Has anyone dealt with the VA (Veteren's Admin)***long post.

Here's the deal. My husband got Crohn's disease while in the Navy and had to have a bowel resection (they think it was due to the preservatives in the food since he was on a sub). After the surgery, he got a bad infection which had to be treated from the inside. Basically, the had to open him back up and his mom had to pack and unpack his wound every few hours. He got a medical discharge and got VA disability.

In the last 3 years he has had 3 hernias that have had to be operated on and 1 surgery to take out a defective patch for a hernia. He talked to the local VA and they said he could get more compensation because the hernias are a direct result of the surgery from Crohn's disease. He sent in tons of paperwork and had to go for an examination at the VA hospital and the doctor found yet ANOTHER hernia. She said she would definitely recommend additional compensation. But, the VA denied it.

Now, we aren't the type of people to take advantage of the government (I honestly was kind of hesitant to post this), but this is a condition that is affecting how well he can do his job (he does, and LOVES doing home improvements). I know from reading here, getting disability status through the government is a pain, and you have to reapply time and time again. Is it the same with the VA? I'm guessing it probably is, and that is what I told DH, but he is still upset.

According to the VA doctor that did his examination a few weeks ago, the hernias are a direct result from the surgery for Crohn's disease and the infection afterwards (the surgery was also done in a VA hospital) Any suggestions?

DH just came of 7 yrs active duty in the Navy a few yrs back and is now an inactive reservist for the moment. I honestly don't know much about VA benifits at all- but i'll be sure to ask him if he knows!

Can you contact someone else at your local base or VA hospital that might be able to give you more info?

I just helped my husband get his VA medical benefits. He is a Vietnam vet and he never signed up for them in all these years. I had to get his dd214 and start from scratch. He wasn't injured in the war but he can now be seen at the VA hospital and clinics. If your husband had a injury or sickness that happened when he was in the service I know they offer more benefits. Knowing the government it's probably a lot of red tape but worth checking out every avenue. I'm sorry I am not much help.

I looked up about VA benefits and found that they have "presumptive" service connections and this is what they cover:

http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache...&client=safari

Chron's disease is not among them. I looked on WebMd and I found this:

What causes Crohn's disease?
Doctors don't know what causes Crohnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s disease. You may get it when the bodyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s immune system has an abnormal response to normal bacteria in your intestine. Other kinds of bacteria and viruses may also play a role in causing the disease.

Crohnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s disease can run in families. Your chances of getting it are higher if a close family member has it. People of Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish family background may have a higher chance of getting Crohnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s disease. Smoking also puts you at a higher risk for the disease.

I think that I looked this up because my cousin died just this past week of liver cancer that the doctors said was the result of Agent Orange. He was a marine and served 2 tours of duty in Vietnam. Liver cancer is not on the list, but 2 men in his unit (he was a sergeant) have died from the same thing in the past 6 months. Once the doctors found it out, he was immediately transferred to the VA hospital and they took care of everything. He will be buried this week with full military honors.

I have to say that I would side with the VA on this issue even though your DH had the operation in a VA hospital. I couldn't find anything that linked Crohn's with hernias. You also said that your DH got VA disability. Are there monthly payments? If so, are you looking for a settlement or to sue?

I am sorry for your husband and I am also sorry that I am emotional at this time because this is the first of my cousin's who has died and too early. But given the hereditary and life style (e.g. smoking) causes of Chron's, the fact that DH does or has received disability, the fact that hernias are not associated with Chron's, the fact that your MIL changed his dressings, and the fact that he loves doing home improvement leads me to believe that the VA has a case in denying extra benefits.

Again, I am so sorry. I am so sorry that the VA did not really count on all the long term effects of Agent Orange, either. I am just a little emotional right now. Please understand.

Rosemary, I am so sorry for your loss. But I am going to disagree with you. The hernias are a result of the surgery and infection, which from the sound of it compromised his muscles. And she said what they suspect brought on the Chron's. And it's no unusual thing to have a family member doing things like changing dressings or caring for wounds after a surgery. I took care of DH's while he was recuperating from surgery at home, while active duty. Our military people can be exposed to so many things that modern medical science doesn't fully understand. I know several servicemen who have conditions linked to environments and things they were exposed to that most of us would never think would cause that condition and 99% of the time probably don't. Fact is, if they'd not served, they may not have gotten the conditions. Some things may still have crept in, but maybe not, or maybe not to the severity they did.

