john999

This has been going on for at least 40 years since I was in the Army. To the military the individual soldier is just a widget that is thrown on the scrap heap when it breaks. They don't want to pay to repair the damage so they have the personality disorder discharge. To illustrate: The soldier comes home from the combat zone and begins to drink and act out. These could be signs of PTSD, but it is much cheaper to just write him/her up as a PD and boot them out in a matter of days. That PD DX hangs around your neck because on your DD214 it will give reason for discharge chapter and verse. The VA then does all they can to reinforce the PD DX so they don't have to pay. John

There is no doubt that certain drugs like clonazepam make apnea worse. I notice in myself. Sometimes when I take oxycodone and clonazepam during the day time I will find myself snorting as if my throat is blocked. Weight gain will also do it. I wonder about sleep apnea and DMII. I have heard that PTSD and apnea have a connection. Old Ranger do you have SC for PTSD or anxiety problems? You have a lot on your plate with the AO claims and might be able to get to 100% just on those issues.

Have you told these things to a psychiatrist? You have symptoms of severe depression. You need help and just staying at home will not get it. I am not a MD but I recognize theses symptoms.

Wording like that is usually sucessful in getting TDIU claims approved. What is your rating as we speak? An 18 month time frame is not unusual for claims of any sort at any VARO.

If the neck cancer is SC then residuals of treatments would be SC. File a claim!

There probably is a difference between the brains of people with PTSD and those without PTSD. To show that PTSD causes the brain damage you would have to explain just how this happens. What is the mechanism or chemical changes that take place that damage the brain? I lot of people with PTSD have TBI's but one does not cause the other. There is a third factor that may cause both things like being blown up by an IED. Also, many of those with PTSD may be long term or chronic users of drugs or alcohol to self medicate.

Pete992 I have a deviated septum so I need to have my mouth open to breath. Maybe I will need to see ENT guy to get my nose fixed if possible. Right now I feel pretty depressed about my problems with the cpap.

You have to ask if that is what they are going to do Reddit. I had two studies done. One without the mask and one with the mask. The lab report said the mask solved the problem. Problem solved but I am dead on my feet. My problem is I am between a doctor, a hospital and an appliance provider. John

I have OSA. The sleep lab said I stopped breathing up to 45 seconds at a time. Also my oxygen absorbtion level dropped to 76 at one point. I know the pills I take don't help since narcotics and clonazepam tend to relax the throat. I even wake myself up with loud snorts sometimes. I play with the mask tightening it here and then having air loss some place else. I have to get it pretty tight to stop the air flow loss. It is hard to get a good seal without pinching my nose. I am dedicated to using it but I still don't want to believe I have to use this thing for the rest of my days. My sleep is not better since I wake up even more often. The damn mask makes all kinds of squeaking and farting noises when I am adjusting it. It blows pretty hard since it will blow my cheeks out when I open my mouth. I really don't know how I sleep at all with this thing. I want to keep living so I will keep using it. Somebody should write a comedy routine about the wonderful cpap. John

I have having quite a bit of trouble with my Cpap. It drys me out even though it has a humidifier. Getting it to fit my face without pain after a few hours is almost impossible. I have had two changes in masks already. Am I the only one who has these problems? Is there a List or blog where people discuss solutions to problems with cpaps and sleep apnea? John

Papa What exactly are k&K representing you for? If the Nehmer cases has nothing to do with your K&K issues then I would contact the Nehmer class action lawyers and try and get the eed for DMII. The class action is really not part of your claim with K&K, but you could let them know and let them know what you are going to do. I filed a CUE claim while I was being represented by K&K that had nothing to do with the case they were representing me for. There were no fallout.

I had to use IMO's for my mental health issues to establish a decent percentage rating. I am SC for 6 other issues and I never had IMO's for those issues. These are all presumptives and secondary presumptives that did not require IMO's. To get rated TDIU I needed 4 IMO's. Finally, I got a retired VA psychiatrist who was in private practice to write an IMO for me. That did it. I worked at it and I am still working at it.

I don't know about any presumptives for sleep apnea but I know it can kill you. Get checked for it and treated for it if you have it and then worry about claiming it. I was DX'ed with it a few months ago. I now have a CPAP and I am getting used to it. What it is is that you stop breathing while you are sleeping. This puts strain on your heart and one day you may not wake up if you don't get treatment. I have heard of vets get apena secondary to PTSD, but it is not easy.

IMO=Independent medical opinion

If a person can fire or even work near 105 and/or 155's without hearing protection and not suffer hearing loss they are superman.

You need a good IMO on the TBI. It is a known fact that TBI can cause all the behaviors you listed. My father-in-law had a TBI and he was never the same. He was totally out of it for about a year. He could not control some of his behavior and had seizures. You cannot depend on the VA to help you when they cannot even recognize possible personality changes due to TBI. If I was you I would go for 100%. Did you get purple hearts for the TBI's?

OPM is the easiest type of disability to get. It is much easier than SSD or VA. If you are 100% from the VA there is no way OPM would deny your disability. You have to get the right forms and have a doctor fill in the parts that are for medical. I got SSD, OPM and VA. I just aged out of the FERS offset for SSD. You are probably CSRS so SSD may not matter to you. If you are FERS you can get SSD and OPM. If the USPS continues to give you trouble file for workers compensation. John

I would file for an increase. Have you had your legs checked out for poor circulation? You have a big worry with your feet. Is your IHD secondary to the DMII? Really it is your overall health you need to worry about unless you are still working. Do you get TDIU?

The VA should not be using the same doctor for two c&p exams.

If you were subjected to loud noise from Arty but did not have Arty MOS could you still use that as evidence for hearing damage? How do you prove this 40 years later?

As I have said before the VA nor the DOD do their own medical science on presumptives. They leave it up to the IOM. The IOM is great at spliting hairs. They have X amount of evidence that AO is a cause of prostate cancer, but not enough to show it might very well cause colon cancer. In 30 years the IOM will probably just say it is likely that AO exposure if a significant cause of all sorts of cancer, but 90% of us will already be dead. I predict the last living Vietnam vet will die from a presumptive AO disease.

Every TBI you have increases the damage and risk. 0% for TBI should be appealed. If you can show any symptoms or any aggravation of existing symptoms that should be good for some percentage above 0%. Get more tests. You do this by complaining to your PCP. Get a referral to a shrink if you don't have one already. The military has made thousands of erroneous personality disorder diagnoses for everything from PTSD to schizophrenia. Half the people that use this list have had incorrect PD DX'es. It is easy to kick someone out of the military as a PD. They don't have to pay a dime and everyone is happy except the poor vet who may have a TBI or bipolar disorder for all they know. John

The VA does not hide things from vets as much as they just don't mention them. How many Vietnam vets know that they can get compensation for the many forms of IHD? I was talking to a Vietnam vet about a week ago and he asked me if I ever had the AO Registry Exam. I said I had it about ten years ago. This vet said he took it and the doctors said there was nothing he had that was presumptive. I am looking at this guy and he is a walking heart attack. He has risk factors all over the place. It is not up to me to lecture him on his life style and the fact AO adds a whole new level of risk to having lung cancer or a heart attack. I wonder if the doctor doing the AO exam pointed out that he is probably going to die from an AO type disease? He may not have it this minute but he is going to get it.

Heroin was a treatment for morphine addiction. Methadone is a treatment for heroin addiction. Suboxone is a treatment for opiate addiction. I would not take it unless I was willing to admit to all that I was an opiate addict.

Young and severely disabled vets are usually brokes as well unless the VA has already recognized their disabilites and granted them 100%. The ones doing the fighting can't even find jobs so how can they afford IMO's.