hypertension How Good And Effective Are The Vso's? Upcoming Osa Claim In The Works.

[bob_abad]

Hi gang,

I never bothered to work or seek assistance from VSO in the past. I did it all(initial AO Claim & 3 Reopen claims) by myself, working effectively w/ my Oakland VARO. I learned a lot from hadit(only!), the tactics and prepping up of my successful Reopen claims.

This upcoming OSA claim as secondary to "DM-II", "Hypertension", "Diabetic Neprhopathy-Micrlalbumiruia/Protenuria", "ED", and "Tinnitus" will be my biggest challenge. I will include cumulative evidences, and IMO from my private PC, onward. Thanks to preliminary advices from Berta, Poolguy11550, & others..

My question is, can they(like DAV) really help me, or should I just continue doing it by myself, and work closely w/ my VARO VSR? Really need an honest opinion here.

I wanted to win this one with a touchdown, and not be intercepted. But I have to have an efficient play call.

Your advice, please. Thanks for your time.

[broncovet]

Thanks, Scout..its quite a compliment to ME..that maybe something I said helped another Vet.

[bob_abad]

Thanks also. Been compiling your hints/tips/advices...

[Berta]

I think it is always best to have a rep or SO but as VAF so aptly put it-it IS a crapshoot-

they dont wear buttons that say they are dumb or smart-so we take our chances-

I think the BEST VSO or rep any vet ever has is themselves-

but still I think it is always best to try to get a supportive SO or rep- and - in light of the shreddergate fiasco- they can be one more source of finding proof of stuff that was sent to VA but the VA said it didnt get.

VSOs and reps have hundreds of claims too and we usually only have one main claim or maybe a few different issues.

SOs and reps , Congressional inquiries, these do not win claims-

EVIDENCE wins claims.

If you get a proper VCAA letter and election Notice -the VA will tell you exactly what evidence you need to send to the VA.

[bob_abad]

Thanks also, Berta.

Hopefully, you can comment also in my other post. Will not be able to acquire an IMO from my sleep specialist, & the private PC doctor.

Your advice?

[bob_abad]

Based on few comments/hints/tips/advices below:

> I am now reconsidering to seek initial guidance with DAV or Cal Vet, which are both highly recommended & popular here @Oakland-VARO building complex. Depends in his or her advice, and I have to be cautious in decision making!

> I will inquire around if there is a VA "friendly" Sleep Doctor or an alternate PC Doctor to help me out generate an IMO for an additional cost in my county or neighboring areas.

Bottom line for me, this is a no win claim w/o IMO. Right?

Please keep it coming. I am sure few of us are very interested in OSA claim topics..

Thanks again..

[Berta]

Unfortunately I feel -along with many others here-that often an IMO is the only way to succeed on many claims.

There is a topic here called Getting an IMO and I laid out the criteria that a good IMO doctor needs to follow.

My IMO doc did this step by step and I developed the criteria directly from his IMOs as he covered so many bases. He is a doc familiar with VAOLA-many arent -so best that they follow the guidelines.

If someone needs a costly IMO (mine were 4,000 bucks plus a brief freebee I got from a former VA doctor) it pays to feel confident that there is a strong possibility for service connection.

The nexus statement is Everything for most VA claims and this must be a statement that has a complete medical rationale to back it up.

Also IMO docs should refer to other medical texts.

I gave my IMO doc some really good internet printouts for my claim- he used instead some abstracts from medical texts I had no access to-

but I sent in my abstracts and printouts as well and clearly associated them with the clinical record.

One single internet printout I have from Mayo clinic-in my opinion- could have awarded my claim long ago.I expanded on all of my printouts with my competent lay testimony-

yet I feel the medical references my IMO doctor used in his opinion could not be ignored like mine were.

If you have copies of any VA opinions in SOCs or you have the copies of the actual C & P doctor's report-these should be given to the IMO doctor too- as well as even some buddy statements if you have them.