Vync

I checked the mailbox and found another VA envelope. I expected to see the usual "please submit evidence regarding the following blah, blah..." letter, but was surprised to see an award letter. It wasn't in a white envelope either. This letter was regarding only the asthma portion of my claim, as everything else was deferred pending receipt of additional evidence. Original asthma rating: 10% Increase as of 10/2009: 30% Increase as of 01/2010: 60% Original combined rating: 40% Current combined rating: 70% The VA used evidence from my treatment records any my supporting personal letter for this decision. No additional C&P examination was given. I was curious about this because I read in a few places that C&P's may not be required if evidence of record was sufficient. I was surprised about the quick turnaround. I submitted my claim increase request in December 2009. I submitted supporting evidence and my personal letter about two weeks ago. I sincerely would like to thank everyone here at Hadit for their assistance. I especially want to thank (in alphabetical order) *Bergie*, Berta, Carlie, Cowgirl, Hoppy, jbasser, John999, Pete53, Sawgunner, and Teac.

They didnt make me watch any video. I just went in and signed some paper. The only big difference I notice is that instead of seeing only the prescription numbers, I can actually see the numbers and the names/dosages of the prescriptions too. I never expected that I would be able to see all of my prescriptions back to 1995, when the VA started issuing me meds. That was neat.

You might need to follow up with your physician. In some cases, they may switch you from a CPAP machine to a BIPAP machine. Here's a link that might be helpful: http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-the-Diff...?&id=965994 Here are the ratings for sleep apnea: http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/regs/38CFR/BOOKC/PART4/S4_97.DOC 6847 Sleep Apnea Syndromes (Obstructive, Central, Mixed): Chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention or corpulmonale, or; requires tracheostomy 100 Requires use of breathing assistance device such as continuous airway pressure (CPAP) machine 50 Persistent day-time hypersomnolence 30 Asymptomatic but with documented sleep disorder breathing 0 Check this out regarding surgeries to correct sleep apnea problems. It's pretty medically technical, but goes into some serious depth. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2625321wiw Hope this helps!

They put me in a makeshift hotel room. They connected a bunch of electrodes to my head, neck, arms, legs, etc... The worst one was this little thing they clipped onto my nostrils. Because of my bad allergies, my nose itches all the time and the sensor drove me up the wall. People are not present in the room. They have a camera mounted on the ceiling and there are microphones so they can hear you. I had to go to the bathroom at night and just asked and the attendant helped me out of the bed and disconnected the wiring harness so I could go. They forced me to turn off the tv at about 10pm and awakened me at 5am. They had some coffee, fruit, and muffins available, but said I could go to the cafeteria if I wanted. I told them that I had to go to work, so they let the doc see me first. The doc gave me a copy of a line graph chart, which showed my oxygen level, sleep pattern, etc. She showed me where my oxygen level dipped and went over the entire chart. If I would have had more apneas, then the attendants would have came in and hooked me up to a cpap machine. They also monitor your movement too. For example, if I was running the 50 yard dash in bed, they would have diagnosed me with restless leg syndrome. They said that some people snore a lot because of the uvula (not sure about spelling), but it is that dangling thing in the back of your throat. Sometimes they can surgically remove it or reinforce the soft pallette in the back of your mouth to increase your airway. Hope this helps.

I have GERD too, which is being treated by the VA and also showed up on the results of my general C&P exam. The VA also did an upper GI to confirm it. What makes it worse if the NSAIDs that the VA gives me for my TMJ, so the VA doubled my daily omeprazole dose. As a result, I chose to be proactive and request SC for the condition. I hope you do the same. Be sure to check with a specialist on your condition to see if they can provide a direct or secondary nexus.

Wings is right. You have the right to choose the gender of the counselor. In some cases, they may give you someone of the opposite gender temporarily. For example, if you choose to talk to a female doc, but she is out on maternity leave, then you might have to speak with a male doc if no other females are available.

