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Diotima

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  1. That's the thing it was part of the initial claim. I had claimed sleep apnea so I would get sent to a sleep study. I didnt claim it but i also never saw this diagnosis.
  2. Right that's the direction I'm thinking. I looked up the language the doctor used in the Hypersomnia ""this condition is at least as likely as not a result" which is legalese for equal to 50% or greater.
  3. So guys sorry for creating a second thread but I wasn't getting anymore responses on 1st one. So here is the sequence of events. 1) Evidence in military records of taking Unisom could indicate sleep problems. I have not gone through all my medical records but it's somewhat tedious. I've attached a couple scans from my records 2) Deployed to Afghanistan have exposure to burn pits, biohazard pond (the base was basically built around the damn thing), and dust everywhere. No previous complaint but this could possibly be linked? 3) I start having headaches, fatigue, tiredness, lost interest in some things after returning. Never documented this just kept it to myself so uphill climb. Headaches continued for years until recently. 4) Get out of Military in June 2014 and have C&P exam in Oct 2014 where I am diagnosed with Hypersomnia and doc gives a 50 percent equal or greater change connection to military since within months of getting out. I did not CLAIM this and it was never relayed to me by doctors... I only know of the diagnosis due to reviewing my medical records. No diagnosis for sleep apnea at this time (see attachments) 5) It's 2019 and I still feel like **** so I ask for another sleep study. This one has a diagnosis for mild sleep apnea and a CPAP is issued (see attachment). Other things that happened over time... at or around 2010 or 2011 I begin putting on weight where as before I'm pretty consistently around 150. So in 2011 I'm up from 145 to 155... 2014 I'm at or around 175...and in 2019 I'm at or around 190. Potential cause of weight gain could be tied to Hypersomnia which led towards developing Sleep Apnea. Basically I think I can connect all the dots to military... how does all this sound? I've asked me VA doc for a Nexus Letter before proceeding further.
  4. Hi guys update... I just wanted to show you a excerpt from my medical records with PII blurred out... this is my FIRST sleep study in 2014... my recent one from this year had a positive diagnosis. My doctor has never brought up Hypersomnia but im increasingly thinking all this is linked somehow. CPAP helps somewhat but I am plagued by tiredness despite this. So while in military I was plagued by constant fatigue sometime after coming back from Afghanistan I would wager... headaches... just tired all the time. This seems to have morphed into pathologic hypersomnia (doc never brought this up to me)... Sleep Apnea diagnosis a few years later so who knows if it was missed before... argh! The doctor makes it sound as if I have it and that it was a cause of my military service "at least as likely as not a result.." (how would you interpret this weird wording?... it seems I could claim it at least and claim SA secondary to Hypersomnia. I found this on the phrase.. https://cck-law.com/news/news-va-standard-of-proof-at-least-as-likely-as-not/ The “at least as likely as not” standard is part of the non-adversarial nature of the VA disability claims process. For claims for VA disability benefits, veterans do not need to prove conclusively that they are entitled to a certain benefit, only that the evidence shows that there is at least a 50% likelihood that they are entitled to the benefit they are seeking. If a veteran obtains a private medical opinion, whether it be from an independent medical professional or their personal physician, the doctor will need to use the “at least as likely as not” language. A favorable private medical opinion that uses VA’s standard of proof can be helpful in rebutting against a negative C&P examination, or in simply providing one of the requirements of service connection: a medical nexus. My VA doc seems to not really give a **** since he never brought this up and it makes me somewhat mad as it seems pretty clear I should be able to claim it.
  5. https://www.va.gov/decision-reviews/supplemental-claim/ You can file a Supplemental Claim within 1 year of a decision if you have new evidence, unless one of these rare situations applies to you. You have a: Fiduciary claim, or Multiple party claim
  6. That was my idea doing a Supplemental Claim but from what I can gather those claims can only be done within 1 year. Since it's been a few years since the original claim that seems like it would not work. I heard you can reopen the original claim and try to go that route however. I'll look into that nexus of opinion, although that is the first I've heard of that. I do have a in-service general anxiety diagnosis but nothing that would fit in respiratory/nasal/sinus/heart. I did have to see a cardiologist for a vasovagal syncope they were concerned about but from what I gather the doctor thought I was healthy after seeing him. Apart from my general anxiety in-service connection I also have tinnitus and spinal issues (30/10/10)
  7. 1st test was a home study: "abnormal" or inconclusive.. i.e. not enough data I was then given a 2nd test in a actual sleep lab where they determined "no sleep apnea" but found hypersomnia... from the Blue Button text is states "The veteran does not have sleep apnea but he does have hypersomnia as noted on the sleep study report. This condition is at least as likely as not a result of his active duty service time since he just got out of the active duty military in June 2014." /es/ <nurses signature> Signed 10/XX/2014 The latest test, let's call this Test #3 was in 2019 and had a positive result for Sleep Apnea... all of this seems connected in someway.
  8. I wouldn't say they were complaints about sleep issues but I was hospitalized twice for Unisom (as I said the 1st time it happened I wasn't sure of cause and thought I was food poisoned). This would indicate I was taking sleep aides frequently and would imo be defacto evidence of "sleep complaints". I've been taking them for years finally settling on Melotonin.
  9. - So I got out of the military in June 2014 and I had a sleep study later on that year in Sept 2014 as part of my Original Claim. Part of that claim was to see if I could claim Sleep Apnea so I bundled it into the original claim despite having no "evidence" besides as lay statement. - My home sleep study was "abnormal" not enough data so I was sent to a sleep lab and told I did not have sleep apnea but that I did have Hypersomnia (according to doctors notes) - At no time did my doctor relay this note from the sleep lab about Hypersomnia but I did notice they said it was "likely" not connected to my service, so denied essentially... the end right? - Well I continued feeling very tired and displaying all the classic signs of sleep apnea in my view for several more years. My mother told me as I was sleeping over at her place that it sounded like I had trouble breathing and stopped breathing... so she was notably concerned. - This jumpstarted the process to get a 2nd sleep study in 2019. This time I received a positive diagnosis for Mild Sleep Apnea and I now have a CPAP - I am thinking about to my time in the military, working shifts, long hours, and generally having very poor sleep for years due to this. My military records show several entries where I told doctors I was taking Unisom... this was basically added due to having a adverse reaction to Unisom after my other sleep aide ran out and I didn't know any better. This should be indicative of sleeping difficulties as this went on for some time... leading towards a 2nd hospitalization in Al'Udeid after having a 2nd reaction to Unisom (at the time I did not know what caused the initial adverse reaction from the 1st time). I think someone, such as myself, could tell a compelling story that my health due to a sleep disorder deteriorated starting during the military and aggravated by the military due to various factors. Does anyone think I have a possible case or is my evidence to thin?
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