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Calgunners in Service This forum is a place for our active duty and deployed members to share, request and have a bit of home where ever they are. |
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#1
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Denied sleep apnea
Anyone have any tips on service connecting sleep apnea? I developed pretty severe sleep apnea symptoms but pretty much just put up with it but made my life hell. I saw my commands coreman and tjat lazy piece of **** claimed i was hypoglycemic but said he would send me to medical later because he had to do paper work i kept bugging him and bugging him to send me but shortly after that my contract was up, was involved in car accident due to falling asleep behind wheel, have letters from people i served with about how i fell asleep on watch and how bad i snored, i developed depression and high blood preassure which are symptoms of sleep apnea and i was approved by the va for depression. When i filed my sleep apnea claim i was given an appointment for my sleep study and while i waited for my appointment i received a letter from va stating i was denied sleep apnea because i jad no record of it in service but makes no sense to me tjat they would make an appointment and deny it right away before my appointment, anyways i went to my sleep study and i was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and after waiting a year for VA i couldnt take it anymore so i saw a private physician and received a cpap machine with the sleep study from the VA. I am about to file an appeal but want to know if any one has any tips on what they did to service connect it.
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#2
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I don't know anything about how the military or VA works, but I do have sleep apnea and it's a horrible medical condition to have. Sleep apnea is a chronic condition. It's not something you catch quickly like the flu. You've probably had it for years. The best treatments are CPAP mask (it sucks to wear a mask to sleep but it's much, much better than being tired and foggy all the time) or a properly crafted mouthpiece from a dentist who treats sleep apnea (I have one and it cost $1800 but was worth it. I used to wear the CPAP mask.) Perhaps you can find a doctor or dentist to diagnose it and write you a letter stating that you've likely had it for years? I advise you to get sleep apnea treated ASAP even if you have to pay for it yourself. Sleep apnea can ruin your health and severely limit your progress in life over time. Good luck to you.
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#3
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I have a patient that was stuck in the VA nebula and got help from the OC Veterans Service Office. If you don't live in Orange County, they may be able to refer you to a local resource for assistance. Hope you get the matter resolved.
http://www.veterans.ocgov.com/ |
#4
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I have severe sleep apnea with a cpap machine and it does well for great sleeps. The VA had sleep apnea at 50% disability but it's since gone down to 30% disability. That happened I think in 2015.
You need full documentation, write-ups, sleep study and recommendations while active duty. Did you have any of that? Did you make at least 3 copies of your medical record before you retired or separated? The VA needs these documents to be able to rate you. |
#5
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When I left the Army, I went through Disabled American Veterans group. They did all the paperwork for me. They have tons of offices through the country and if you live too far away you can do a lot of stuff via mail and email. You should check them out.
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#6
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How can you prove your sleep apnea is service related?
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__________________
Be sure to ask your doctor if depression, rectal bleeding, and suicide are right for you. In the United States a person's expertise on a subject is inversely proportional to their knowledge of the subject: The less they know about something, the more they become an expert on it. I am being held hostage in a giant insane asylum called Earth. |
#7
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That's upto the VA and the documentation you give them (it should show your history and recommendations while active duty). Always always make sure you make copies of your health record before you depart or retire from service.
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#8
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Good news, just got a call from the DRO at the VA and they said my sleep apnea claim was approved. The appeal process was pretty fast, it took about one month. I still dont know what precentage i will receive, i will just have to be patient and find out. I know some one here said that the rating was lowered but i cant find any information on that.
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#9
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Wait. You filed an appeal and had a DRO hearing and a decision for claimant (you) in a month!? BS! What city are you in? It does make a difference. Look up 38 CFR. Book C.
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#10
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IMO, they can't. As you get fatter and/or drink too much, apnea happens.
Every .gov retirement system is being played hard at various levels. |
#12
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Yea, trust me i am just as surprised, my neighbor has been fighting it for like 3 years already. I pretty much just submitted all my paperwork very well put together an organized so it was dummy proof and they didnt jave to do the work, along with a very strongly written but professional letter stating that it is connected to my allergic rhinitis. so over all about a month. Still waiting to hear what i will be rated at though, checked ebenefits and still hasnt been updated it.
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#15
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they say i have it. got the pump. sleep is still bad. tired all the time.
heck 100% of the pop snore. and a great deal of men have necks over 16 inches. so why ? good luck with your case.
__________________
big gun's...i love big gun's |
#16
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That's good. Everyone I have seen since 2015 has gotten 30%. Good to hear. Plus folks have waited 12 months for theirs to come back with documentation while active duty. From what I read you didn't have any of that and still got rated? That's awesome.
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#17
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Yea it wasnt easy at all my life has been hell since i started feeling the effects of sleep apnea. while technically it wasnt in my medical record because i was misdiagnosed, i had alot of strong evidence. Ive had surgery recently from my rhinitis because i havent been able to breathe through my nose at all so even though i had a cpap it was ineffective since my nose was conpletely blocked. I wasnt getting help from va and they where taking too long so i had to go to outaide physicians, so i was very proactive. I did not wait for the va. So once i filed my appeal put it all together, i did not want them to do any work i wanted them to juat look at my paperwork and have no choice but to grant me a rating. Still waiting on an increase for rhinitis though.
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