Jim,

I have a pending claim for Erectile Dysfunction with the VA. My wife and I would like to submit statements in support of my claim. Can you give me some suggestions as to what we should include in these statements? I am service connected for PTSD, and have submitted a letter from my pyschiatrist, and info from my medical doctor will follow. Thank you for your assistance.

Reply:

As a rule you must have a confirmed medical basis for ED. Diabetes or prostate cancer are the usual suspects. Once you have a medical diagnosis, there is no reason to provide statements in support of your claim.

The medical diagnosis is best if from a board certified urologist. That is the specialty physician who most often diagnoses and treats ED.

The statement in support of claim from a spouse or civilian acquaintance is not always given any weight as evidence by VA. The spouse isn't a medical professional and the attitude of VA is, "What would your spouse be expected to say?" In other words, statements from friends, spouses, pastors or teachers are assumed to be somewhat biased in your favor and aren't as credible as a health care professional's statement would be.

If you claim that PTSD is the cause of your ED, that's perfectly reasonable. You should seek confirmation by a urologist. The often claimed cause of ED in a person being treated for PTSD is the psychiatric medicines that are used in treatment. Many of those medicines will carry warnings of such negative side effects. In any ED claim the veteran should always carefully review his medication regimen with the urologist to make a determination of the effects of all of his prescribed meds.

Bottom line...rather than spend any time on statements from your wife, work to get an appointment with a urologist to get the confirmation of the diagnosis of ED. That will help you to prevail in your claim without need for any future appeals.