Question:

Hi Jim, I have reached out to the DAV, VFW and even a lawyer that I thought specialized in VA claims. I am currently 80% and would like to find someone that can help in getting a doctor's nexus letter for a secondary condition or  would it be necessary because I have had a total of 7 surgeries on my spine. 4 in my lumbar, 3 being microdiscetomy and one fusion and 1 microdiscetomy and 2 fusions in my cervical. I never submitted my cervical secondary to my lumbar and I would also like to submit for Somatic Symptom disorder as well since it is well documented for the chronic pain I have and I have all the surgeries documented as well. Thank you for any help you can provide.

Jim's Reply:

We don't talk much about nexus letters these days, we are more likely to refer to the IMO...the Independent Medical Opinion. The IMO is a review of pertinent records by an expert physician and an opinion written based on that review. I refer to a small handful of physicians and psychologists across America because this is a very specialized process and not just any health professional will be able to write in terms the VA needs to hear. For more about how this works please click https://www.vawatchdog.org/imo-ime-medical-opinions-exams.html