyone has any thoughts on what might happen. I'm so anxious that I'm going to be found fit.

Mental Disorder Diagnosis #1: Major depressive disorder with anxious distress ICD code: F33.9
For VA rating purposes, check all symptoms that actively apply to the Veteran's diagnoses:
[X] Depressed mood
[X] Anxiety
[X] Chronic sleep impairment
[X] Disturbances of motivation and mood
[X] Difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances, including work or a worklike setting

She was well groomed. Her reported mood was depressed, her affect was dysphoric. Speech and thought content were within normal limits. Thought processes were logical and goal-directed. No evidence or report of delusions or hallucinations. Memory and attention appeared grossly intact. Insight and judgment were intact. The SM denied current suicidal or homicidal ideation.

4. Other symptoms ----------------- Does the Veteran have any other symptoms attributable to mental disorders that are not listed above?
[X] Yes[ ] No
If yes, describe: poor concentration, loss of interest

5. Competency ------------- Is the Veteran capable of managing his or her financial affairs?
[X] Yes[ ] No
6. Remarks (including any testing results), if any: ---------------------------------------------------
Claimed: Major depressive disorder, recurrent, severe; Generalized anxiety disorder
Diagnosis: Major depressive disorder with anxious distress
Rationale: Meets DSM-5 criteria
Prognosis: Guarded, would likely improve with psychotherapy
sounds like 50% to me
 
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