Ademily87

I submitted a claim back in March of this year. Was denied after a less than favorable C&P. None of the issues during my service that I discussed with the examiner were in the DBQ. He basically blamed everything on personal life before the military, even though there are and were no issues before my time in service. I received this letter in September and somehow it sat on my desk until this weekend unopened. I redacted personal information and am attaching it to this post. Can anybody make sense of this for me? The examiner did state during my examination that he saw no evidence of a personality disorder in my records, even though I submitted a photo copy of the diagnosis straight from my service record. During the HLR conference call I informed the representative of the many things left out of the DBQ, and the fact that he (the examiner) said there was no evidence in my records of the disorder. Does this look like good news? Bad news? No news? I'm glad I opened the letter so late. Saved me a month or so of stressing over all of this.

C&P exam went as expected. Went and got a copy of the DBQ. Examiner said there is no evidence that the condition existed in service, and was less likely than not related to service. It clearly says in my STR where I was diagnosed and treated for chronic adjustment disorder with depressed mood. In multiple areas in my STR it is on a "problems" list. I even submitted a photo copy straight from my record as evidence when I initially filed the claim. So he either didn't look at my STR at all, or missed it when looking through it. I had no idea of this. I brought a copy of my entire medical record to the C&P exam in case he needed it, but he never requested it. Instead, he blamed my current condition on my parents divorcing when I was 17 years old, which had little to no impact on my life whatsoever. He mentioned nothing of the issues we discussed that I dealt with while serving active duty, which caused my current condition. I submitted a form 21-4138 after reviewing the DBQ, pointing out that the examiner possibly didn't even look at my STR. Checked ebenefits today, and the claim has updated to "preparation for notification ". Now I just wait on my denial, and start over again.

I served in the Navy from Jan 2007 - Jan 2011. I was diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depressed mood in my first year. I was having issues adjusting to the military life. It is documented in my STR as "Personality Disorder: Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood". From there on, there were other things that happened during my service (not combat related) that just made it harder and harder to perform my duties and live a normal life. I did not pursue treatment or counseling during my time in service, because I was afraid of being kicked out, and didn't want the label of having a "personality disorder" for the rest of my life. I was raised to be very "private", I guess you could say. Never been one for talking about my problems to anybody else. Instead I just do exactly what you shouldn't do; let it build and build until I break down, and start all over again. I am now the father of a beautiful 5 month old baby girl, and have a loving wife. Still, I can't get out of this slump. The thought of doing something to myself that would cause my little girl to grow up without her daddy is too much to bear, so I have started seeking treatment for my mental health issues. I applied for disability through eBenefits in March of this year for "adjustment disorder with depressed mood". I have no diagnosis other than my service records, because I can't get in to see my Doctor until mid-June. I have a C&P Exam this Friday through LHI. Will this count as my current diagnosis or will I still need a diagnosis from another Doctor? Any advice or pointers for my C&P examination? It is an in person exam.

I know that would be beneficial to me, but there is a 100% chance of that not happening, if you know what I mean lol I was diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depression while in, and it is in my service treatment records. I would rather not go that route, mainly because of how it could effect my personal life for reasons I'd rather not share. In my dental record upon my exit examination, "excessive occlusive wear" was noted. From what I've read, that can be related to teeth grinding, which can be related to sleep apnea. Is that something I need to submit for evidence? Or should I have my Doctor use it in his Nexus? Fortunately, I have no PTSD symptoms. I joined at 19 years old in 2007 weighing 160lbs at 5'11, with a BMI of 20. Upon discharge, I was 180lbs with a bmi of 25.8, so not exactly obese. Before service, I had no sleep issues whatsoever. Family and girlfriends can attest to that. I did work crazy hours. I was in the Aviation Field so I was around a lot of Hazmat. I also worked in a sandblasting booth that used aluminum oxide grit as the "sand", and it wasn't uncommon to breath a cloud of that a few times a week, while changing out the grit collectors and packaging them in 55 gallon drums.

I was discharged January 29, 2011. During my time in I did not have a sleep study, but some sleep issues were documented. I filed for disability for sleep apnea through the VA January 9th, 2012. By Feb 22 2012, I had a sleep study. I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea and issued a CPAP. After that my life turned into complete chaos with a divorce and losing my house to my wife. I moved probably 8 times between 2012 and 2014. In 2013 I got a call from the VA saying that my claim was about to be closed, and that I don't have evidence of service connection for my sleep apnea. They also told me that I had no medical service records on file. They extended my claim to give me time to get my records in and any other supporting evidence. I never got around to submitting my copy of my medical record (that I had made prior to separation just in case this happened) due to my life being a complete mess. By march 2014, my case was denied and closed. Comments are "STRs unavailable". Now 7 years later I'm working on getting this taken care of. I plan on doing a supplemental claim. The VA website says there's no time limit for doing a supplemental claim, but it's best to do it within a year of the decision. I have 5 buddy statements from fellow service members that were roommates and shared the same bunk room with me on duty for 2 years. I am working on getting a nexus letter from my primary care doctor. I also have email correspondence with a medical officer on my ship in November of 2010, requesting to be seen for possible sleep apnea, due to excessive snoring and stopping breathing in my sleep, to which he responded. I was not able to setup a date before separating that coming january. The email I sent read as follows: Dated 22NOV2010 "Good morning Sir, this is AD3 (my name) in IM-2 on CVN-71. I am having problems logging in to the computer today so I'm doing this from my Gmail if you don't mind. I came to medical today but it was after sick hall hours and the personnel at the desk told me to email you rather than coming in tomorrow. I get out of the navy on Jan 28 and I have recently discovered that I could possibly have sleep apnea. My duty section leader brought it to my attention not too long ago and said I need to get it checked out. I asked my wife if she noticed anything different while I sleep and she said I stop breathing in my sleep quite frequently. I woke up the other day to my wife crying and she had me sitting up while I was sleeping because it scared her so much. I don't know what to do because I have never had any health issues before. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Sir." "I have never had any health issues before" might've screwed me, but I'm not a Doctor, so I don't know. Will a copy of that email conversation between the medical officer and I help my case? Should I submit it as evidence as "seeking treatment" while on active duty? Any other advice/tips?