Why 100% Shouldn’t Be Your Goal (From Someone Who Has It)

The Rating Measures Loss, Not Victory

I’m rated 100% Permanent & Total by the VA. That’s not a badge of honor. That’s documentation that my body is fundamentally incompatible with competitive employment.

Here’s what the “claim sharks” don’t tell you: the goal shouldn’t be to “hit 100%”. To join the “hundo club”. The goal should be to get accurately compensated for your actual functional limitations. To get the compensation – and medical care – that you deserve.

What The Rating Actually Means

If you’re genuinely 70%, don’t chase 100%. The extra money isn’t worth building your case on exaggerated symptoms that won’t hold up under scrutiny.

The Claim Shark Problem

The disability claim industry is full of operators who:

• Promise to “maximize your rating”
• Encourage you to emphasize worst-case scenarios
• Treat VA disability like a lottery you’re trying to win
• Charge predatory fees (sometimes 30%+ of back pay)

That’s not advocacy. That’s exploitation.

What Honest Documentation Looks Like

When I documented my Multiple Sclerosis for my rating increase, I didn’t exaggerate. I didn’t cherry-pick my worst days. I began to document patterns:

• 118 episodes over 57 days
• 29 days classified as “manageable” by SSA standards
• 28 days where functional capacity dropped below 50%
• Specific symptom clusters: vertigo + vision + cognitive fog

The data spoke for itself. I didn’t need to lie.

Why This Matters

Every person who games the system:

• Makes it harder for legitimately disabled veterans to be believed
• Feeds the narrative that VA disability is full of fraudsters
• Damages the credibility of the entire program
• Makes examiners more skeptical of everyone

If you can work, work.

Get the rating that matches your actual limitations and use VA healthcare to manage your condition.

If you can’t work, document why – honestly. That’s what TrackMySymptoms is for.

My Responsibility as 100% P&T Disabled Veteran

I didn’t chase this rating. Candidly, I’d prefer that I wouldn’t have needed it. But my body forced it on me. And now that I have it, I have a responsibility to:

• Not abuse it by pretending I’m more disabled than I am
• Document honestly so my rating reflects reality
• Advocate for others to get fair compensation without exploitation
• Build tools that help people navigate the system without claim sharks

That’s why TrackMySymptoms doesn’t promise to “maximize your rating.”

It promises to document your reality accurately – to help you get what you actually deserve. No more, no less.