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LtCol J. Krusinski posted:I have no idea what the VA’s rules on semaglutide are but I doubt they’re better than TRIcare. But it wouldn’t shock me if they were. My VA doctor told me a couple months ago that if I did the stupid online fat camp for 45 days and availability improves, they would prescribe Wegovy, so I'm about to finally insist. They do in fact have an approval matrix for it: https://www.va.gov/formularyadvisor/DOC_PDF/CFU_Semaglutide_WEGOVY_Criteria_Rev_Oct_2023.pdf
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Jan 20, 2024 22:48
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 15:00 |
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I did not have "VA wants me to take molly and shrooms" on my 2024 bingo card That's straight from a VA.gov email.
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Jan 25, 2024 00:02
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I'm on VR&E right now. If you have the GI Bill while you're on VR&E you're paid a housing stipend at that higher rate. It rules if you're using it to go to college full blast like that, and I switched to it because my GI Bill would have expired before I finished it. New problem this semester, my counselor told me during covid that I didn't need to worry about filing an extension for my Post 9/11 GI Bill because it was "paused" for as long as I am on VR&E. Come to find out, the entitlements are paused but the overall expiration date is not. Figure that one out. So now, instead of getting like $3500 a month while I go full time, I get $500 because that's VR&E's rate. Surprise! The GI Bill hotline person said I can still plead an extension if I tally up all the covid and other hardships over the past that would have stalled my school attendance, but I really want to get my ducks in a row so I don't mess this up. This is the first time since I was 16 years old that I'm unemployed, so I can finally completely focus. They also said they heard of people getting 3000-day extensions so maybe if I just land on sympathetic ears I'll get help with it. It's weird they made the new GI Bill never expire but left the old one like this. Anyway VR&E is cool when it works, it can be more powerful than the ordinary GI Bill because it uses the Bill's 100% Entitlement rate when you have some left. even if you didn't have 100% rate on the original Chap 33. But like, even if you have no way to get a GI Bill to boost it with, it's still free college or training.
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Feb 1, 2024 10:59
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I asked for GLP-1 diet shots like 9 months ago and they told me there were availability issues (VA speak for expensive) at the time, they put me on MOVE Telehealth (online fat camp) I did that every day for like 6 months until the program ran out of content, then they said "OK now we can give you a MOVE medication appointment... it's 3 months from now". I finally get the appointment today and the doctor says "Well you meet all the inclusion criteria but there's still shortages. We can only give it to people who are over 50 BMI. Would you like some speed pills instead?" It's like, what the gently caress, I can see vets on Reddit who got it months ago going "yeah, you just have to complain more". But the doc was stonewalling me saying "hey not my decision, hands are tied". Meanwhile I have a family member who got put on it with the free state health care and proceeded to lose 60 pounds over this time span, no side-effects just feels full. I'm trying to tell these fuckers, it would be cheaper to just gimme the drat stuff, than deal with me having diabeetus a year from now. They seem unswayed. Any ideas or should I just pull a Homer and eat play-doh until I'm gigafat? Grip it and rip it posted:Hmm, any idea how this interacts with Voc Rehab? I don't know how that particular bit interacts, but one interaction I didn't know and hosed up, is that my Post-9/11 bill expired while I was on Voc Rehab, they said "you can still go, you just only get 1/3rd of the housing stipend". So I kept going and with the covid remote school thing over, I took one physical class. Then my VA rep says "uhh you know if you're just on the lower voc rehab payment, you don't need to take an in-person class right? that's just for the GI Bill". So I was driving a 300-mile weekly round trip this semester for loving nothing.
