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C&p Results - A Few Questions.

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K9MAL

Question

I received my C&P exam results and had a few questions pertaining to it. Any advice, words of wisdom or recommendations would be appreciated.

1. I left the service in 2001 and had not been diagnosed with sleep apnea until last year. The VA ordered the sleep test, verified that I had OSA and has issued me a CPAP that I use. There is one note in my medical records stating I have problems sleeping, but that's it. I filed for sleep disturbance related to the Persian Gulf due to insomnia, waking up, etc.

The doctor's opinion is "The conditioned claimed was less likely than not…" Rationale: The veteran has OSA. Sleep apnea is due to airway closure/blockage during sleep. I am unaware of any Gulf War event/exposure which may cause airway closure/blockage during sleep."

The doctor's statement later in the report is as follows: "He states he has problems with sleeping ever since service. He was seen for this in service, states no treatment was given."

My question pertains to him stating I was seen in service for the issue. Would this be enough to tie in the OSA to being service related? I know it's a guess and up to the rater but it seems like a positive statement to me or at least some ammunition to fight the battle if it gets shot down.

2. IBS - My private gastro doc stated "more or less constant abdominal stress" on a DBQ but the C&P doc marked "frequent episodes". Which will carry more weight? Does the "tie" go to the veteran in this case? There were several other issues where I feel the C&P doc was trying to minimize the severity like on range of motion measurements.

Unfortunately I have to cut this short here but will add more later today. Positive news is ebenefits moved my claim from "gathering of evidence" to "prep for decision" after a year. I know it's not very accurate but it did give me some hope.

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K9MAL, thanks for your service.

In my opinion, the OSA claim will be more of a challenge if you don't have anything in your service records showing you had symptoms and/or diagnosis of sleep disorder. The one instance you stated is in your service medical records should have the treatment plan listed and I would recommend you check to see if it says anything reference to possible OSA or a sleep study; if it does, your chances of getting the OSA service connected are much better; again, this is just my own personal opinion.

I really can't give any opinion on the IBS; hope other more experience Vets will chime and provide some additional information as well.

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K9MAL, thanks for your service.

In my opinion, the OSA claim will be more of a challenge if you don't have anything in your service records showing you had symptoms and/or diagnosis of sleep disorder. The one instance you stated is in your service medical records should have the treatment plan listed and I would recommend you check to see if it says anything reference to possible OSA or a sleep study; if it does, your chances of getting the OSA service connected are much better; again, this is just my own personal opinion.

I really can't give any opinion on the IBS; hope other more experience Vets will chime and provide some additional information as well.

Thanks for your response. Part of my problem was that I was stationed aboard an aircraft carrier and more often than not seen by a corpsman without a lot of experience or authority. A sleep study obviously wasn't possible in the Gulf and the typical answer was that everyone has problems sleeping onboard ship. There is only one written complaint in my SMR and it's a brief statement saying that I have problems sleeping, that's it unfortunately.

I used to snore, and still do, like a beast! The guys who slept next to me would often complain but back then I didn't know anything about sleep apnea, we were young, and I just used to laugh it off as being no big deal. Every girlfriend I'd ever had complained as well but my snoring never bothered me, I was asleep. :)
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Just moved to Prep for Notification. A girl called me today, very friendly, to let me know they were adding my 1 year old son to my award after over a year and to let me know "unofficially" I'd be getting my envelope within about a week with an upgrade from 60% to 80%. I thought I'd be rated at 90 so it looks like I'll be going the NOD route very soon.

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Great News Bud,

You will win the War in the end, just keep the Battles going. When did you have your C&P exams? I am trying to get an idea on timeline. I had my C&P exams today for my FDC increase. Hope they work the rest quick for me. Thanks

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Great News Bud,

You will win the War in the end, just keep the Battles going. When did you have your C&P exams? I am trying to get an idea on timeline. I had my C&P exams today for my FDC increase. Hope they work the rest quick for me. Thanks

Thanks. I had my C&P exams on January 9th. Progress has been good after that and I've been pretty happy with how fast my claim's moved forward.

I originally submitted my request to up my ratings in January 2013. It looks like beginning to end will be about 14 months for me.

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I'm a bit confused on whether you filed for sleep apnea or sleep disturbance? My understanding is that they are 2 different rating codes. Sleep disturbance falls under mental health ratings with a maximum rating of 30%. The way you described it above, it sounds like you filed for sleep disturbance, but all your evidence was for sleep apnea. Am I missing something here? I wonder if that's why the C&P doc didn't give you the nexus?

Rather than NOD that, what about filing a new claim for SA "secondary" to one of your other service connected conditions. Get your own nexus statement from an IME doc from that list on imenet.com

Edited by NavyWife
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