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brokensoldier244th
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Posts posted by brokensoldier244th
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You can be but it is not a given. I, for example, have OSA , and also suffer from depression and chronic pain. They could not separate out how much insomnia was mental, pain related, or OSA, so I have a CPAP and only 20% for Apnea, after a 4 yr appeal. *shrug* It is not a 'given', though I see it discussed a lot on this forum and others as "get a CPAP, get 50%" WOOT!
Doesnt always work out to be a slap shot.
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IT may be lumped in under Mental, though, too. Ive seen some citations worded that way. Per 'Cruiser', a former VA rater specialist and later manager (from another site I frequent)
Primary insomnia is insomnia for which no cause can be found. Service connection can be granted for this and it would normally be evaluated under the most appropriate code, most likely sleep apnea, with a 0, 10, or 30 percent evaluation. During my career at VA I can only remember seeing a couple of cases of primary insomnia.
Secondary insomnia is insomnia that is due to some other condition such as depression or pain. Secondary insomnia does not warrant a separate evaluation apart from the primary condition. Some level of insomnia is present in just about every known condition that produces pain, which is most of them. For example I have a service connected cervical spine condition that keeps me awake many nights because I can't find a comfortable position that doesn't hurt. This just comes with the territory and isn't a separate disability. -
It depends on the apnea type. There is obstructive and central. One is more mechanical in nature, the other involves the nervous system shutting down the breathing mechanism. I would postulate that the connection between apnea and the military has more to do with a connection due to exacerbation or aggravation rather than direct, but im not a doctor, just an apnea sufferer.
The obstructive apnea and central both, if they appear on duty, are presumed to be aggravated by or caused in LOD. Its up to you if you want to file or not, though. That is more of an ethical issue for you.
Good luck! Apnea sucks either way. There is also a chance that you may get less than 50%. I have it, but also chronic pain, insomnia, and back problems. They could not discern what percentage of my apnea and sleep issues were back related or apnea related, so I ended up with a CPAP and 20% (after appealing a CUE from them for the initial 50%). The Cpap, for which I am grateful, I have had from day 2 of the sleep study. I woke up after 4 hours and actually 'woke' up from sleep. I was so happy.
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Not necessarily. Unless they did an EMG on you and found a different level of nerve reaction, usually weakness and foot drop, and demonstrably reduced reflexes are used in part to determine severity. If you loss of some sensation but normal reflexes then you are within the mild category of impingement.
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c&P notes can be gotten from the Blue Button download on MyHealthVet. Just select 'all information' and then the date range, then scroll through the text file. Unless its MH notes and they are restricted from you (for some conditions they are) they should be in there. Mine usually are.
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But, that evidence has to be from that time period, right? You can't, say, appeal, and on the last day of the year after get in your appeal form, and the evidence from a C&P had afterthat, and expect the effective date to back to when you originally appealed.
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When was information introduced to the record that shows onset of worsening before the date they calculated? Usually it is from the date of the unofficial or official claim forward, not back to forever- unless there was an error.
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you also should be able to download them with blue button
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THe PCPs don't- I dont think they can. They will refer you to Mental Health. They can discuss it with you but PCPs aren't qualified in that field of medicine. I could see a diagnosis like that from a PCP having to be appealed down the road somewhere.
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Yes, you will, but your notes probably have enough in them to form the basis. My doc didnt come out and say in perfect VA verbiage "This Veterans condition is irrefutably caused by ......" but the notes were voluminous enough and said that I was diagnosed with depression and I had a lower quality of life due to my IVDS lumbar issues. It limits employment, it limits intimacy, and it limits my ability to do stuff with my kids.
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Is this a matter of cross posting, or just not searching old threads? For my work search for prior ticketed deficiencies we have a small field underneath where we can type stream of conciousness words like 'software engine; menu items;documentation......." etc that helps the forum group similar things like it together within a greater general topic. Does this form have 'tagging' as an option that could be enabled?
Just a thought from your friendly neighborhood programmer.
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The paperwork itself is not that bad, just documenting the medical stuff- THAT sucks. Ive adopted a Berta strategy of making mine look like project proposals. Cover sheet, ToContents, Footnotes....its a pain, but they are pretty beautiful to look at when im done *lol*
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IT sucks that you are having a down time- im in a similar place in that Im on all sorts of intra-office monitoring and performance plans.Im on pins and needles every day, and I have meetings biweekly with my boss or HR (or both) about how " can they help me....." yet there is no position here that is secluded from customers that pays what I make as an engineer. Im in constant risk of losing my job due to either inconsistent performance or absences. I work with hospital servers and computer systems all over the country via remote desktop. Unfortunately the level of concentration it requires does not work with my flighty short term memory or stress and anxiety reactions. I can empathize with how you feel- its a struggle to get out of bed every morning, but for the money and keeping a house over our heads. Im younger than you, 38.
I mainly wanted to chime in and say that you can get 70% without suicidal ideation- there are other things that fall into the 70% category, your records just have to show the other issues that you are having that fall into that category. Good luck, sailor.
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It depends on what they ruled. When they approved mine it didnt raise my overall percentage. It still took a few weeks for the letter to arrive.
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You can't really speed it up, unless the information they needed is all there. What form did they say was missing?
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Under CFR 38, Part 3 subpart a. it reads under "permanent and total"
Total disability will be considered to exist when there is present any impairment of mind or body which is sufficient to render it impossible for the average person to follow a substantially gainful occupation. Total disability may or may not be permanent. Total ratings will not be assigned, generally, for temporary exacerbations or acute infectious diseases except where specifically prescribed by the schedule.
The difference between this and 100% schedular is that 100% non- P/T could improve, whearas the definition for P/T states otherwise.
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The contractors still have to keep records and eventually they end up in your Cfile. You have to request the records from the contractor, though.
Talk to your PCP or just call VA and ask if you can get an appt with Neurology. If nothing else, file for it and in your C&P they will usually examine you anyway either EMG or pinprick (or both) as part of the C&P process.
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Protrusion and impingement doesn't always present as a neuropathy condition. Thats what I originally thought, too, years ago. The 'Correlate' entry indicates that you should be referred to either a neurologist for followup and an emg, or a sensation test/pinprick (that your PCP can probably also do) to demonstrate that it actually presents as a symptom. Of all the nerve roots in the lower spine they can be traced to distinct areas of the foot. I used to have a chart that showed it all. I can look for it if you wish.
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Cedric SatterfieldTechnical Support Engineer, STANLEY Healthcare4600 Vine Street, Lincoln, NE 68503T - 1-800-380-8883cedric.satterfield@sbdinc.comwww.stanleyhealthcare.com -
investment income is not 'income' for SSDI or disability.
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Have you had any recent changes or adjustments?
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This is all completely dependant on your bank policy whether they prepost deposits or not. Every bank is different, and every tier of account is different within the same bank. It will get here when it gets here.
Can Insomnia Be Considered Secondary To Ptsd
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted
*shrug* Why? Im satisfied with it. How can someone quantify if pain woke me up, or OSA? I have 15-20 episodes a minute without Cpap, and maybe a few an hour with it. Meaning that something else is waking me up and its not OSA. Why appeal and gum up the works for everyone else when its pretty obvious that I don't need to?
:-)
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