Patton

Best of luck Jonathan!

Reading a few of these BVA decisions, I forgot about getting a copy of your C-file also. It is very important to know what is in your C-File (Claim file) when filing a claim.

It can be done, as there are a number of people on here who has been awarded OSA as a secondary to PTSD. Please do your research and find out what has worked and what has not as far as being awarded OSA as a secondary. It is not a open and shut case. You can be in a long hard fight. I have been denied twice now. The first time I file the claim, somebody had told me to file it as being directly service connected because I had a number of sleep issues in the Military and the Doctors did not know what Sleep Apnea was back in the mid 1980's. The second time I filed it as secondary to persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) with anxious distress (which is PTSD). The C&P examiner stated that there is no Medical evidences that links Depression / Anxiety with OSA. I thought this time I had all the evidences I needed, since it was a VA MH Doctor who sent me to the sleep study (due to my issues during Military Service) and the VA issued me the CPAP. Boy was I wrong. I will file again but this time I will be armed with all the information needed to win my claim. I have read a number of BVA decisions (like the one Tbird posted), Research Documentation and the 38 CFR. Now I will start building a relationship with a Private Sleep Doctor in hope he will write a Nexus letter along with the DBQ. Best of luck!

Welcome to Hadit Jonathan, Getting Sleep Apnea secondary to PTSD is very hard to prove, but it can be done with a lot of work. I have been trying since 2015 with no luck. @doc25has posted a lot of very good information on the subject, so do a search. Do you have a Doctor's statement (nexus) that they are connected? The VA still believes that OSA is caused by being overweight and neck size, which is not a disability.

That is funny! The VA MH Doctor who referred me for a sleep study said that it looks like the Army Doctors had no idea what is wrong with me. I filed for OSA secondary to Depression/Insomnia but was denied. When I get back from my next TDY trip, I am going to a Private Sleep Clinic and ask them to review all my records. After that appointment, I will decide which way I will go to refile my next claim. I have consider filing secondary to Depression, Insomnia, GERDs and URI, then let them decide. I am service connected for everything except URI, so I may need to file for URI first. I have talked to Doc25 on here and he has armed me with some very good information. Best of luck and please keep us posted.

GBarmy - I agree with you, but do they see the whole picture or have they made up their mind the minute you walk in the door. They are telling me if I would lose 10 pounds I would be cured, which is BS. I was down to 177 pounds (BMI 25.4) and still was having issues. It is very hard to be motivated to exercise, when you only get 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night (and some nights no sleep) because my mind will not shutdown, fighting in my sleep and/or pain. Right now it is 4:30 AM and I have been up for 3 hours now and did not get to sleep last night around 10 PM. Then I am very limited to what I can do because of my Service Connected disabilities with my Ankle, Knees and back. I did have 2 VA Doctors who were very helpful, but they both quit to open up their own practices. So, I am not saying all VA Doctors are bad, but most of the good ones do move on to better things. I am now having more issues than I did before going to the VA. Yes I understand that I am older now and with age you are going to have more issues but do they really have the Veteran's best interest in mind? Sometimes I think that they believe that pushing more drugs on you will solve everything. I believe that this is causing more problems than it solves. The VA has even gave me drugs that made my stomach bleed (knowing that I have GERDs) and when I questioned them, they sent me to Mental Health? Sorry for the rant! shrekthetank1 - That is great to hear that you was able to Service Connect SA. I will never give up until I do also, it just going to take more work on my part to make it happen.

I have a Plantar fasciitis claim pending in which the VA denied my claim stating that I was a no show for my C&P Exam. I called the VA and asked what is going on because I did attend. A week later, my claim was reopened (without me filing a new claim), so I talked with the BDD and they stated that the Contractor did not address the questions that the VA was asking for. They also stated that they could see that I had the condition in-service and that I am still being seen by the VA for it. Now I am pretty sure I will receive another C&P Exam and since I am in Germany it will be with the same Contractor. Hopefully they can get it right this time. The sad part of this is that I started this claim in 2015. I am going to refile for OSA after my current claim is resolved and I get more documentation. I asked the BDD to look at my records to see what they think about reopening a OSA claim. He said that the VA Doctors have not addressed the real issue and I need to make an appointment to address the real issue. He also said that OSA is a Respiratory issue and I have a history of Upper Respiratory Infection (URI) in my Military Medical records. He was a former Claims Reviewer. When I ask the VA Doctors about my URI issues, they tell me to take over the counter medication and will not document the issue. The VA Doctors are saying that my OSA is because I am over weigh (I am 5'10" at 190 pounds). I am also service connected for GERDs (30%) and Depression with Insomnia (30%). I am at a lost at how to get down to the root of the problem and get it documented properly? I have filed a complaint against two VA Doctors and requested a new Doctor. Nothing happen to either Doctor and they refused to correct my records. The new Doctors will not contradict the other Doctors. I am trying to set up an appointment with the American Sleep Clinic / Center in Frankfurt, but have not been able to contact them. I truly believe I had OSA in service but in the 1980's it was not a widely known condition.

Humm… that is interesting. My wife does not work over here this time, but she did when I was station here. I believe she paid U.S. income tax not German. I need to look into this because she did work a Non Appropriated Funds (NAF) job and on the economy. She also worked in the States for a few years. So, she should get a retirement from the U.S. and Germany. It will not be much, but something is better than nothing. I fall under the 5 year rule, so I have to go back to the States in 4 years. I hope to get my high 3 there, and then I am going to retire. Can she use her ration card with her ID card? Please keep me posted how it turns out.

It is really their choice which citizenship they choose. I have 2 daughters that are German Citizens and 2 with U.S. Citizenship. I have a daughter who graduated high school in Harker Heights, Texas and moved back to Germany. She applied for her German Citizenship. The German system put her through the apprenticeship program and paid for everything and then help placing her in a position that she is really happy in.

