Gulf War Vet

[huskerfanfl]

As some of you know, I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea and have a claim pending. While reading on this board (and the othe less friendly one), I see that sleep disorder and insomnia are presumptive conditions for Gulf War vets. I have tried to get my letter to write a letter stating that the sleep apnea was present before I retired in 2004, but he refuses to do so. I have statements from my wife, oldest daughter and son in law. Would the sleep apnea fall under the presumptive conditions of the Gulf War?

[Pete53]

File the claim and if denied look for a Doc who will diagnose sleep apnea and opine that it started or was aggravated by service. Continue to work on your Doc or find a new one.Even if it is presumtive you still need an something that links it to service.

The wife can help you in a Hearing and be sure that all buddy letters or letters of support are notarized.

Good Luck

[Ricky]

Getting a Doc to tie Sleep Apnea to service is very hard as there are too many factors involved. Sleep Apnea is not presumptive..... However, if you served in the gulf and have mention of sleep problems in your SMR's this will help.

With that said, you need good strong lay statements - focus on the snoring. In your wife's statement she needs to focus on the snoring along with the disruptive sleep patteren which is present in sleep apnea (how many times you stop breathing during the night).

In your statement focus on the complaints received from family members about your snoring, tiredness, day time sleepiness etc....

However, without some form of statement from a doc you will have an uphill battle with this. How is your weight? As this is always the first suspect in a person that has sleep apnea. What was the reason your doc refused to comment on this issue.