Diabetes

If you are a Vietnam veteran diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes (DMII or Adult Onset Diabetes) or if you are not a Vietnam veteran but have had your diagnosis rated as service connected for other reasons, you should know that many other conditions may be caused by or contributed to by the diabetes condition.

It is widely accepted in health care that diabetes causes and contributes to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and that may cause heart attack, stroke, blindness, impotence, kidney disease, conditions of the peripheral nerves or a host of other serious problems.

In most cases, the diabetes must be diagnosed first before other conditions will be rated as secondary to the diabetes. For example, a veteran may have a heart attack at age 45 and then at age 55 be diagnosed with diabetes. In that event, the heart condition is not likely to ever be considered as associated to the diabetes condition.

If you've been awarded a service connected rating for diabetes, it may be well worth your time to file for any and all conditions that may be secondary to the diabetes.

Conditions that are commonly secondary to diabetes are often related to the vascular system. Your vascular system consists of the veins and arteries that transport blood to and from the heart and lungs.

Diabetes is hard on the arteries in your body. Diabetes may cause or aggravate atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and cause those blood vessels to become narrow.

When that happens the blood vessels can't carry as much fresh blood to the organs or limbs that they normally would be able to.

Diabetes is the underlying cause of many other conditions. Consider filing a claim for all secondary conditions.

Your Benefits: Secondary Conditions

That loss of fresh blood can result in muscular pains in your legs (peripheral artery disease), stroke (carotid artery disease) and heart attack (coronary artery disease or ischemic heart disease). R

Diabetes may also cause vision disturbances, peripheral neuropathy, erectile dysfunction, kidney (renal artery) disease and a wide variety of other health related issues.

To successfully file a claim for diabetes requires a firm diagnosis. If you are a Vietnam veteran, the VA allows you to file for diabetes and the condition is automatically assumed to be related to exposure to agent orange.

If you are a veteran without "boots on the ground" Vietnam service you must have a diagnosis of your condition while on active duty, a diagnosis within one year of ETS or some other nexus that would provide evidence of why the condition is related to your military service

Once you have the confirmation that you do have diabetes you should first consider your treatment plan. Following the orders of your doctor is your first priority. The VA health system is usually very aggressive when treating diabetes.

Once you understand that you must treat the condition, you should begin to file your claim.

When filing a VA disability compensation claim for diabetes you'll follow the general rules that apply to filing all claims.

With the diabetes claim, it's important to specifically name the condition you believe may be secondary to the diabetes.

Adult onset diabetes is "Diabetes Mellitus Type 2". This is often abbreviated as DMII. Be careful using abbreviations when writing your claim. It may be best to spell it out clearly.

You may follow the recommendations that you'll find on this page to file the claim.

If you need help to write a letter to make your claim, please click on this page and then on this page.

It's important that you are specific in your claims for secondary conditions. In your claim statement be sure to spell it out. Your statement might include terms like:

I am filing a claim for Diabetes Mellitus Type 2. I am a Vietnam veteran.

I am also claiming that the following conditions are secondary to my service connected Diabetes Mellitus type 2. The following conditions have been directly caused and/or aggravated by the service connected Diabetes Mellitus Type 2.

* Ischemic Heart Disease

* Carotid Artery Disease

* Erectile Dysfunction

And so on.
Read up on diabetes and learn how to take care of yourself.

The National Institutes of Health on Diabetes

Diabetes on Wikipedia

Ratings

7913  Diabetes mellitus

100% Requiring more than one daily injection of insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities (avoidance of strenuous occupational and recreational activities) with episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring at least three hospitalizations per year or weekly visits to a diabetic care provider, plus either progressive loss of weight and strength or complications that would be compensable if separately evaluated...100%

60% Requiring insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities with episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions requiring one or two hospitalizations per year or twice a month visits to a diabetic care provider, plus complications that would not be compensable if separately evaluated...60%

40% Requiring insulin, restricted diet, and regulation of activities...40%

20% Requiring insulin and restricted diet, or; oral hypoglycemic agent and restricted diet...20%

10% Manageable by restricted diet only...10%