Yes, Sleep Apnea Question

[smackchumps]

I know people post all the time about sleep apnea, but I think my situation is different than all the others. I complained on my demobilization physical in June 2011 that I snored a lot and had trouble staying asleep because I was snoring so loud and falling asleep during the day, to the doctor and that my wife told me my snoring has gotten worse and that it was waking her up now (then). The doctor wrote a note that said "insomnia?" and that there wouldn't be a sleep study or follow up in service and that I had to follow up with the VA. So I filed a claim for "trouble sleeping", which the VA termed as "sleep disturbance" and was denied because I thought the meeting with the doctor was put in my medical record and the VA would see it, but it wasn't, so I had no documentation of my statement of symptoms. Fast forward to today and I actually found my demob physical papers that has all this written down. I was dx with sleep apnea and issued a CPAP in June 2016, so all I would need now is a doctor, maybe my VA doctor? to write up a DBQ and nexus letter to link the statement of symptoms with the later diagnosis, right? I also have a couple statements from family that observed my choking, gasping and snoring, the sleeping during the day and waking with headaches while on active duty. I'm thinking of going to a private sleep clinic to see if I can get a doctor or two to write up a nexus letter or DBQ.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Palma114]

smackchumps, I'm not sure you can get a nexus or a good IMO from a VA Doctor, it seems to me that you are going to need a good Independent Medical Expert Opinion, and to get one you generally have to pay out of your own pocket,

a good IMO can save you a lot of time and stress. Perhaps an IMO can also maybe secondary link it, to a service-connected injury.

[broncovet]

You want to reopen your claim with new and material service records, 38 CFR 3.156 C.  You can also try amending your claim from "sleep disturbance" to sleep apnea.  

You always need the big 3 Caluza triangle:

1.  Current diagnosis (it need not be diagnosed in service, you need it diagnosed now).  

2.  In service event or aggravation.  

3.  Nexus, or medical link between one and 2.  

You should be able to win this claim...