No Problem. CPAC should be able to help you also. Here in Wiesbaden we have a Passport / ID card office. Has she gotten her Dependent ID Card? The reason I am asking is that I think she needs a SSN for her ID card and they should have helped you getting one. You never know with the VA. Landstuhl does C&P but it is limited. VES (a Contractor) does a lot of C&P exam over here, and they have traveling teams. Both C&P exams I have had over here has been with VES.

Did you get out and stayed in Germany? Are you working on the economy / U.S. Contractor / GS? This can affect your VA benefits (after 30%), taxes, Social Security and any benefits your wife is entitled to. As a U.S. Citizen living in Germany you still have to file your U.S. taxes which requires your wife to have a SSN. You may want to contact the American Consulate in Frankfurt at +49 69 75350 to get answers on what are the current rules for living overseas. If you have base access, you may want to contact the BDD (Benefits Delivery at Discharge) at: By email at GermanyBDD.vbapit@va.gov, or In person by going to the office located in building 3724 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. It’s open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. You don’t need an appointment. You can set up an appointment with the traveling team that visit bases through out Germany. They are in Wiesbaden on Tuesday. They have been very helpful. They have help me with my claims and benefits. Hope this points you in the right direction.

I have seen this happen before and the person cannot even come back to visit family.

I got my wife's Green Card and SSN while overseas (a week after getting married). We were required to get her SSN for tax purposes. This was years ago and things may have changed but we went to the American Consulate to get it done. She kept her German Citizenship for 25 years before becoming a U.S. Citizen. She wanted to keep her German Citizenship in case something happen to me, she could have moved back to German. Her Green Card was good for life (that has changed in that I believe they have to renew it every 10 years now) but it had become a pain to travel with her German Passport / Green Card (there were other reasons also), she became a U.S. Citizen. You do not need to be dual Citizenship, and she can keep her foreign Passport and still have a SSN.

Same here jamesriley. It will be in your C-File.

I truly understand that they are overworked and things gets overlooked, but they do have a checks and balances. That is how they found the mistake with my appeal. I can wait for them to get it right, but there are so many out there who need the assistances now. I believe that the system needs to be more streamline, but it all starts with common senses.

Thanks Berta! I am not related to George (I wish I was, LOL). The Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) said that they see that I was treated for it (Plantar Fasciitis) in service and still being treated for it by the VA. All the Contractor had to do was check the condition (pain) of my feet. The Military / VA had already documented the condition and the VA had done new X-Rays 2 months before the C&P Exam. I first filed for Plantar Fasciitis back in June of 2015. I should get a good backpay check from this. Inadequacy is normal operation and there is no accountability.

I have used VA Form 21-4138 (STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF CLAIM). You can also do a sworn statement. Include a statement like: Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1746, I, INSERT NAME, declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct: I have seen other statements but it basically needs to say that you are not lying under oath.

It should be included in your C-File when you get it. I had requested my C-File before going to a C&P Exam with LHI. When I got a copy of my C-File it was included. I had requested a copy of the C&P results from LHI, but never received a copy from them.

Thanks Vetquest! I may have to go down that road one day. Right now I have an appeal depending because the RO said that I missed an C&P Exam and denied my appeal. Then the VA reopened my appeal (I guess they found my C&P results). It sound like the PA did not get the information they were requesting, so they are starting over.

I have not found a Lawyer that will take my case. Most of the time I don't even get a call back or if they do, they would state that they don't handle that kind of case. What they are really saying is that there is not enough money in it for them! I have gone thru 3 VSO before finding a DAV office that was any help. Gregg and Ed has been great with helping me putting my claims / appeals together. I have won every claim / appeal since working with them. I have never had an appeal go to the BVA and really don't want to go down that path, but if it came to that, I am sure they would be there for me. It has taken a lot of work on my part, but this DAV office has pointed me in the right direction. There are some great VSO's out there, finding one that can take the time to help is key. I found this office thru networking with other Veterans. Best of Luck!

I opted into the RAMP and when I got my decision letter, they backed paid me one year before my initial claim (the date that the VA diagnosis me with the condition). Now I was denied for one condition and they reopened it (they found a mistake on my C&P Exam). They changed that date to February 2019, but my initial claim was June 2015. eBenefits shows an completion date Feb 2020 thru Mar 2021. It will be interesting to see if they will back pay me back to my initial claim. When I talked to BDD it sounds like the VA can see that I had the condition in service and the VA is still treating me for the same condition. VES did not answer the questions that the VA was asking for on the DBQ. So I guess I will have another C&P Exam.

Right now I weigh 190 at 5'10" and they say that I should weigh 175 pounds. I don't know why I don't weigh a lot more. I am still working but at a desk. I have ankle, knees, hip and back issues that makes it hard to even walk sometimes. It is depressing that I can not be more active.

Oh, I can see that happening but I have read VA court cases in which the Doctor stated that the Veterans weigh problem was directly related to OSA / Medication / etc... With that statement the Veteran won their appeal. So it would be interesting see if they can get it passed. My BMI is between 27 and 29 so if I could lose 10 to 20 pounds, I would be at the weigh they think I should be at. By the way the Doctor that is stating my Sleep Apnea is due to my weigh is obese. So, he had a lot of room to talk.

I really don't understand why the VA don't want to understand that my weigh gain is from my lack of sleep and chronic pain. It is hard to be motivated to exercise when you are a walking zombie with chronic pain. The funny part of this is that when they tell me no, it pushes me to prove them wrong. I can see a lot more sleepless nights in my future, until I do so.

I do need to look at the Medication that the Military and the VA had / has me on. Thanks Buck!