VA DBQs & Nexus Secrets – Mental Health Pro Tells All!

VA DBQs & Nexus Secrets – Mental Health Pro Tells All!

Hello everyone and welcome back to my channel. My name is Dwayne. I got a video for that Kimble, United States Army veteran and retired VA rating specialist. Today’s video I have a special guest and we are going to be discussing VA DBQs and nexus statements. A lot of you have reached out to me and you always ask me, Dwayne, what about this? What about that? I’m like, hey, I’m not a mental health professional. Hey, I’m not a medical professional. So, I am bringing someone on that we are going to discuss the medical and mental health, but we’re going to focus a little bit more on the mental health DBQs and her name is Dr. Hanners. How you doing today, Dr. Hanners? Doing well, Dwayne. Thank you so much for having me today. Well, I definitely appreciate it and I know a lot of my viewers appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to discuss a hot topic like DBQs and nexus statements. But before we get into that topic of discussion, please tell my viewers a little bit a little bit about yourself, what it is you do, but most importantly, why do you do it? Yeah, sure. So, my name is Audrey Hanner. So, I have a doctor degree in nursing practice. I’m dual licensed and board certified in psychiatric mental health as well as family. And a bit about me is that I am also a Navy wife. My husband is a veteran. I’m going through this process of VA disability claims and I too have been using Dwayne’s I got a video for that Kimble’s resources and it has been a night and day difference and so it’s I’m really excited to be here working with American Heroes Medical Services. We have expert CMP examiners um as part of the team. So we are just excited to get into more of that with you. Okay. Okay. Well, I definitely appreciate that. Now, you say you’re with American Heroes Medical Services. If a vet because a lot of veterans ask me, Dwayne, how did you get your DBQs and nexus statements? And I got them when they first came out, you know, years ago. So, if an individual needs a DBQ or NEX statement, whether it be medical or mental health, how can they contact you to uh talk to someone about getting set up to get uh one of those exams completed? Yeah, sure. I’m glad you asked that. So, we actually do free consultations. Um, they’re about 20 minutes, 30 minutes long. And you can reach out to us at uh our website, americanheroesmedical serviceservices.com. And also um you can reach out with email gregameanheroesmed.com which I do want to pause and say that our founders here at American Heroes Medical Service is Greg Rutland. He is a veteran himself and also his wife a former CMP examiner and they are experts in this area. So we look forward to really helping you move that needle according to your uh needs for VA disability claims. Right. And I think that’s a bonus because you have someone that is is a a previous CMP examiner that has been trained by the VA and under really understands. Not saying that other doctors don’t understand it, but it’s just an added plus. So like myself, you know, the VA trained me on these DBQs and nexus statements. We I was there uh before the DBQs were introduced and then after they was introduced, they gave us all this training. I mean literally we had training every month or every every other month as it pertains to DBQs and nexus statements. What goes into them? What do you need to look for and stuff like that? Um so let’s keep it going. But I want to touch on something because you said that your husband is a veteran and they are going through the process. Can you explain how important it is to be educated on this process? I know you say you watch a lot of my uh videos, but under, you know, how important is it to be educated on this process when veterans, you know, before they going before they decide to file a claim and after they uh go start the process? Yes. You know, Dwayne, that’s a great question. And so that’s actually kind of how American Heroes was birthed. um Merritt Rutland, she as a CMP examiner working in that space noticed how unprepared veterans were and so saw that you know what this can be done better and collaborated with again former certified CMP examiners to say hey let’s do better by our veterans and the preparation even being a clinician having become a member of your uh program also watching your videos these process processes of the VA are very nuanced or they’re very detailed and and you’ve done a great job of explaining that. So oftent times when we see veterans, they’re not prepared or they don’t understand like you said in one of your videos, do you have even one of the five ways the service connect very basic. And then on top of that, do you actually have an active diagnosis and do you understand what those things are? And in in not having those things prepared or ready, the knowledge about whether or not a nexus letter or a DBQ is even necessary or if it’s needed is sometimes not very evident to to the client. So that’s why we kind of implement that free consultation at the front. Hey, we can help you identify is this a strong claim, moderate, weak, or is there really not a basis for