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Apr 17, 2024 21:07
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PageMaster posted:Not not sure if this belongshere, but I didn't find a wheelchair thread, and it's still VA related; VA just sent me my powered wheelchair (Igotthe pride jazzy) and looking at website and the VA rep who evaluated me transfer is supposed to be 9 miles. Anyone actually or one of these VA issues chair to the treat? Add exciting add riding over of these 5 miles over easy would be. Is he when less exciting to be stick without charge 5 miles away from him. Are these realistic numbers or things that are only chirvable in lab settings discounting air resistance and assuming completely perfect conditions only? Wind resistance is not a factor at the speeds a wheelchair goes. Wind resistance doubles roughly every 10mph, so at the 4-5mph these claim the aero drag is negligible even when you're sitting mostly upright. The things that affect range are going to be: - rolling resistance (how pumped up the tires are, if they are pneumatic) - the total weight with you in it - if your area is hilly (I don't think wheelchairs have regenerative braking, so you use extra energy uphill which you don't reclaim when you're braking while descending) [edit: it says a bunch of Jazzy models DO have regen braking! interesting since some with regen still use lead-acid batteries, that's a rare combination but not unheard of, turn of the millenium EV cars did this. Regen going down a hill can recover half the energy you used to climb it, in ideal conditions. If you brake too suddenly it will failover to physical brakes which don't recoup energy] - the climate (below-freezing climates reduce usable battery energy somewhat, mostly by hindering charging from regen braking) If there is still a lot of extra weight capacity with you on the wheelchair, you could add more batteries (same capacity and chemistry) in parallel. In other words, and this is just an example, I see one website that claims a certain model of the Pride Jazzy uses a U1 tractor battery, which are found at Home Depot for $55 each: https://www.homedepot.com/p/TITAN-12-Volt-U1-Tractor-Battery-U1-1T/300791097 If that is for sure the battery your wheelchair accepts, you ensure the rated amp-hour capacity is a match, and you could find a stable and safe way to secure an additional battery, you could wire that extra battery and the original battery negative-to-negative and positive-to-positive, they would balance the charge between each other and you'd effectively have twice the time to charge and twice the time to drive. Your range might even be slightly more than doubled, because of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peukert%27s_law 12V is generally safe to handle, but not if you drop a metal tool across both battery terminals or otherwise short something, so get assistance from a pro if you need to make modifications. Zero VGS fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Apr 18, 2024 |
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Apr 18, 2024 07:08
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PageMaster posted:Oh wow thanks for all this. I don't think I'm ready to try adding extra batteriesi can look at the actual nebatterieswhen I get it though, the VA evaluator also told me lithium ion ion that slide out on rails(something about lead acid netwand checking, getting on a flight?) tho actually I thought it was lithium ION that you have to carry on and cannot check it looks like the original before are just thrse eliminated slide out one so I will definitely go with a pro like your said above Li-ion has more energy for much less weight (lead is one of the densest metals while lithium is one of the lightest), and for airplane flights it is easier to check in because it weighs less. Also when those "hoverboards" were spontaneously catching fire, the FAA updated their lithium guidelines: https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/lithium-batteries Since the battery is installed in the wheelchair, it should be fine for both check in and carry-on (I'm sure such a large wheelchair company would have worked with the FAA to get preapproval for this common use-case). Li-ion with regards to charging care, the on-board charger checks the voltage as the battery charges and slows it down as it becomes closer to full. It's like how if someone pours a glass of water they slow down near the top to avoid overfilling. So you don't have anything to worry about there. The only thing to watch out for is that if you're using it for an extended time in below-freezing temps outside, wait a bit for it to warm up indoors before charging it. Some charging electronics will try to charge lithium when it is below freezing, which can permanently reduce the battery capacity (less range). Leaving the battery at 50% for long periods of storage can help prevent accelerated ageing too, but there's probably not an issue charging it to 100% each day (because the electronics don't really charge or drain the battery to the true limits of the chemistry, they leave 10% or so on each end to extend the useful lifetime. They push the limit closer on phones because they know people replace phones more often than vehicles). If you let me know the exact model number of the version you're being offered I could tell you more precisely. They might have an official extended battery, or at least I could find the part number of the same battery. For all I know it might be placed in a spot where you could swap a spare while sitting in it. First thing to do when you get it is to do laps around your house and measure the real-world range until the battery totally runs out, and have someone on standby to help you out. I always recommend people with any electric vehicle check to see what happens in a low state of battery (some cut out suddenly and can/can't be turned back on, some give an audio or display warning, some go into a slower "limp-mode" to try to save enough energy for you to get to a safe spot), it's always a good idea to learn and test every bit of the tech we rely on. edit: also the VA and some federal and non-profits have grants to help buy wheelchair-lift vans or outfit an existing vehicle. You should ask your rep about that too, they might be able to at least slap a wheelchair lift on a family member or caretaker's SUV so you have more options Zero VGS fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Apr 18, 2024 |
