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afvetwife2000

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  1. Also.. I was informed today by someone that because my husband received severance pay for his heart condition (after being on TDRL) that it will have to be paid back. He is rated at 0% for heart but now 50% for sleep apnea. His sleep apnea was not a reason that he was separated... it was only because of his heart. In fact.. sleep apnea was found a few days before he went on TDRL. So... can they really hold his sleep apnea pay to pay back that severance?
  2. Thanks for the information. He has SVT and doesn't go to the ER or hospital when having episodes. So according to the rules... he needs at least 4 recordings in a year on EKG. He currently has a holter monitor to get them...
  3. Got the packet in today. It shows that he'll get backpay from Nov. 2015 for the 30% until Aug. 2016 when they got info that he was prescribed a Bipap. Here's the thing.. they are holding his backpay. It says that is because he is retired.... He's NOT. He was separated in Oct. 2015 from TDRL. He just called and they told him it could be 2 months for it to go through DFAS to show he isn't retired and then get the backpay. Also said the reg pay won't start until Nov 2016
  4. So far, no back pay has come in. We downloaded his benefits form and this is what it states: Gross Benefit Amount: 836.13 Net amount paid: 0.00 Effective date: Sept. 01, 2016 Combined Evaluation: 50 percent His case closed on 9/22/2016. We are a little confused on the effective date. He submitted his claim some time in June, 2016. That included a form from his sleep study done with the VA while active duty that stated he had severe sleep apnea. So he already had a diagnosis on file from active duty. He was not issued a machine at that time though. About a month ago he was asked to do another sleep study so they could adjust settings on cpap/bipap machine to issue it to him. He did that and picked up his Bipap machine about 2 weeks ago. Would that have anything to do with his effective date being later than when he filed? He did already have a service related rating of 0% related to heart problems that he will be appealing later on ( one thing at a time right now). So the sleep apnea was the only open case. Can anyone let me know when he should be expecting his pay to start and also, because of the effective date.. would he be getting backpay? Thank you!
  5. Update: My husband was ordered a new sleep study with the VA sleep lab.. Not for diagnostic reasons but to prescribe him a Bipap machine. They wanted to do the study and adjust the machine to see what he needed. He picked up his bipap machine yesterday and today the ebenifits site shows his claim was completed and in disabilities he is rated at 50% on the site. We are a little confused as to why the effective date is for Aug. 29 when he reopened his claim on June 06, 2016. Does anyone have any idea why they would have done that? He tried calling but the man he spoke with said he couldn't tell him anything and he'd have to wait to get his paperwork in the mail. Also.. he is set up for direct deposit... what's the time on that looking like these days? Thanks!
  6. Just clarifying when my husband got out of the military. His last day of active duty was back in 2011. When you go on TDRL and then separate, the day before you went on TDRL is considered your last day of active duty since TDRL is counted just like being retired. His first sleep study was done 5 days before going on TDRL. So technically it's been 5 years since he was diagnosed while still active duty and his current diagnosis.... not within one year.
  7. He actually had his sleep study with the VA sleep lab last night. They wanted an updated study since his last was in 2011. He said they had him wear the CPAP stuff so they could get settings correct (that's what he gathered from what they told him). It will take about a week for the dr to review over the results to see what he needs. His claim is actually past the date of estimated closure but we are hoping they haven't made the final decision (although on phone they told him it was in decision pending or something like that) so we can add the updated info next week.
  8. Thank you for the encouraging words. I was delightfully surprised that our VA sleep lab got in contact with us and scheduled his sleep study for next week. I thought it would have been a little further out. My husband said they told him they are going to hook him up to the machine to get the settings correct while he's sleeping. He is horrible about not asking questions or remembering details of a conversation so that was his summary of the call. I assume they meant the CPAP machine since they know he needs it. I'm new to what a "nexus" is.. Can he ask the doctor at the sleep lab to write him one next week? We also found out that he should be getting the claim decision next week even though Ebenefits is still in review of evidence.
  9. I appreciate the responses, they have really helped me understand this better and know what I needed to look more into. Obviously, I am very new to this (as is my husband). After more digging into some past posts on this site and utilizing google.. I think I understand that my husband is "good" as far as proving his sleep apnea is service connected. I think what we missed was keeping that diagnosis up to day to prove it's still ongoing. I am in contact with our VA sleep lab and more than likely they are going to schedule another sleep study. I'm certain it will confirm he still has OSA. I have been writing my spouse statement this morning and then will need the "nexus". I think he's going to be denied this go around but feeling more confident in the next time.
  10. I just joined this site and made a post similar to yours. My husband had a sleep study done a few weeks before he went on TDRL. I was positive for severe obstructive sleep apnea. That was five years ago and between then and now he hasn't sought medical help for it. We are hoping they don't deny his claim.
