Can't get a diagnosis

B

BLlNDBARD

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Before I joined I was healthy (fairly active and at a good weight) I started having knee and hip pain a few months after joining the Air Force in 2011.

The pain has gradually become worse, and since I separated in 2015 I haven't been able to keep a job for more than three moths at a time. The pain is manageable when I'm mostly sedentary but when I'm active it continually gets worse.

I'm currently rated at 40%, I've tried to submit a new claim, but they just flexed my leg next to the little protractor and said I won't get anything because my knees still bend.

The VA and military doctors ive seen give me anti-inflammatories, then x-rays, then physical therapy, then mri, then say they can't find anything wrong and I start over. They did do a menisectomy on one knee when I was still active duty, but I'm pretty sure it just made it worse.

Now its getting harder to get jobs because of my increasingly terrible work history, but my wife working alone leaves us deciding which bills to pay.

I'm tired of being in pain all the time, im tired of trying and failing to provide for my family, I just don't know how to make any progress with these people.

Any ideas are welcome
 
Not sure if you are already service connected for these issues it sounds like so because all of those ratings are based off of ROM exams. The best you could do now is to possibly file a depression claim secondary to hip and knee issues. This requires a diagnosis and nexus connecting the depression to your physical ailments and NOT something else in your life, this takes time. Talk to a VSO and do some research on MH claims secondary to physical ailments.
 
oddpedestrian said:
Not sure if you are already service connected for these issues it sounds like so because all of those ratings are based off of ROM exams. The best you could do now is to possibly file a depression claim secondary to hip and knee issues. This requires a diagnosis and nexus connecting the depression to your physical ailments and NOT something else in your life, this takes time. Talk to a VSO and do some research on MH claims secondary to physical ailments.
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Thank you, I think you're right. I'm actually working on the MH side of things now.
 
Long term disability and/or pain is highly associated with depressive symptoms.
 
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