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Apr 18, 2024 18:20
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PageMaster posted:Sorry fo more wheelchair question but I'm taking it to my kids school trip tomorrow and I'm doing everything can man to more sure don't get stranded orclueless and the I know everything about it I would need you to be very specific here, so that I don't give you the wrong information. The wheelchair you show in that YouTube link is the non-carbon-fiber (probably aluminum) version of the Quickie C50, which has a large battery which removes from the rear of the wheelchair. Can you confirm if the wheelchair you were given is actually the "Quickie Q50 Carbon" that you said yours looks like? If that is true, the battery can be removed by hand from the front of the wheelchair. You could bring extra batteries with you, and swap them much like you would change the battery on a power tool. What makes you think you have 3 batteries total? Could you have someone take a clear picture of the wheelchair and all the batteries / accessories? edit: I'm going to take a guess here. If you have the "Q50 Carbon" model, the front "battery case" has two battery slots on it, which each take a battery. If they gave you a battery for both slots, then you have 2 batteries, because the "battery case" itself contains no energy, it just holds the 2 batteries. The website says each 3-pound battery gives 7.5 miles range, so with both you should have around 15 miles range. But please have someone help you with some pictures so I can confirm! Zero VGS fucked around with this message at 06:37 on Apr 28, 2024 |
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Apr 28, 2024 06:13
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Glad I could help. If you had trouble making it up the 1-inch curb your first time using it, it may have simply been shipped with the batteries stored at a low charge % (this is common practice). Take both batteries out, and charge each all the way up with the charger. This is your manual... as they say, R.T.F.M.: https://www.sunrisemedical.com/getattachment/d126b6d9-6ddd-4a0b-a8ae-d1cf415ce804/.aspx It says that the two battery slots on the wheelchair are Slot A and B. If you're sitting in it, Slot A is your left-hand side. That's the only slot that pulls energy from the battery. Slot B is just to hold a battery, it has no electrical connection in it. So, they expect you to reach down and switch the two batteries if you run out of range. I can't find a single YouTube video demonstrating the battery swap. But, if you plug a single battery in and it works, that's the "active" slot, the other is the "storage" slot. edit: if you have a full charge and it still can't handle your curb, well, a curb going straight up, even just an inch, is still technically a 90-degree incline. Have someone make some little ramps to smooth out the curb and that could fix it. Zero VGS fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Apr 28, 2024 |
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Apr 28, 2024 07:21
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 15:00 |
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SlurredSpeech609 posted:I was a flight line mechanic and my tinnitus claim was diagnosed but denied as non service related. Any suggestions how to file an appeal without loving it up? My tinnitus claim was so easy in 2008. But they clamped down bigtime. I think there's just some VA marching orders to give everyone a hard time now when they claim tinnitus, since so many vets used it as a free square before. IANAL and I'm no expert but it looks like the point of contention is in paragraph #4. They had someone examine you (maybe not a doctor, perhaps just a nurse practitioner is allowed?) and the examiner was probably asked by the VA "do you see proof of a link?!?!" and that person said "well no but..." and the VA said "cool thanks lol" and declined you. This "expert" might be told you're all malingering, they might not be a vet. In paragraph 2 "A direct grant of service connection requires...", you fulfilled all the criteria there (according to the Favorable Findings section) except that the examiner did not concur that it was service connected. Your beef is with their poo poo opinion. A lot of these examiners are cowards and always go with the safest option for themselves which is to shrug. Here's the rub. The favorable findings specifically says your MOS has a probability of military noise exposure. That *should* be enough to have tinnitus be "presumptive", as in, if you complain now, they ought to take your word for it (i.e. if you worked in the burn pits and complain about asthma right now, that's presumptive. It's basically a gimme). So yeah, absolutely appeal it, but I don't know the magic words. Maybe there's a local lawyer with experience in these claims (more importantly a track record of results and testimonials), who can prearrange for a more favorable second opinion? There's a lot of money on the table. Sorry they're dicking you over. As you can see it's turning into a meme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMlzm6a51h8 Zero VGS fucked around with this message at 03:14 on May 8, 2024 |
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May 8, 2024 03:12
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