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VA Compensation and Pension (C&P) Exams

Prepare for your C&P Exam - Eat your pizza

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OVERVIEW

Everyone's situation is different and varied, so I couldn't, and shouldn't, try to guide you in preparing for your specific issues. Still, at a Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam, you are being evaluated on how far you can move, your range of motion, AND how your issues and conditions affect your quality of life, especially when they flare up. The flare-up is your worst day, and when you go into the C&P exam, it may be your worst day, but there is a chance it won't. The Exam Pizza and the questions you should answer for each issue or condition are how you describe your worst day. Also, the C&P examiner may not ask you anything about flare-ups; if that happens, TELL THEM ANYWAYS. This is your chance to lay it all out, so get real.

What is the EXAM PIZZA?

The Exam Pizza is a way to demonstrate how your Range of Motion (ROM) plus a Flare-Up can help complete the total picture of how your condition affects you. Your ROM is something measurable. You must move in ways to demonstrate how far your ROM is.

So, for example, today is your C&P exam, and you are having a pretty good day. The examiner measures your ROM, and you can halfway bend your knee until you hit your normal stopping point because of pain. However, when it FLARES UP, you may be unable to move it without considerable pain. So, how do you describe this? You answer these six questions.

These six questions for FLARE-UPS help you complete that Exam Pizza and may add 10-30% to your condition because it affects your quality of life.

The six questions are:

  1. When did this start?

  2. What CAN YOU DO when it comes to this condition when it is FLARED UP?

  3. What you CAN’T DO when it comes to this condition when it is FLARED UP?

  4. What do you NEED HELP WITH (Assistance) when it comes to this condition when it is FLARED UP?

  5. How does this condition make YOU FEEL PHYSICALLY when it is FLARED UP?

  6. How does this condition make YOU FEEL EMOTIONALLY when it is FLARED UP?

You will need to answer these questions for every condition.

Specifically for question #1, this is not the FIRST TIME you finally decided to see the nurse or doctor; this is when that issue started for you during your military service.

My experience: My experience: I grabbed a notebook and wrote a table of contents, giving each page a single condition, leaving enough room to answer all the questions. Out of the potential 60 areas in which I could have conditions, I had 29. ** This list is NOT all-inclusive; you may have issues and conditions not on this list. Add them to your notebook and answer the six questions. **

Then, on each page, I answered the six questions above for each condition. IT WILL feel like homework, but you need to be HONEST with the answers. Remember, this is your C&P exam, your story, your percentages, and ultimately, your possible compensation for what you have put your body, mind, and family through during your time in the military.

Here is what I wrote for questions 2 through 6 for Bilateral Knee Condition; remember, this is on my WORST DAY.

What CAN YOU DO when it comes to this condition when it is FLARED UP?

I can do limited things that require lifting - picking up things. As long as I wear the knee brace the Army gave me, I can walk about one mile to walk my dog with my wife. I can walk up and down stairs with a handrail. I get a sharp pain behind my kneecap.

What you CAN’T YOU when it comes to this condition when it is FLARED UP?

I can't do chores around the house, such as vacuuming, cleaning the floor, or folding the laundry. I can't walk the dog even a 1/4 of a mile. I can't stand for longer than 30 minutes, and I can't clean the floor or bend down with my knees on the floor.

What do you NEED HELP WITH (Assistance) when it comes to this condition when it is FLARED UP?

I need help with anything that requires lifting, twisting, or bending my knee. I can't drive for more than one hour. I need help getting out of bed when I wake up, and my knee is locked up. If I've been on my feet for a good portion of the day, I may be laid on the couch for the rest of the evening.

How does this condition make YOU FEEL PHYSICALLY when it is FLARED UP?

If I've been on my feet for a good portion of the day, I may be laid up on the couch for the rest of the evening because it's in constant pain. I'm in some pain throughout the entire day, as it will have a dull ache or throbbing pain behind the kneecap, but I'll have a sharp pain behind the kneecap when it flares up.