a claim prior to the investment that you would be making. Right. Well, thank you for that. And that leads me into second question. I think you alluded uh to this a little bit uh when you talked about the co-founder uh Miss Rutland. What have uh you know, what made you want to start working with veterans in this capacity and how long have you been working with veterans? Yeah. So, I’ve been working in this capacity. What kind of sparked my interest in this is going through the claims process with my husband. Like, he was the kind of like, you know what, this is a lot. I’m just going to let it sit where it’s at. But I was like, let me just do a little bit more research into this and see what’s going on. And so, kind of the combined experience that we have here, I’ve been practicing since what, almost nine years now. and working specifically on these um done hundreds of Nexus letters, DBQ exams and also having the benefit of being trained by um Ms. Rutland and our team. So we’ve probably have a combined experience of maybe over easily over maybe 15 15 years um in this population. So the the passion comes from the almost the injustice that I sense or feel when it’s Why are we fighting against veterans who’ve already served this country and not easily letting them navigate and get to those benefits that are well-earned, welldeserved? It bothers me when veterans, you know, when I’m speaking to them and they call and they feel like they’re not deserving of these things or they’re trying to downplay symptoms or downplay, you know, the real impact that that military experience has had on their lives. And to be able to encourage them and help them see that, you know, this is no, it’s not a handout. This is something that you are well aable and deserving of is is fulfilling for us. And I know for me, when I retired from Department of Veterans Affairs, uh my wife was like, “What are you going to do because you’re not going to bug the heck out of me all day?” And I still um I knew I still wanted to work with veterans. I just didn’t know in what capacity. So, I had to think about what are veterans missing when it comes to this process. And so, over the years of adjudicating hundreds of claims and looking at what was missing, uh, what I could have used to help push that claim further was them being educated on this process. And it led me, you know, to write the book, start the channel and start the YouTube channel and do the things that I do from an educational standpoint because educational when you get that knowledge, it is very powerful. You know, now they know how to navigate the process. So, moving right along, what are uh some common mistakes that you’ve seen veterans make when they contact you when they’re trying to obtain a DBQ and exit statement? Okay, so that’s a really good question too, Dwayne. So, some common mistakes are not having the medical evidence that you you know, you do well laying out like you you need to have medical evidence because we can’t just come up with something out of the blue. uh you speak very well to the 38 ECFR understanding what is actually a ratable condition and where your symptoms specifically are falling on that. So when you are describing or when you’re talking about them or writing your lay statement, you are speaking directly to specific symptoms that um the VA is going to want to look for in order to classify the rating. Um other uh common things are um not particularly understanding and I think I mentioned that the five ways of service connection. Um do are they understanding well is this even connected to service? How can we connect to service? Common things too is like some people don’t think about medications. Like there are secondary conditions that maybe it’s not an outright hey diagnosed with you know mental health disorder but have you thought about those secondary conditions like is your sleep being disturbed and you’re not sleeping well or having insomnia symptoms because of something that is already service connected. So thinking through that strategy again is something that we like to really help and and specialize in. Yeah. And with that being said, I want to pause right now because I get asked I’ve gotten asked this question um over the years and you brought up medications and I’ve I’ve done a video where I talked about secondary secondary to secondary and one of the things I tell veterans is I adjudicated claims when veterans were prescribed medication let’s say for PTSD and that medication is now causing something else for example migraines And I put together a lay statement and I was explaining to veterans, you’re not claiming it secondary to the primary service connected condition, which is PTSD. You’re claiming it secondary to the medication that is prescribed for the primary condition of PTSD. So, with that being said, can you give me an example where maybe a previous client came in and claimed something secondary to a mental condition, for example, PTSD, a major depressive disorder, and your organization was a your organization was able uh to help them obtain it, you know, get the DBQ and nexus statement and get them service connected. Sure. So like one example would be so a veteran had