  11. would B. in service event or aggravation qualify as the sleep study? It shows that he obviously was having an "event" while in service since it was while he was still active duty. As far as current diagnosis.. the dr may order a new sleep study they said. If he doesn't, he'll go ahead and set him up for a CPAP. As far as a nexus.. that's new to us.. would the DBQ suffice seeing as though it ask if it the apnea is connected to time in service?
  12. Thanks for the replies. Like stated before.. he did have a sleep study done while active duty ( he was finishing his vacation time before getting on TDRL) and it stated he has Obstructive Sleep Apnea. But it's just that nothing was ever followed up on. He did not have any discharge medical exams. To put it a little more clear.. He was stationed in Rota, Spain when they said he would go on TDRL. He was never given any medical exams during processing out of Rota. They flew us to our home state to let him finish out his vacation before TDRL kicked in. When we got to home state, that is when he requested the sleep study. But other than that.. he did not have any discharge exams done.. not even when they took him off TDRL and separated him. During the past 5 years he has not seen a doctor for SA or complained at appts of the symptoms caused by SA. I guess I am just unsure if a diagnosis from 5 years ago when he was still considered active duty with nothing else will be enough. I did call the VA sleep center today and they said that he will probably need another study done for the CPAP to be prescribed... but the dr will let us know tomorrow. Our local medical clinic will not complete a DBQ form for him because they did not diagnose him.. although the VA sleep lab implied they wouldn't either and he should have had it completed at his C&P. The C&P appt. back in may, he said sleep apnea wasn't brought up by the dr .. only his heart condition and ringing in the ears (flight line job). He didn't know he needed to be the one to bring up everything because he thought the dr was just going on what she would need to know ( we assumed she had a copy of what his claim included). We weren't aware that there was a DBQ form then.
  13. Thank you for your response. He has SVT that is very hard to control and that is why he was put on TDRL. They said he has to have at least 3 recorded events (like ekg, holter monitor) a year to prove he still has the condition. Since we live 30 minutes away from the hospital he usually sits it out at home until his heart returns to normal rhythm.. We can't rush to the ER every time it happens because he can go away within a minute but has lasted over 24 hours. It can only be captured as it's happening. He has went in when it was more severe but not 3 times per year every year for the past 5 years. He has an appoint with a cardiologist in Sept for a holter monitor then we can appeal it. My husband is under the impression his discharge date is the date when he went ON tdrl. He never received an updated 214 form (or what is needed) stating otherwise. We aren't too concerned about them finding the SA "service connected" since he did get diagnosed while on active duty. My concern is that diagnosis was 5 years ago and he never went to the doctor about it since. To him.. it was just snoring problem. He didn't realize that could have been what was contributing to his daytime tiredness, and the risk of clots..ect. There is nothing in his record except for a couple of recordings stating he had trouble sleeping post deployment and he never requested the CPAP that was recommended.
  14. I'm new here so I hope I am doing this right. I am actually the wife of the vet that is filing a claim. In April of 2011, 2 weeks before being placed on TDRL for a heart condition, my husband had a sleep study done at a VA sleep center. The result was sleep apnea and recommendation was a CPAP machine. Because he was on TDRL he did not pursue VA benefits. He also did not receive (didn't ask either) for a CPAP machine. We didn't realize that was recommended until recently when we requested the diagnostic paperwork. My husband has been completely separated from the Air Force since October of 2015 (no longer on TDRL). In Nov 2016 he filed a claim that included sleep apnea. The sleep apnea was denied in May of 2016 as it said it was not service connected. That's when we called the sleep center and requested the diagnosis to be printed. We assumed the VA would have access to this because they said they did not need him to send any medical records, they could filter through them on their own. Once we got it printed from the sleep center he "reopened" the case (didn't know he should have just appealed) and included the diagnoses paper. As far as any other history related to sleep problems while he was enlisted.. it is documented a couple of times that he visited the military hospital post deployment for sleep issues and was told to take Benadryl. He never thought of going to the doctor because he snores a lot.. we always assumed he had sleep apnea but honestly didn't realize how dangerous it could be so he never went to the doctor about it while active duty. He just went for the study before being put on TDRL because like I said, we knew by his symptoms he had it and he wanted it documented. We are in the process of waiting to see if he will get denied again. I'm including the diagnosis information we have. Based on what you guys usually see.. do you think he has a chance of getting benefits? He was rated at 0% for his heart so no benefits currently *Overall sleep architecture was consistent with sleep disordered breathing. The patient demonstrated a severe degree of sleep fragmentation (arousal index 82.6/hr). The majority of these arousals were secondary to sleep disordered breathing(SDB). The patient slept 114.4 of 282.0 minutes in the supine position. The lowest oxygen saturation was 86%. The patient had a periodic limb movement of sleep (PLMS) index of 0.9/hr and a PLMS arousal index of 2.77/hr. The EKG revealed no abnormalities. EEG no abnormalities. IMPRESSION: Obstructive Sleep Apnea RECOMMEDATIONS: 1. Discuss with patient treatment options considering CPAP or surgical evaluation the rest is just about if patient was CPAP what to do.
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