How does this condition make YOU FEEL EMOTIONALLY when it is FLARED UP?

I feel like a physically weak individual that, at 49, I can't do what would be normal things. I can't enjoy playing sports with my god-children because I can't do quick physical sports movements. It bothers me that I can only help my wife around the house for a limited time. I feel sad sometimes that it limits my opportunities to do fun things with my family or that we have to plan our trips around my limitations.

Again, tell your story, tell your story, and tell it again.

The 60 possible areas in which you could have conditions. ** This list is NOT all-inclusive; you may have issues and conditions not on this list. Add them to your notebook and answer the six questions. **

The 60 possible areas in which you could have conditions. ** This list is NOT all-inclusive; you may have issues and conditions not on this list. Add them to your notebook and answer the six questions. **

  1. Bilateral Eye Condition

  2. Hearing Loss

  3. Tinnitus

  4. Mental Disorder / Depression, Anxiety, PTSD Combat, PTSD MST, and Insomnia

  5. Traumatic Brain Injury / IED and RPG Blast Iraq and Afghanistan, Airborne Operation, Training Exercise, Combative Training

  6. Tempomandibular Joint (TMJ)

  7. Sleep Apnea w/CAP, 09/15/2021, STR Sleep Study PGs 1-10

  8. Bilateral Ear Condition / Vertigo, Dizziness and Balance Issues

  9. Migraines

  10. Broken Cheek Bone

  11. Broken Jawbone

  12. Bilateral Clavicle Condition

  13. Bilateral Shoulder Condition

  14. Bilateral Forearm Condition

  15. Bilateral Elbow Condition

  16. Bilateral Wrist Condition

  17. Bilateral Carpal Tunnel

  18. Bilateral Hand Condition

  19. Neck Condition

  20. Back Condition

  21. Bilateral Hip Condition

  22. Bilateral Thigh Muscle Condition

  23. Bilateral Hamstring Muscle Condition

  24. Bilateral Knee Condition

  25. Bilateral Tibia Shin Splint Condition

  26. Bilateral Ankle Condition

  27. Bilateral Foot Condition

  28. Plantar fasciitis

  29. Degenerative Joint Disease DID

  30. Degenerative Disc Disease DDD / Cervical, Thoracic and Lumbar

  31. Seizures (What Type of Seizures, disorder Tonicrolonic, Epilepsy, Syncope)

  32. High Blood Pressure / On Medication

  33. Erectile Dysfunction

  34. FSAD (Female Sexual Arousal Disorder)

  35. Bilateral Testicle Condition

  36. Skin Rashes / Eczema, Psoriasis and Acne

  37. Skin Condition

  38. Heart Condition / Irregular Heartbeat, Chest Pain, Heart Murmur

  39. Lungs Condition / Trouble Breathing and Shortness of Breath, Asthma, on Inhaler, COVID-19 Positive Date

  40. Liver Condition

  41. Kidney Condition

  42. Uterus Condition

  43. Bilateral Breast Condition

  44. Scars (Location and Size)

  45. Sinusitis Condition

  46. Hernia Condition / Inguinal, Incisional, Umbilical, Hiatal and Femoral Hernias

  47. Acid Reflux

  48. Diabetes Type I & II

  49. Bilateral Bunions Condition

  50. Bilateral Toenail Fungus

  51. Athletes Foot

  52. Hemorrhoids / Internal and External

  53. Bladder Condition / Trouble with Urination, Frequent Urination, Leakage

  54. Thyroid Condition / Hyperthyroid / Hypothyroid

  55. Kidney Stone

  56. Amputee (List of Limb)

  57. Gastroenteritis Condition Constant Diarrhea

  58. Removal of Gallbladder

  59. Fibromyalgia / Chronic Widespread Musculoskeletal Pain w/Fatigue

  60. Diverticulitis