come in looking to and this is kind of a little bit forward too like looking to connect um depression major depressive disorder that was diagnosed and secondary to that which sometimes is not thought of a lot is erectile dysfunction. So the depression was directly service connected and then in that kind of same breath wanted to separate now that the erectile dysfunction is secondary to the major depressive disorder as a result of medications needed to treat the depression. So there was a specific type of medication um that he had to take for the depression disorder that then was what we were going to relate the um the erectile dysfunction to. And so as you mentioned a lot of times that’s missed that these medications have some serious side effects as you mentioned like migraines. And so even just looking through maybe the medications you have to see, hey, are some of these side effects or some of these symptoms like I’ I’ve not had headaches before, but now all of a sudden you’re starting to notice headaches are coming on more frequently, more often. Go check those side effects because that absolutely could be secondary. Like uh Dwayne said, there’s a primary condition. The medication you have to take for the primary condition is now causing this secondary condition. And now you have your nexus. Right. Thank. And that leads me to something else because I know if I don’t ask this question, my subscribers and these viewers like Dwayne, you didn’t ask this question. You didn’t ask it. You didn’t ask it. You’re being a medical uh not medical, I’m sorry. Uh the mental health professional. Oftent times veterans, they have asked me, Dwayne, I’ve claimed sleep apnnea secondary to PTSD. that claim sleep apnea is secondary to major depressive disorder or another mental health uh condition they’re service connected for. And even when I was a raider, out of all the years I raided, I only seen one VA examiner say yes, sleep apnnea is secondary to PTSD. All the other examiners said no. Can you shed some light on is there a connection there between those two diagnosises? Yes. And that’s a really good question because a lot of times it’s, you know, people, you know, that’s hard to connect or that’s Well, let’s actually look at the individual case. So, for instance, we actually just had a veteran come through who had a claim for sleep apnnea and it was secondary to a service connected mental health condition. And the way that we helped him build this nexus is that it was through the medium of weight gain. Okay. So mental health is very well established and known to kind of cause dismotivation to do things, lack of activity and this kind of cycle of now weight starting to be gained. Some of these medications for mental health specifically are um causing weight gain. So now that that weight gain is there of in the scientific literature, sleep apneoa, the risk of that goes up a lot when someone is overweight or obese. And now we’re starting to see that link between the mental health condition claiming obstructive sleep apnea secondary to that through the medium of weight gain or even disturbed sleep because even when um sleep is disturbed it can cause weight gain. it can start to um affect and what we’ve seen too is even in the literature just that lack of motivation that mental health that poor sleep can cause different hormones to want to increase eating or increase hunger which leads to weight gain. And so it’s just simply being able to identify well is this mental health truly causing weight gain or is there you know chronic pain that’s linked to less activity that causes weight gain um regarding a sleep obstructive sleep apnnea. Okay, that makes sense. And I actually did a video and we call that you know in the radar world intermediate step. But let’s say the veteran is not obese, but they’re having nightmares. You know, Vietnam vet, Gulf War vet, they’re having nightmares. And I heard you mention interruption of sleep. So, if the veteran is not obese, is there still a connection there as well or not? And so, I think that’s really on an individual basis. And that’s where I would encourage, you know, hey, call in. You can get this free consultation. we can learn more specifically about the symptoms around your specific claim and we can really help you identify and think through that like yeah this could be connected in this manner or you know what there’s really not a connection there can we think through some other things that is affecting your health that might be more reasonable to like maybe it’s the insomnia rather than the sleep apnoa um if that’s a option right and I’m glad you you you explain it that Okay? Because, you know, veterans are paying for these DBQs and nexus statements. And I’ve, you know, talked to veterans and, you know, they’re being charged for Nexus statements when they’re just doing a simple increase. And I’m like, the nexus has already been established. You need to DBQ, not the nexus. So, I like when you say say when you stated, hey, we talk through it to see even if there is a connection. That way, they’re not, you know, wasting time and money. and you know going out and getting something that they don’t need. So thank you for pointing