Sleep Apnea

[babyray]

I was dx yesterday with sleep apnea- moderate, at the VA Medical Center by a VA sleep doc. I want to consider filing a secondary claim for SA, secondary to my service connected Major Depressive Disorder which is secondary to my SC DJD and thigh rupture. I will get my private doc to give me a IMO connecting the event. What change I got to get my claim thru with a good IMO from Dr Bash? Right now I am 160% with a extra $300.00 per month.

Edited April 11, 2014 by babyray

[Computer Tech]

One of the problems with using the CPAP is getting a mask that is comfortable to you and is fitted properly. I'm found that my mask won't leak when I first go to sleep but after six or seven hours starts to leak which in turn wakes me up.

[lotzaspotz]

As long as the Cpap is used and not put in the closet then I think death is taken of the table.

That's a risk I would not recommend taking, since medicine is not an exact science, JMO.

[71M10]

As for "no one always wears their mask" call me no one then! If I am not on the machine - I don't sleep its that simple. Only twice in the last eight years have I not used it, a power failure and an equipment failure. I store my battery and converter in the house now not in our storage locker!

As for advantage or disadvantage of holding the rating and death. I doubt sleep apnea will ever be listed as the cause of death, it would be recorded as respiratory failure or Heart attack/ect with sleep apnea as a contributory factor. If you already have SC and ratings for your heart and lungs, I wouldn't stress about it, unless it would push you into an S rating which I think you indicated you already were at.

[lotzaspotz]

Sleep apnea as a contributing factor that is not service connected would be a fight with the VA that you'd be leaving for your surviving spouse or kids to contend with on top of everything else vs. getting it rated while you're still around. Your call, of course.

[john999]

Considering DIC for a vet with less than ten years of being 100%/TDIU it would be worth it to try and get the OSA service connected. I am TDIU for almost 13 years, and also am SC for heart disease. If my OSA kills me I think my wife will get her DIC direct connected. I have moved heaven and earth to make sure my spouse will get DIC. I assumed that since Babyray is 160% he has been that way for a while. This might not be true. If I thought I had a case to get my OSA connected I would do it. My cpap therapy is almost a total failure. I had a sleep study done about three weeks ago. They woke me up five times because my mask leaked. All my masks leak, and fart, and dry me out. I have had ten different masks. OSA treatment has probably only a 40% compliance rate if that much. I have never had a mask that was comfortable and worked right.

What are the chances you can win an OSA claim if you have no records of this in service? I have been out of the service for 40 years, but I have five AO conditions and MH conditions that are SC. AO is going to kill me. It is a race between OSA and AO.

John

[Gastone]

90% SC 70-ptsd, 50-SA csecondary to CAD-30. tinnitus-10. It appears your TDIU 100%. If your not yet 70+, your TDIU is always at risk. With TDIU, your earned income is always a problem if for some reason, it rises above poverty level.

I believe if you have a medical condition that can be claimed as secondary to a SC condition, claim it. I lucked out with a Sleep specialist Neurologist that said my Mixed SA was as likely as not caused by my SC CAD. I believe the key was the DX for CAD with by-pass x 4 wasin 2006. Mixed SA DX'd 2010. I probably had SA for as many years as I had the CAD developing. I've just been DX'd with mild Pulmonary Hypertension as of 01/2014. PH can be, and is quite often caused by sleep apnea. My claim as secondary to SA, is already in.

I have been a 100% compliant BIPAP user since being DX'd 2010. Been thru 5 masks until finding most comfortable. Get with the VAH SA staff and get the right mask for you. No reason to DIE before you have to!! SLEEP APNEA IS A KILLER!!

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