VA: Service Connected for Incontinence?

[Don]

I was just curious if any other vets were service connected by the VA for incontinence.

I am service connected at 60% for urinary incontinence. I am working on a claim for bowel incontinence. The 60% for urinary stems from the fact that I have to wear diapers and change 4-5 x in a 24hr period. I usually use about 5 diapers in a day. Anybody else claiming incontinence with the VA?

[schoppy]

Im also listed as being incontinent through the VA system.
The VA sends me my disposables (low quality) and they also sent me my cloth diapers and plastic pants that I order through Angel Fluff Diaper Co.

What would you like to know?

[Don]

No I didn't want to know anything in particular. I was just wondering how many Vets on this forum were service connected for their incontinence. Schoppy...did you know you can get the VA to pay for disposable diapers like the Abena Xplus? You don't have to put up with the cheap stuff. They will send you the good stuff. I get 2 cases of Xplus and 2 cases of Extra's whenever I need them. The VA orders them from XPmedical. It saves me alot of money.

[schoppy]

Thanks for the info.
I have a Dr appt in a week and ill talk to my dr about them.

[Don]

Schoppy,
I don't think your doctor will know how to get the Xplus. None of the ones I talked to knew anything about it. I had to go through the patient advocate. The patient advocate put me in touch with the head of pharmacy. The head of pharmacy then contacted xpmedical as a potential supplier. I wrote the head of pharmacy a letter describing my condition and why I needed this product. The head of pharmacy then had to get a supplier number for Xpmedical to add them to the list of suppliers. They then added the Abena's to the formulary as a potential option for diapers for patients. I told the VA head of pharmacy what diapers I wanted. They then got a hold of a P.A. at the clinic who wrote me a script for them. I got 12 refills. The head of pharmacy then placed the order. My doctor at the VA had no idea how to do this. I traded information with Johnstone to figure this out. We had to work on it together. But anytime I need more diapers I just call the head of pharmacy and she places the order. I get 2 cases of Xplus and 2 cases of Extra's whenever I need them. It works out well.

[johnstone]

At present, I'm also receiving 3 cases of the Abena XPlus diapers from the VA every month. This is a non-formulary product so you will need to get pharmacy approval before they will order them. I'm sure if your using cloth diaprs now, you had to have gone through the same process. If possible, I will like to receive both from the VA. I would much rather use cloth diapers at night.

[Don]

I am trying once again to get a higher disability rating from the VA. Currently, I am rated at 80% service connected disabled. I get $1694 a month in disability pay, tax free, to pay my bills. This pays my debt but does not pay my living expenses. I am currently rated at 50% disabled for my Bipolar Disorder and 60% disabled for my urinary incontinence. The VA uses the CFR 38, part 4 to rate disabilities. Now 50 and 60% resectively does not equal 80%. You're right. It equals 110%. The formula for determining disability looks like this: 50% disabled = .5 effective. 60% disabled = .4 effective. .5 x .4 = .20 or 20% effective / 80% disabled. But I have more disabilities that are secondary to my primary disability of Bipolar Disorder, which is service connected. So I should be able to get compensated for those secondary disabilities. I am trying to get bumped up to 100% which pays $2932 a month. I am trying to get rated for Tinnitis (ringing in the ears from gunfire and jet noise (I also have hearing loss at high frequencies)), Hypothyroid caused by my Lithium medication, and GI distress causing fecal incontinence. These are all ratable under the CFR 38 if I can get my doctors to say that these secondary disabilities are caused by my primary illness. I have got all my supporting documentation so I'm hoping for the best. I sure could use that extra money. I struggle to keep my head above water and support my family as it is. Ever since being medically retired from the military I have had to live with family because I cannot afford a place of my own. I hate that. I want my own place. If I can win my case and get 100% then I can move out of my families home and get a home of my own. I am praying that this works. Are there any vets on here that are getting 100% disability rating? I'm turning my medical documentation in on Friday. I am just awaiting one more letter from my doctor. But I think I'm going to go ahead and get the ball rolling. Anybody got any pointers?

[SeattleDoug]

I talked with my patient advocate today and he said I needed to talk to my primary care doctor again to see what he says. If my primary care doctor doesn't help me I'm going to lean on my urologist at the VA to see what they can help with.

[schoppy]

Don

Because of my medical problems I got rated as 70% disabled with unemployable status.

If you can get rated as "unemployable" then you can get the 100% pay.

Talk to the DAV and have them represent you to the VA.
They really helped me to get my rating from the VA.

[schoppy]

I just got an order approved with AngelFluff Diaper Company for more cloth diapers.

This time I ordered the Gauze diapers instead of the flannel ones.
The flannel ones take a long time to dry but they do work great for night time use.

I got some of the "Day Time Weight Gauze" and some of the "Night Time Weight Gauze". I wanted to try these for a while now.
I also got some of the POLYURETHANE LAMINATE PANTs and more of the Whisper Snapfront that I have used in the past.
The wisper pants are real good to use.
Also in my order was more of the regular style Concealors, I dont like the bloomer style.

Im not sure how long it will take for me to get my large order from them, but its well worth the small wait to get them.
Angelfluff does a good job on getting orders shipped out asap and the people working there are wonderful people.