that out. So let’s keep going. We got a couple more questions. Um what is the process for veterans uh to obtain a DBQ and nexus statements from the organization? But most importantly, how long does it take? Sure. Okay, great question. So again, you can reach out on the website americanheroesmedicalservices.com. You can send an email to gregameanheroesmedmedical.com and what that will do is that will kind of start the process of we’ll get scheduled for a free again consultation at that front part to see are our services can we help you with those services and if so the next steps there is after you’ve made a decision to engage with us we will send and ask for records okay so this is that medical evidence that Dwayne’s always talking about you know you get your ducks in a rope you go ahead and you send us those things that are pertinent and important for your claim. We then the work starts immediately once we receive all your records. Um we’ll start on the work. We’ll start doing record review. We’ll start drafting any nexus uh getting you scheduled for DBQ exam if that’s something you need. And from there till uh we finish is about 30 days. What we’ll end up doing is once we have the drafts of things ready, we send it back to you. And that’s where if you’ve done your homework with Dwayne, it’s like, “Okay, let me read through this. Oh, this looks good.” Then we’ll go ahead and sign off on a copy and have it finalized. So, you’re very much a part of this. And we again encourage you to feel empowered to to own your claim and think of us just as a team member added to your uh VA claim along with your former raider. Here’s your now CMP examiners. And I and I really hope veterans take advantage when you said that you send the paper back the paperwork back for them to to review. and veterans. That is your chance to see if there is any information missing, left out, something that needs a better explanation because you’re going to need that before you send that paperwork to the VA because once it’s downrange, it’s downrange and it’s not coming back. Okay. All right. So, um just uh to wrap up, I just want to give you a chance to give any additional feedback. anything that you think that we left out up to this point? Yeah. Uh I think highlighting again, you know, Dwayne has a video for it. Uh he has plenty of content out there. The more prepared you come into that consultation. I think that’s the better benefit you’re going to get out of it because you’re really now starting to look for and even with the questions. If you have the questions, just come on and ask and we can really help you again help you get through this claim. We can’t do it for you. And Mr. Kimell has a lot of education out there that will walk you through some of these steps that you can independently go through. Uh like I said, I’m a member of his channel. I’m a member of his uh club where he’s doing these live sessions and he truly wants to help and that’s where American Heroes is coming in as well is that this combination we’re hoping that you have your own VA raider advice, you have your own CMP examiner uh strategy in place and you have a team set to go while you’re submitting your claim. Well, Dr. Hannis, thank you again for taking the time out of your busy schedule today. you provided a wealth of knowledge and veterans. Just make sure again that not only to continue to get educated on the VA claims process, but how that process can impact with your what you’re doing with your particular claim. And with that being said, make sure you like, subscribe, hit that notification button, and as always, share this video with your fellow veteran. Thank you. [Music]

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What YOU can LEARN from this video?

•🔹 What mental health professionals really look for when writing DBQs
•🔹 Why a weak or vague nexus can hurt your VA disability rating
• 🔹 Most veterans don’t realize how critical wording is in medical opinions
• 🔹 Pro tips to ensure your DBQ or nexus supports your claim

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Chapter List:
00:00 Introduction
02:04 Contact American Heroes Medical
11:03 Secondary Claim Example
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DISCLAIMER: KMD89 VA Claims Consulting is a consulting company that is not holding itself out as a representative of veterans in any capacity with any government agency of any kind. We are not advisers, claims agents, veteran service officers, medical/mental health professionals or VA representatives and do not represent anyone before the VA. These videos are for educational/informational purposes only, and anyone watching these videos understands that the information is for these purposes only and it is not to be solely relied upon for the Veterans Affairs compensation process as it is only a broad and general overview of the VA claims process. While it is possible to maximize your benefits, it’s solely your responsibility to become educated on the VA disability compensation claims process. It is imperative that you conduct your own research. I am merely sharing my opinion with no guarantee of any benefits.

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