Doc904

The only way to resolve your knee damage is with surgery, I was in pain for three months waiting for my surgery, now the pain has gone away. As far as the obesity walking would be the best thing for your weight, when you can't walk any longer your setting yourself up for a wheel chair so keep moving. You can also walk in a pool that will take the weight off your knees until you drop a few pound. Set your goal like 5 lbs at a time don't start off by setting a goal of say 50 or 100 lbs because you'll set yourself up for failure, been there done that. Get the surgery needed and try to move forward with your life. Like they say once you stop moving, you'll never get moving again. Wish you the best of luck and file that VA claim!!! Doc904

most of the time type 2 diabetes comes before the high blood pressure. diabetes is the "silent Killer" is what they call it because it distories your body and all major organs without you knowing it until it's to late. So take warning if you have type 2 diabetes and do what you need to do to keep from going on insulin or other medications. I wish someone had told me to walk 2 miles a day and go on a diabetic diet when I came down with diabetes. I had a friend who came down with diabetes and I told him to walk 2 miles a day , watch what he ate and in three months he had lost 33 lbs and didn't require any medications at that time. Wish I was that lucky. Doc904

Well I guess growing up under the flight path to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, and getting jet fuel dumped on me all the time could have been the start of my type II diabetes. My two sisters also have it. Being at Naval Airstations while in the Navy and also flying Medevac's in the Coast Guard and exposure to JP 4, 5 and 8, I guess it's possible this caused my problems also my COPD, asthma etc. Doc904

You can't go into the militarty if your a diabetic period. So when you get out and become diabetic it's most likely do to weight gain while in the military or after the military or stress during the military. Anyone who was in the military prior to 1997 the limit for blood glucose was 160 if you were near that they would call you "Borderline". You can ask any doctor today there is no such thing as borderline, your either a diabetic or your not a diabetic. Sleep apnea also could have caused your diabetes, did anyone in the service ever tell you that you snored to much? Bingo that's your answer then. Good luck. Doc904

I was in the military medical field for 21 years. At that time the line was 160 for a blood sugar reading if you were over that you had diabetes, now it's 124 according to the ADA. Also being in the military I was running 9 miles a day and watching what I was eating, all this was doing was hidding the diabetes and it didn't pop up it's mean head until I was in nursing school after I retired. Going to school 5 days a week and 8 hours plus a day, didn't leave any time for running the 9 miles a day, so hear came the diabetes and it took over my life. So most people in the military do PT or you wouldn't be able to stay in the military, it's after you get out that the diabetes will hit you, stress also causes it, sleep apnea etc. Good Luck, Doc904

Barretts Esophagus is nothing to ignore if you have it file a claim with the VA, it can be secondary to PTSD, depression, weight gain, type II diabetes, stress, sleep apnea etc. If you have a Dx of Barretts Esophagus you need and endoscopic exam every year. Barretts is in between GERD and Esophagial cancer which you have to watch out for can only be Dx'd by the exam. I'm on nexium 40mg twice a day and that seams to keep it at bay. If I have a bad case of reflux I eat Bananna Popsicles one after the other until the reflux cools down, nothing else works, except if I'm on the road, a cold Coke Cola will keep the reflux down and cool off the Esophagus until I get to a store to get the Bannana Popsicles, no other flavor works I've tried them all and the Coke Cola will only hold back the burning until you get the popsicle. No over the counter meds work. It was not until I was given Nexium twice a day did my reflux go away. I still don't eat anything that's hot with spice that's a big now. I also consider even one reflux episode one step closer to cancer, if you get Esophagal cancer and it's not cought at the get to you have less then 5 years to live, so think hard before you ignore this problem. Another sign that you might have Barretts Esophagus is a dry cough like a "cough cough" is all you get now and then, that's your body reacting to a reflux you can't feel and is a warning sign that you might have Barretts Esophague, don't let your doctor tell you it's a side effect of the blood pressure med your on, that's what mine said and two years after that I told the doctor I wanted the exam done to rule out Barretts Esophagus, which I've had now for 23 years, still taking the Nexium twice a day, Bannanna Popsicles on standby and endoscopic exam every year. Warning eating antacids is what caused my Barretts Esophagus and stress in the military. I had a doctor I worked with warm me that antacids could cause me to get cancer and he was right. Now I'm filing a VA Service connected claim . If I have one case of reflux a year that's one to many, for the past ten or more years I've either had one reflux a year mostly when I eat out and don't know what's put in the food now I always say "NO HOT PEPPERS OR SPICE"...Hopefully this will help one of my Vets out there. Doc904