I think from what I know about the VA from an old co-worker talking about her father's treatment with them is that you just need to keep pursuing your benefits. The sister and father of one of my closest friends have Chron's, which for them is obviously genetic. I know her sister was always active and health conscious person and still ended up with it. And I know how debilitating it can be. Her sister just spent a week hospitalized from her Chron's.

I'm very passionate about people taking advantage of the government, whether it's through disability or welfare or what. But I'm also very passionate about our people who sacrifice for this country being taken care of too. It sounds to me like your husband is doing everything he can to work, but he has challenges to overcome because of his service. And he has every right to pursue his VA benefits. The only way I see them saying no to his benefits is if they tell him he shouldn't do that kind of work. And unfortunately, the government doesn't really care if it's what he loves to do or not. It might be a hard case on just that fact.

Originally Posted by butzie

I looked up about VA benefits and found that they have "presumptive" service connections and this is what they cover:

http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache...&client=safari

Chron's disease is not among them. I looked on WebMd and I found this:

What causes Crohn's disease?
Doctors don't know what causes Crohnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s disease. You may get it when the bodyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s immune system has an abnormal response to normal bacteria in your intestine. Other kinds of bacteria and viruses may also play a role in causing the disease.

Crohnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s disease can run in families. Your chances of getting it are higher if a close family member has it. People of Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish family background may have a higher chance of getting Crohnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s disease. Smoking also puts you at a higher risk for the disease.

I think that I looked this up because my cousin died just this past week of liver cancer that the doctors said was the result of Agent Orange. He was a marine and served 2 tours of duty in Vietnam. Liver cancer is not on the list, but 2 men in his unit (he was a sergeant) have died from the same thing in the past 6 months. Once the doctors found it out, he was immediately transferred to the VA hospital and they took care of everything. He will be buried this week with full military honors.

I have to say that I would side with the VA on this issue even though your DH had the operation in a VA hospital. I couldn't find anything that linked Crohn's with hernias. You also said that your DH got VA disability. Are there monthly payments? If so, are you looking for a settlement or to sue?

I am sorry for your husband and I am also sorry that I am emotional at this time because this is the first of my cousin's who has died and too early. But given the hereditary and life style (e.g. smoking) causes of Chron's, the fact that DH does or has received disability, the fact that hernias are not associated with Chron's, the fact that your MIL changed his dressings, and the fact that he loves doing home improvement leads me to believe that the VA has a case in denying extra benefits.

Again, I am so sorry. I am so sorry that the VA did not really count on all the long term effects of Agent Orange, either. I am just a little emotional right now. Please understand.

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Rosemary, I am very sorry about your cousin . I can only imagine how hard that is for you.

We aren't trying to sue or get a final settlement. DH would just like the VA to up his monthly payments to make up for work missed because of this. No, doctor's don't know exactly what causes Crohn's but it doesn't run in his family. He was misdiagnosed while on the sub and was in sick bay for 2 weeks with a temp of over 104 before they finally had him flown to an actual hospital. The reason his mother changed his dressing is because the naval hospital released him too early and that is what they told her to do. Both the doctor that did his hernia surgeries, and the VA doctor that did his assessment a few weeks ago said the hernias were coming out around the scar tissue because the wound didn't heal cleanly (because of the infection, which he had before he was released) and the tissue was weak along there, allowing the hernia's to pop out. It was actually the navy medical pesonnel that said he most likely developed Crohn's because of the food on the sub.

Compared to your cousin, I know this sounds trivial, and I didn't want to upset anyone.

Such sad stories... I'm so sorry. Hon, see if there's a VA representative for your county (or maybe for the whole state, since yours is relatively small) -- there should be an individual who serves as a liaison between you and the VA, to help you file the right papers for whatever benefits your husband may be entitled to. You probably already know the website is va.gov... that should lead you to the right phone number for your area. And if there are any records you're missing, they can provide a form for requesting them from the records office in St. Louis.

Good luck!