SLEEP APENA & HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

[BUZZ]

To file for smc,you have to be 100% and have another 60% disability rating.I now have sleep apena and probably will be on a crap machine,also been on couple hp medicines for a few years from the va to lower my hp,should I file and try for smc

[BUZZ]

Sorry CPAP MACHINE

[HorizontalMike]

No problems, been on my C-rap machine for 2 1/2 yr and counting.  I hate it, but it does work for me.  My AHI (Apnea/Hyponea Index) has gone from +10/hr to less than 1, and has allowed me to actually sleep on my back.

FWIW, my OSA appeal still has not been determined and is in limbo-land, since the VA has started fighting tooth and nail against any and all sleep apnea claims from about 2013 to present.  IMO, the VA is making a budgetary decision here that has NOTHING to do with the effected veteran's needs.  The only OTHER time I have seen the VA be so transparent about denying benefits is the VA's continual denial of "Blue Water Navy" veterans' presumptive exposure to AO, of which I am classified... }8-(

Here is the VA's BIG LIE about OSA not having any functional impairment:

http://www.military.com/benefits/2013/06/20/va-reconsiders-disability-ratings-for-apnea.html

It angers me every time I read that crap!  Even if I haven't died from hypoxea yet, my quality of life went to hail.  Plenty of research now, about results of OSA. Here is just one from the National Institute of Health (NIH). Just click on the quote to get the entire original article and original source:

"...The public health consequences of sleep loss and sleep-related disorders are far from benign. The most visible consequences are errors in judgment contributing to disastrous events such as the space shuttle Challenger (Walsh et al., 2005). Less visible consequences of sleep conditions are far more prevalent, and they take a toll on nearly every key indicator of public health: mortality, morbidity, performance, accidents and injuries, functioning and quality of life, family well-being, and health care utilization. Some of these consequences, such as automobile crashes, occur acutely within hours (or minutes) of the sleep disorder, and thus are relatively easy to link to sleep problems. Others—for example, obesity and hypertension—develop more insidiously over months and years of chronic sleep problems. After decades of research, the case can be confidently made that sleep loss and sleep disorders have profound and widespread effects on human health..."

Edited January 18, 2016 by HorizontalMike

[broncovet]

This reminds me of when I was in the service and the doc was about to insert a catheter.  I asked him, "Will this hurt?"

He responded, "It wont hurt me a bit."  

No, sleep apnea does not cause any problems for head honchos, because they dont have it.  But it does for those who have it.  I wish I would have gotten my CPAP years earlier.  

I had been a patient at VAMC for 10 years.  They did not detect sleep apnea, in spite of years of multiple docs in multiple areas.  None figured it out. 

Then, I had chest pains, and, fortuanately my VAMC was full.  Wifey called to tell the hospital I was coming in with chest pains.  "Dont bring him here, we are full".  

My wife says, "Ok, he is having chest pains.  Shall I save VA some costs and just bring him directly to the morgue, then?"  

No, take him to a real hospital, and VA will pay the bill.  

So, she took me to the hospital where she had been a nurse.  In 24 hours, the doc came in and said, "You have sleep apnea."  

I responded, No, I dont think so.  He says he is a cardiologist and my right side of the heart larger than the rest is consistent with sleep apnea.  

So, sure enough, I took that to VA and they did a sleep study and got a CPAP.  I would be a dead man without my wife's hospital.  VA can not seem to diagnose sleep apnea, at least not at my VAMC, until another doc did.  It saves VA money "not" to diagnose sleep apnea, as they dont want to pay for it.  It also means Vets live shorter time, which is fine for them also.  

[HorizontalMike]

Here is a link for the ENTIRE online book (searchable) from the Institute of Medicine Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research.  This one is one of the best freebies from NIH Nationally ranked researchers I have found:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19960/

Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation

An Unmet Public Health Problem

Editors: Harvey R Colten and Bruce M Altevogt. Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research.

Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2006.

ISBN-10: 0-309-10111-5

It is estimated that 50 to 70 million Americans chronically suffer from a disorder of sleep and wakefulness, hindering daily functioning and adversely affecting health and longevity. The cumulative long-term effects of sleep deprivation and sleep disorders have been associated with a wide range of deleterious health consequences including an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research concluded that although clinical activities and scientific opportunities in the field are expanding, awareness among the general public and health care professionals is low, given the magnitude of the burden. The available human resources and capacity are insufficient to further develop the science and to diagnose and treat individuals with sleep disorders. Therefore, the current situation necessitates a larger and more interdisciplinary workforce. Traditional scientific and medical disciplines need to be attracted into the somnology and sleep medicine field. Renewed and revitalized commitments to the field from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), academic health centers, private foundations, and professional societies are essential to ensure appropriate public and professional awareness, education and training, basic and clinical research, and patient care. Finally, the fragmentation of research and clinical care currently present in most academic institutions requires the creation of accredited interdisciplinary sleep programs in academic institutions.

Edited January 18, 2016 by HorizontalMike

[Andyman73]

Sleep apnea is most likely going to be the next big VA scandal, as far as denying benefits goes. 

[Buck52]

Buzz & Andyman

Look up this case 

 Citation  Nr :0102100

Docket NO. 99-22-315

Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD

Also see Colvin v.Derwinski , 1 vet. App. 171,175 (1991)

Note in the ''Conclusion of Law''

Evidentiary  equipoise which must be resolved in the veteran's favor

see 38 U.S.C.A. :5107(b)

Accordingly, The Board is Constrained  to find that the service connection for sleep apnea is warranted here under a secondary analysis 38 CFR: 3.310

Order

 Service Connection for sleep apnea is granted secondary to service connection PTSD.

Read about this veterans case  it will help you connect your Sleep Apnea to PTSD.

Even if you had no records of S.A while in service.

 

...Buck