SnG - Stay on top of everything. Once you get your DBQs from your PEBLO go see the lawyer. I have learned that this process only matters to the member. Noone will jump though hoops to help you. If you can get the information in advance, itll give you time to prepare for the next move.
Waste Heat - That is correct. Once it went to the VA it went to gathering evidence for a day and then went straight to prep for decision. Once it was sent back to the PEB it was closed and changed to Prep for decision approval.
Update - Met with my lawyer who told me to reach out to my doctor and attempt to get addendums for other conditions and on my knee which was improperly rated. My current proposed rating is VA 60% and based of the VAs letter ill get 10% DOD which is trash because I cant even walk normally on my right knee anymore. I cant stress this enough, wait your 7-10 days and have the VA fax you a copy of your results. It will go into full detail and what and why it was rated at that percentage. Not sure how other places work, but getting an appointment at Portsmouth is damn near impossible. I had to go talk to the nurse who work with my doctor and have her squeeze me in within the next 3 weeks. Given that you only have a set amount of time to appeal any results it is important to have everything scheduled well in advance so that the process can be smoother and avoid any unnecessary headaches.