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yeah, I definitely won't say I'm a natural at TH-cam or anything close to that

@@oldArmyVet sure, it could be

Wow. Did You get it ?

@@toddwatson6288 yes

Lots of theses YouTubbers claiming to want to help veterans, are reawlly in ths justt for the money! Case in point...

african

Did you ever get it? I'm communicating with another doc he has on his site and am feeling uneasy about the transaction as well.

@@barefootchiropractor8467 i got it

@@walterbrewster647 sorry for the delay. I am behind where I'd like to be and am running around 3 to 4 weeks out from when you paid

@@nexusletters thank you for getting back to me

take it easy guy

It is interesting because many times a Veteran might say that a psych condition like PTSD impacted their eating behaviors and activity levels and caused their obesity, but a C&P examiner will completely ignore this and use a copy-and-pasted statement that says something like "their sleep apnea is because of their obesity." It hopefully gets worked out in the end though.

Thanks, they usually seem fine on my headphones but that doesn't always translate over to other devices. I can't dedicate as much time as I'd like to, but I do have some video editing software and will get more aggressive on the sound editing in the future. I will try to be pickier about the sound whenever I make some more time to record videos, but mostly I just want to make sure they are audible, and the levels aren't too wacky or different. Admittedly I've mostly been recording them in one take during relatively brief "found time" moments I might have between scheduled phone call appointments (if a call cancels or doesn't take as long as expected, for example) so they of course aren't the most polished thing in the world. I appreciate your time and feedback so I can try to keep improving them. I am a bit behind on other things so it may be a while before I record more, though I do have a growing list of topics I want to cover.

Sorry that happened. In instances like this it is hard to imagine a "thorough review" of the evidence was conducted when neither the examiner or the rating decision mentions the nexus opinion. I think in secondary claims when C&P examiners often already have a standard copy-and-pasted opinion they repeatedly re-use made up they may not even be looking through the Veteran's file except to find very specific data points using a PDF search function unfortunately. That of course isn't what they're supposed to do (and also is just me speculating admittedly).

I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have or discuss any concerns; you can sign up for a free phone call with me on my website. Thank you for your interest in the videos.

Keeping in mind that I'm not an accredited rep/attorney and don't know all the details (you can sign up for a free, private phone consult with me on my website): Since you have a diagnosis that should trigger the VA's duty to assist and they would send you to an initial PTSD C&P exam the VA would pay for and they'd be asked for a medical opinion related to the nexus.

Sorry, while admittedly I was trying to make a joke and not imply that sunshine and exercise is a "solution," the early stages of therapy include the fancy term "behavioral activation" which frankly includes getting active. So, while it isn't a complete solution, if we were to offer a false choice between getting outside and exercising versus TH-cam I'd put it up against many of the videos on TH-cam any day ;)

@@MatthewChurch-h3l hey, truth in advertising I suppose- what you see is what you get ;)

@@centuriesvintage yes, everything I do you know the total cost in advance (and the cost is posted publicly on my website). You can learn more at nexusletters.com

@@lightning9279 sure, it is still medically necessary despite your trouble

Keeping in mind that I'm not an accredited rep/attorney or VA official-- it may depend on the sleep disorder. For example, sleep apnea would likely be rated separately from anxiety/panic, but if you're already rated for anxiety/panic and say the insomnia is due to that, the insomnia would likely be lumped in with the existing mental disorder as a symptom of the anxiety/panic. It can be something that is pretty case specific, so it never hurts to talk with someone if you have questions.

Thank you for responding to my question. There are alot of is veterans that are suffering in silence, so any information of value is appreciated

@@mkultravibes7763 yes, they can. The diagnosis itself isn't necessarily the most important thing.

Thanks for this. There isn't much fairness in the sense that two Veterans with very similar cases can have dramatically different outcomes just based on the interpretation of the science from the C&P examiner and rater. The stats I've seen for BVA reflect that despite the fact that the case has been denied multiple times by that point, there is a double-digit approval rating (they find in favor of the Veteran). It would likely be cheaper and overall more ideal for everyone if a "correct" favorable finding was found earlier in the process, but sometimes it takes sticking with it. Sorry you're dealing with that.

