r/VeteransSuccess

Just recently got to 100% and was wondering why my rating on the va app and the website still say 90%?

From 0% to 100% P&T — I Did It Myself

I got out of the Air Force in July 1993. Four years as a Fuels Specialist, AFSC 63150. 363rd Supply Squadron at Shaw. Deployed to Al Dhafra during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Issued over 36 million gallons of JP-8 to 14,400 aircraft. I came home, hung up the uniform, and went on with life.

Nobody told me I could file a VA claim. Not at separation. Not after. For 31 years I didn't know.

In 2024 I finally started looking into it. By May 2026 the VA rated me 100% Permanent and Total. I did the entire thing myself. No attorney. No paid claims agent. I won three Higher-Level Review informal conferences along the way.

This is how.

What I started with Nothing organized. Just a body that hurt and decades of medical records scattered across providers. Plantar fasciitis I'd had for 25 years. GERD. Sleep apnea. AFib. Restless legs. A back I couldn't trust. Numbness in my feet and hands. IBS that ran my life. I didn't know any of it was connected to JP-8.

What I did first

I did the research myself. Pulled personnel records, old medical records, deployment documentation. I built a paper trail showing where I was, what I handled, and how long I handled it.

The biggest single move I made early on was the VET-HOME phone interview. VET-HOME is a VA program — you call in, a clinician walks you through every duty station, every job, every exposure. They put it on the record. Mine came back with 11 confirmed toxic exposures — benzene, naphthalene, toluene, xylenes. That interview did half the work for me. Anybody reading this who handled fuel, solvents, paint, burn pits, or anything else dirty during service — make that call. It's free and it goes straight into your file.

Then I went and got diagnosed. Properly. For every symptom I'd been ignoring. EMG for the neuropathy. MRI for the back. Holter and sleep study for the cardiac and apnea stuff. Bowel log through Guava Health for the IBS. Sleep data from my Oura Ring and CPAP. If a doctor said something useful, I asked for it in writing. I always used secure messaging when possible.

What worked

Service connection chains. I stopped filing claims as isolated problems and started filing them as cause-and-effect. JP-8 exposure caused the peripheral neuropathy. Gulf War service triggered the IBS under the presumptive framework. The AFib qualified me for convalescence under § 4.30 after my ablation. Every claim tied back to either service or an already service-connected condition.

Nexus letters that used the right language. "At least as likely as not." That's the phrase. Dr. K (VA Neurologist) wrote one for the RLS and another for the lumbar chain. Dr. E wrote one for the GERD. I didn't draft them — but I told my doctors exactly what the VA needed to see.

Buddy statements. My wife has lived with me through all of it. She wrote statements for symptoms I couldn't prove with paper. They counted.Data, not stories. Guava Health gave me a bowel symptom log going back to June 2025. Oura tracked my sleep. ResMed logged my CPAP compliance. Lab work showed low ferritin (RLS). When the VA wanted evidence, I handed them spreadsheets, not feelings.

The HLR conferences

Three of them. I won all three.

The pattern was the same every time: the VA rater missed something obvious, or one of their contracted examiners filed an opinion that contradicted the actual evidence. I read every C&P exam line by line. I matched it against the EMG, the imaging, the DBQs. When a contractor said one thing and the VA's own neurologist said another, I pointed at it.

On peripheral neuropathy the contractor flat-out misrepresented the EMG. I cited Nieves-Rodriguez and called the opinion inadequate. The informal conference is your shot to talk it through with a senior reviewer. Be calm, be specific, point to the page and the line. That's all it is.

What I'd tell any vet starting from zero

Call VET-HOME. Phone interview, free, goes in your file. It tells the VA what you were exposed to and you won't remember half of it on your own.

File for everything you have, not just the obvious stuff. Rhinitis. GERD. Sleep apnea. RLS. They all add up.

Think in chains. One condition causes another. The VA pays for the secondary, not just the primary.

Bring your own data. Bowel logs, sleep data, CPAP compliance, lab results. Print it out.

Read every C&P exam. The contractor exams are where claims die. If something is wrong, file the HLR and bring it up at the informal conference.

Don't quit after the first denial. The denial is the start of the real claim.

It took 31 years to start. It took two years to finish.

If you served and you haven't filed — file. If you filed and got denied — appeal. Nobody is going to do this for you, but you can absolutely do it yourself.

I finally got my 70% on 13 April 2026, and I thought i would start receiving compensation in addition to my expanded benefits on 11 May (15 business days later). Still nothing. I understand that the VA is gathering evident on the physical portions of the claim in addition to the seventy, but should I expect compensation at least by 1 June, or am I missing something crucial?

Just wanted to share to never give up and keep trying even when the VA denies you for things clearly established in your STR's. 8 long years and finally got everything I deserved. I got my letter this morning and first stop I made was to my tax collector office to get my property taxes lowered. Lol.

I appreciate all of the help and advice I have received in this forum and the invaluable lessons I have learned from all of you. Last night I was granted my 100% P&T and I simply could not have done it without coming here and learning the ins and outs, the how`s and why`s, the do`s and dont`s, and so on. This journey has been a long (to me) and circuitous route but well worth it. I`ve met some real characters and most are truly genuine at heart. I`m gonna stick around and toss in any words of wisdom as I can if I think they`ll help anyone out in any way. Keep fighting the good fight my Brothers & Sisters in Arms!!!

A little backstory, I was rated 70% for mental health, but getting tdiu, so i was already getting 100% pay. But my mental health got worse so l put in a claim to increase my scheduler rating. Any who I had a lot of naysayers on here tell me it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but guess what, I didn't listen and got my rightful scheduler rating of 100%. So fellow battles, please dont give up and keep fighting for what you deserve.

If you were in my position what would you do? What’s the best use of my time? Go to school? Travel? Retire overseas ? Feeling kinda lost here.

Veteran Affairs has been in the spotlight lately, in Congress, the news, articles online, and you guys are still out here posting all your personal finances. Will you guys just stfu about it for once? It's not just about you and your wallet or pocketbook, it's about future veterans as well, so stfu, it's a public website, this shit is not veteran verified website, it's public, use your brain and be smart.

The VA probably doesn’t but don’t know until you ask lol does the VA or can the VA forgive overpayment debt like they do federal student loans once at 100% P&T?

Got my new "Service Connected" VAHIC today. Can't believe this is really happening. As I stated before, I went from 0% to 70%. Also received ANOTHER decision letter stating that PTSD is "continued," and other service connections are "deferred." Approved 13 April, 2nd letter on 11 May (15 business days later). Should I expect to begin receiving Compensation on 1 June?

I take my claim to the CAVC court, fire with fire, the board court turns me down for my 1986 marriage, look, veteran affairs cant tell you cant get marriage and cut off benefits

The title says it all.

Your compensation is not income. Don’t celebrate it. Accept it.

You gave some….Others have ALL.

What would your brethren/sisters who gave the ultimate sacrifice pay to breathe a lung full of fresh air?

And we have folks in here bitching about their last 10%.

Friends…live your best life. You served. You sacrificed. You gave. But….you did not give ALL.

I’m a vet. I receive treatment and disability compensation. But I am thankful for the breath in my lungs.

And I thank those who gave ALL that I have the means and the freedom to type my message of thanks.

Do not be greedy. Do not brag. Do not vent or compare.

Be thankful you are an US veteran. If you weren’t….good luck getting any form of physical or monetary compensation.

USA - Greatest nation on this planet.

With the first part of my claim I was finally rated. Can I now get on bases and use the commissaries or px?