You can request a copy of your C-file a few ways. The way I did it was to submit a form via mail. Some folks can request them via iris, but I have not had the best of luck with iris. Also, if you have an existing claim, the VA might choose not to send your c-file until all claims are resolved. That's what they did to me, but did not tell me this until three months after I requested a copy. You can also request a copy from your VSO.

With what you describe, it sounds like you have a good chance of having OSA. One thing to remember is to bring any medication they might have sent you, especially a sleep aid. When I had mine, they forgot to send me a sleep aid and I did not bring one. I ended up with about two or three hours of intermittent sleep. I only had a few apneas, but not enough to diagnose me. If I would have had my sleep aid, I'm pretty sure that the results would have been conclusive. Do you sleep with someone else? Quite often they tend to be the ones to tell you that you stop breathing and/or gasp during your sleep.

Testvet is correct. It might be more beneficial to get a second opinion and possibly try out pain block injections first. I had three pain blocks. The first one did not work. The second was beneficial. The third made a big difference. Also, the VA gave me a TENS unit which realllly helped a lot. It's worth asking them for one.

http://www4.va.gov/vetapp05/files5/0531165.txt I hope this helps. Out of curiosity, how does one prove that the jet air injections were used?

Have you requested a copy of your personnel file? It might be possible that some of your unit assignments were never logged into your records.

The Amitriptlyne zonked me out when I took it, but that was years ago. There are other medications you can take to help sleep, like ambien or even over the counter benadryl. Before switching meds, be sure you get approval from your doc.

Berta, Thank you soooo much! That Buffalo study is exactly what I have been looking for. Regarding the PTSD link, this all makes sense. Additionally, bruxism/clenching can cause: - Severe tooth destruction or damage (repaired by fillings, crowns, or extraction) - Change of tooth alignment (angle, rotation) - Lacerations of the tongue or inner lip/cheek - Jaw pain - Headaches - Tinnitus They can make custom night guards to help limit tooth damage, but if they are not thick enough, you'll chew right through them.

Hey Halos, Rudeness must be a qualification to work at the travel window. I encountered the same problem. This might help: http://www4.va.gov/healtheligibility/libra...netravelfaq.asp Also, ask the clinic clerks about getting a meal ticket to use in the cafeteria. It's usually worth about $5.00, but it is better than nothing. Some are willing to give you one. If they start giving you trouble, go visit the patient advocate. They should be able to help. I got a meal ticket a couple of times when my appointments took over half a day.

http://www4.va.gov/healtheligibility/coveredservices/SpecialBenefits.asp#Dental If you: Have a service-connected compensable dental disability or condition You are eligible for: Any needed dental care

Wow, that Veteran has been caught up in bureaucratic red tape for quite a long time

Hey Bergie, I received the same statement in my recent letter from the VA. I searched for the exact phrase on the VA web site, but it cannot be found. I searched for a few of the words and found this. Leave it to the VA to reword some of the text in an attempt to possibly discourage or deceive Veterans. www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part4/subptii/ch02/ch02_secb.doc 5. Determining In-Service Aggravation of Pre-Service Disability, Continued d. Considering Flare-ups of Preexisting Injury or Disease Temporary or intermittent flare-ups of a preexisting injury or disease are not sufficient to be considered aggravation in service unless the underlying condition, as contrasted to symptoms, is worsened. Do not concede aggravation merely because a veteran's condition was in remission at the time of entry on active duty.

Whew, that's very helpful! I always wondered about that. Thanks

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How long ago did you submit your request to reopen the claim?

You may also need to also run Malwarebytes. It seems to do a good job finding some of the headaches that others miss. http://www.malwarebytes.org Also, regardless of what you use, always remember to update it before your scan.

This is back on the front page of the VA web site. I typed "hadit" in the search field, but it returned zero results. They really should add links to web sites like hadit and others, because they contribute real value, but somehow I don't see them doing it.

With regards to a "current diagnosis", if a condition is listed in your Axis table, does that officially count as a diagnosis?

They should expand the pilot program immediately to nearby RO's, like Montgomery... I just mailed off increase evidence last week. :/

I helped my daughter's great grandfather get on the pension. At the time, they were surviving only on social security, but it made a big difference.