I will do the nexus opinion via a records review but not a migraine-related exam or migraine DBQ

@@nexusletters ok thank you

@@jingham2654 yup, plenty of people have done it. There is also a psychologist in NY who is on the referral list on my website as well if you want a referral to a NY psychologist

Why would people drive, isn't the telehealth over the internet? This is what I'm not sure what to do...over the internet or in person.🤔

@@wendylincoln7760 NY isn't a PSYPACT state yet, and I'm not licensed in NY, so it is one of the few states I can't do telehealth exams to yet.

If you haven't already feel free to fill out the referral form at nexusletters.com; that is the type of thing I'd do a telehealth exam and complete a DBQ for. You can also sign up for a free 15-minute phone call with me to discuss your case first if you're interested.

thanks, let me know if you have any questions or need anything

This is a great question, and I will do something related to this whenever I get a chance to record my next video, thanks. Some people hear that being obese will hurt your claim, while other people hear that you can only get sleep apnea secondary to a psych condition if that psych condition made you obese. I don't agree with either extreme truthfully. What I have seen related to that that can hurt your claim is a C&P examiner that essentially just copies and pastes a laundry list of risk factors that may or may not be related to your own medical evidence (with obesity topping that list of risk factors). The examiner never addresses the fact that psych conditions by definition can impact eating behaviors/emotional eating and reduce activity levels/exercise which can lead to obesity. The examiner then uses an inappropriate burden of proof that reads like requiring definitive 100% causitive /proof of causation between the two, rather than the actual burden of proof of getting to a coin flip of at least as likely as not. So really what hurts claims the most (assuming the person has the diagnosis) is probably a C&P examiner who has a mind that is closed to the evidence. It is funny that I have now seen countless C&P rationales where the examiner essentially said sleep apnea is "caused" by the "risk factor" of obesity, yet applied a higher burden of proof on the evidence to something like PTSD. That isn't even the punchline though: In those countless C&P's where the examiner said it was due to obesity the Veteran had a normal BMI at their sleep study. Then the rating decision actually gave weight to the C&P opinion because they did a "thorough" review of the evidence. You can't make this stuff up. Thanks for the question.

Thank you for answering my question, Dr. Finnerty. It was most detailed and informative.​@@nexusletters

Sorry, that story about the contractors is far too common unfortunately.

Thanks, I should probably keep making more videos that just say this (as simple as it may sound) ;)

Thanks old chap, I will add your comment to my safety manual for future videos

@@mcneilfajardo1820 check out nexusletters.com and toddfinnerty.com/schedule.html

I think anyone worth their salt will understand. Just be sure they're aware of that history when you see them.

I'm applying for disability for ptsd, depression and anxiety. My case is a little interesting because I went in the Air Force and documented that I had added a diagnosis and was medicated 6th grade, but hadn't taken medication since then and didn't really have any issues with it. I had a 3.3 GPA in high school, was able to hold a job while going to high school for 2 years, and I went into the military at 18. The shop that I was at had horrible leadership treat me like s*** everybody treated me like s***, Long story short they want to do aggravation for adhd, as well as the mdd, and anxiety and PTSD that I have now but I absolutely did not have issues with when I was younger. It's an interesting case, I did go to inpatient care for depression while I was in.

@@titanpolus5088 Thank you for your comment, it is certainly possible to aggravate ADHD from a baseline of it not impacting a person at all (but for that person to also have new and different mental health issues like you noted as well). Lots of people have ADHD symptoms which essentially resolve or more likely do not have a significant functional impact on them by the time they reach adulthood even without medication. Then there can be a new diagnosis from the military (ex: depression, anxiety, PTSD) due to other factors with different symptoms or even similar overlapping symptoms such as concentration issues- but a diagnosis that isn't ADHD (these new problems could also make the ADHD worse, for example if the old strategies of dealing with it may have been impacted, etc. but these problems are also different from the ADHD). It is perfectly reasonable to expect C&P examiners to get a good history and not simply write Veterans symptoms off because someone said they had ADHD when they were in elementary school.