Jonathan AF

My sleep apnea secondary to my 30% PTSD was denied, and I hired Carpenter Chartered Law to help with my appeal. They took my case, and I signed all the paperwork they sent, so now I'm just waiting to see what's next. I definitely think a lawyer for an appeal is the best decision, because as said in these comments, they won't take a case unless they think they can win it. They are going to charge me 30% of my retro if I win, but totally worth it. That's WAY better than getting nothing at all.

Yea it's probably 50/50. I may also get another IMO and ensure they include all that. If I can get 2 of them saying the same thing, I would think it'd better a better shot at getting approved. However, comma, these Dr. visits are not cheap, and I do not have insurance cuz I use the VA for everything. The attorney I am using is supposedly pretty good, so I'm guessing he can tell me anything else I need to do. I did upload a lot of peer reviewed papers on the subject in my favor, but they never went to a "reviewed" status in the original claim. So the attorney did reply back with this: "Jonathan: You do not need to anything at this time, Mr. Carpenter is planning on doing the appeal, he needs to determine whether it will be a Supplemental Claim or High Level Review (under the VA's new system), if we need for you to do anything we will let you know, we will be sending you the packet of forms this week." From what I've read, a Supplemental Claim would be more applicable, since I have "new evidence". https://www.va.gov/decision-reviews/supplemental-claim/

Here's the letter the doctor wrote for me. DR_READY_IMO.pdf

Just heard from attorney's office: "Jonathan: I had my meeting with Mr. Carpenter earlier this morning, he reviewed your information and determined he is willing to represent you. I then checked my e-mail and received your Rating Decision. We are sending you forms to complete, including the fee contract, this will probably be mailed out to you sometime next week. Are you agreeable to proceeding with us? If so, we will also wait for you to e-mail the doctor's opinion letter. Cordially, Catherine"

Awesome! Looking forward to the outcome.

That's what I'm shooting for is 50%. 70% would be nice but I don't think I fit that criteria. I will of course keep this post updated. I am supposed to get my actual nexus letter today. I hope he uses the "at least as likely as not"/"more likely than not" lingo. I told him that's what it needed to have, along with a rationale. I sent my denial letter to the attorney and am waiting to hear back from them, as well. I'm using Kenneth Carpenter, as I have read good stuff about him on here. His office charges 30% of your retroactive if they win....nothing otherwise, so really nothing to lose. https://www.vetadvocates.org/users/kenneth-carpenter

Awesome! I hope it gets approved. I just had an appointment with my sleep dr that diagnosed my OSA. He said he would write a nexus letter that my ptsd caused insomnia, and that insomnia causes or worsens OSA. I am also using Law Offices of Carpenter Chartered as my attorney to represent me for my appeal.

Well, guys, It got denied. My C&P said the dreaded "less likely than not". I am going to appeal, but I'm gonna have to go get an IME. I had already scheduled one, but they scheduled the C&P the exact same day and time, so I had to reschedule for 8/14. I'll let you guys know what comes of that. BTW, does anyone have an example NOD I can look at, or any advice on it? Oh, I submitted all these with my claim. It never showed they even reviewed them, and as soon as the C&P was finished, they denied the claim.

Hey, guys, I have been diagnosed with Sleep Apnea (severe) recently, and I am service-connected 30% for PTSD. I have filed a claim for OSA secondary to my service-connected PTSD. I have a C&P scheduled for 7/29/2019, and an appointment with the Dr who diagnosed me with sleep apnea on 8/14. I am also trying to schedule another appointment for an IME in case that one falls through. Has anyone scheduled an IME, or two, for this and not had any success? I realize from reading different forums and citations that an IME is damn near a necessity for a successful claim. Also, I've attached my sleep study results from the VA. Has anyone had results that were not this bad and still gotten their claim approved? VA_Sleep_Study.pdf

Ok, so my PCP said he will not write a letter supporting that because "there is no link between PTSD an Sleep Apnea". I have an appointment on 7/29/2019 with the Dr. who wrote the sleep study results (the OSA diagnosis) =....I am going to bring a DBQ with me for him to fill out, and hopefully get an IMO letter also. Oh, here are my results (attch) VA_Sleep_Study.pdf

Wow. Thank you! That is valuable information. I sent my primary care team the documents and asked for a statement. I'll update you when they respond.

Have you heard of http://www.veteranspsychevaluations.com/ I've been in touch with them and the Dr. said he will write me a good IMO, but they want $2,300 for it. Do you think that's a scam? They seem legit, but that's really steep for me.

Update, my PCP messaged and said what I need is an Independent Medical Opinion from another physician. I found one online at the following link: https://www.vawatchdog.org/imo-ime-medical-opinions-exams.html I emailed him and explained my situation, including medications I take for PTSD. I am not sure if he will help, or will even respond, but I feel like documenting everything I'm doing here may help someone else in the future.

I have contacted my primary care team to obtain a nexus letter. It should not be that difficult to do, but we'll see. I'll update this post when I know something.

Well, the meds I'm on for PTSD do cause weight gain. Also, studies do show that OSA can be caused by PTSD. I am sure a C&P exam would say "Just as likely as not".

I recently did a home study from the VA, and my results are as follows (see attached): Min SpO2: 78.0% Total RDI: 50.2 Findings: Snoring & Obstructive apneas/hypoapneas Impression: OSA (G47.33) ("severe" is handwritten next to this). They set me up with a CPAP machine to wear each night. I am currently 30% rated for PTSD. Based on this, can anyone tell what my rating would be filing sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD?