Obesity and Sleep Apnea Concurrently

[tk3000]

 

Over the years, I gained weight which I attribute at large to my physical disabilities (left leg with hardware) and ongoing pain which makes exercising more difficult, currently my BMI is of 32.6 which is classified as obese. There has been cases within the VA whereby mental healhty issues have been grounds for a successful obesity claim, and one also have mental healty issues so this is another ground for the same claim of obesity (the rational being that depressive disorder would increase ones food intake). But it seems to me that the physical disability issues are a stronger case. Anyhow, both disabilities make for an even strong claim of obesity. I am not sure how a claim of obesity is adjudicated at the VA, but I am not morbid obesity by any means.

 

Nonethless, my claim for obesity is a door for another claim; claim for sleep apnea. Recently I was diagnosed with sleep apnea through a sleep study, I have had the same study done in 2011 whence I was more fit and the result was negative but this time around the result indicated a diagnosed of sleep apnea with need of a respirator in order to sleep.

So both the obesity claim and that of sleep apnea would have to be concurrent, and the later dependent on the second.

 

The following are some of the arguments I plan on adding to my claim:

 

Establishing service connection generally requires competent evidence of three things: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship, i.e., a nexus, between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). In this particular case the third criteria applies since there is a nexus between the veterans physical disabilities (physical limitations and pain plus depressive disorder) and his obesity and henceforth the development of sleep apnea.

Therefore sleep apnea is proximately due to the veterans obesity disorder ( greatest risk factor for sleep apnea) which in different degrees of causality is a consequence to the following veterans established service connected disabilities: mainly left leg physical condition with pain which hinders physical exercise more difficult and depressive and anxiety disorder which increases one food intake (Obstructive sleep apnea and other symptoms of OSA are associated with probable major depression, regardless of factors like weight, age, sex or race, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.).

-------

Does that sounds like a sound and quick claim to through even the notoriously dynfunctional VA claiming process? 

 

Edited July 7, 2018 by tk3000

[Gastone]

That said (no single 100% SC), even if you were to receive the New SA 50% SC, regardless of the Scheduler CSC total, you would continue to be Rated as IU with the SMC S.

[tk3000]

44 minutes ago, Gastone said:

That said (no single 100% SC), even if you were to receive the New SA 50% SC, regardless of the Scheduler CSC total, you would continue to be Rated as IU with the SMC S.

Yeah, I know that, but in a cinch it gives me safety net and a failsafe net in case I am out of IU for any reason.

 

thanks for your insights!

Edited July 21, 2018 by tk3000

[john999]

So unless you have a single rating for 100% you still get IU even if you had 5  X 70% disorders.  I have 70%, 60%, 20%,  4 X 10%, and Housebound (S).  I would need a new 50% rating to get to the scheduler 100%, but even if I got that I would still be considered TDIU is what you are saying,  right?  This is something that our Veteran Advocates should be working on which is to rate all vets with MH disability of 70%-90%  bumped up to 100% rating.  I have a combined 90%.  If you read the actual criteria for 100% for a mental health condition most who have 100% rating for PTSD (for instance) would be inside an institution.  A vet with 100% scheduler rating for mental health issue is a complete basket case who is an immediate risk for suicide or homicide and should be in a rubber room.  Few of us actually that post here are in that condition.  Although, all vets who cannot work due to MH condition are most severely disabled and should be rating 100% scheduler.  The criteria for 100% for PTSD is just so far outside person's actual mental health GAF that few relate to that level of mental disease.    My gripe is that any vet with PTSD or any other SC mental health condition that makes it impossible for him to work and support himself should be rated 100%.  I am TDIU and I can never get 100% for single issue unless I am willing to have myself committed to the rubber room for a couple of months.  I am just not up to that and neither is my wife.

[Buck52]

john999

If your IU already and file a new claim and get 60% then you should be inferred to the 100% final degree rating and qualify for SMC S House Bound. (if you don't already have it?)

 for the combined ratings yes its hard to reach the 100% , but  I do think if you have a IU Rating  that rating is considered to be 100% b/c your being paid at the 100% rate although it says you have a 90%combined rating.

 

I know when I was TDIU P&T Based from a 90% total combined rating for my original rating years ago .

years later I filed a separate FDC PTSD Claim

When.I was awarded Chronic PTSD at 70%  this changed my 90%combined rating to a final 100% degree..and was Inferred the SMC S  H.B.

e benfit's is not reliable I realize that,  but on e benefits it has me down as a 100% FINAL DEGREE RATING  WITH SMC

Edited July 22, 2018 by Buck52

[Gastone]

J-999, check your IU Award Letter, what SC's are listed as the basis for the IU Award. The VA just recently, last couple years, required Vets to list the Primary cause of their IU.

In years prior to the above IU requirement, ill-informed Vets (ME) or their POA-VSO would list all their relatively severe SC's as the basis for their IU, thus taking the included SCs off the table as far as SMC S (60% Scheduler Housebound).

[john999]

The reason I got IU was for 70% for mental health issues.  Then as years went by I was DX'ed with DMII and then with PN and CAD and then I got "S" because the CAD was 60% by itself.  As long as I keep getting the 100% payment plus the SMC I really don't care because I have been P&T since 2001.  I just read the scare tactics every once in a while about some new administration wanting to do away with TDIU for old guys like me.  However, just because I am an old timer now does not mean I would not keep working if I was able.  I missed the most productive working years of my life due to SC conditions which have only gotten worse over the years.  I would need a new disability of at least 50% to bump up to scheduler 100%. Unless I could get it for sleep apnea or a combination of OSA and all the other crap as well.