Sleep apnea, bottom line... It's an obstructed airway, which reduces the flow of air into your lungs and other vital organs such as the heart and brain. If Sleep apnea is left untreated and you don't use your C-PAP if you have one, you might die in your sleep or die from complications of other medical problems such as heart failure or storke secondary to your Sleep Apnea. Get those issues taken care of first then take it up with the VA for your service connected disability. Being in the military medical field for 21 years, you the patient have to be on top of things, don't expect your doctor to find everything wrong with you, it's up to you to keep him or her informed as to your health. If your not happy with the doctor you have find another one, be your own advocate when it comes to your health. Best of luck...Doc904

I have never seen an active duty member on a C-PAP or Bi-PAP in my 21 years in the military medical field. Chances are if you required this equipment on active duty you'd have been medically boarded out of the service because you wouldn't be 100% Fit for Full Duty, being on a machine limits the type of duty you can do, there fore your not 100% Fit for Full Duty. However I remember many ships I was on there was always one or two or more in quarters that kept me up all night snoring their butts off, most those guys are either dead now or on C-PAP and Bi-PAP machines after they got out of the service. Did they have sleep apnea while in the service , yes most likely, was it noted in their medical records, nope or they would have been discharged with a medical board. Is their sleep apena service connected, yep, because if you had it before you entered the service you wouldn't have passed your physical and been prevented from going into the service. Just like diabetes, can't get in the service with it, will get discharged from the service if you have it, and so goes with other medical issues after the service. Good Luck, keep fighting until you get what you want. Doc904

Service Connected Sleep Apnea...Being a retired military medical person, there are many health problems that link back to Sleep Apnea, Reflux, snoring, high blood pressure, depression, PTSD, type 2 diabetes, heart problems, weight problems, and the list goes on. Weight problems are recorded in your service record as well as your medical record, and all branches of the service have had a weight program for the past 25 years, and if you were ever on this, I'm sure that is one of the causes of your sleep apnea, you don't find out that it caused sleep apnea until you get out and all the other bad medical problems start after discharge. When they do a discharge physical on you , they to the basis physical, they don't want to find any problems that will delay your discharge or retirement or require a medical board. They tell you most of the time, "Just go to the VA when you get out if you have a problem", to avoid your discharge delay. On my retirement physical I had a couple of medical problems I wanted addressed and written down on my physical, the senior medical officer had a fit when he saw them on my physical because it required medical consults and follow ups before my physical was complete, I also refused to sign off on my physical until it was to my satisfaction not his. Also I was in charge of the physical exam clinic at the time, helps to know people lol. Most people who have served in the military know it's all to easy for someone to tell you "NO", then it is for them to say "OK", so you go up the chain of command, everyone's got a boss higher then them, so when you get a "NO" answer, keep trying, if all else fails get you a Lawyer they will win the case for you. Keep on trying until you find that person who will say "Yes you have a disability" they owe that to you for your service to your country. To many Vets are forgotten once you get that discharge paper. I think the military should require a physical of it retired Vets every 5 years just to follow up on service related problems that get you when you leave the service. I think that would be a good preventive medicine and help those out on active duty to avoid things that will knock you down once discharged or retired. Why are we the forgotten ones, after our service? Doc904