My claim was denied about a month ago....they say I can't prove it was service related.  Even though I gave it my best shot with letters of support etc..   This is my second go around with the VA out of Houston and now Salt Lake.... either I hire a professional to fight this or go with the local VA reps to assist.  I hate someone telling me what I did or did not have while active duty just because it's not in my record book.  Hell SA was not something the doc's looked for when you went to sickbay....they talked more about STD's than anything else.   It's enough to make you want to not even try.

Yes I had my study be it after service, the death of Reggie White and the cause of his death hit me like a ton of bricks cause I had the same for years while active duty.

I have and use the machine.


I have high blood pressure (during service and now)

I'm still tired at times and lose train of thought while speaking or just in general

I could go on, but it's a big let down when your own VA make you go through a bunch of red tape to prove your point.

 

Jeremy, like you I am separating from the Air Force.  I have 8 years of service.  Have you filed your claim with the V.A. yet?  If so I would like to know how the whole process went.  I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and I also have a CPAP.  Was it a long process?

Has anyone on here been denied disability even though there were statements in the medical records? I'm just asking since I had some symptoms before i got out of the AF and supposed to have a sleep study done but got out and missed the study. I did claim it through the VA but the process has been taking a while. I filed in Feb07.

DO NOT GET THE SLEEP STUDY DONE UNTIL RIGHT BEFORE RETIREMENT.  OTHERWISE, YOU WILL BE MEDICALLY BOARDED OUT WHICH IS A MAJOR SCREW JOB!  NO RETIREMENT BENEFITS OR RETIREMENT!

hopdigity wrote:

I'm very new to the sleep apnea realm and am wondering if anyone on here is or was Active Duty and as a result of having sleep apnea were you medically boarded or retired. Reason i'm asking is because i've found out that I'm a good candidate for having sleep apnea from my ENT Doc yesterday. He went on stating if we do the CAPP test and the test comes back that i definitely have sleep apnea (by the way on the scale of 1 to 5 by the way my tonsils and abnormal large uvula look i'm a 4 1/2) than I could face a medical board and probably be medically discharged. My other option would be having my tonsils taking out and my uvula shrunk from its abnormal size which from what i understand is some serious pain afterward. If I have the CPAP test done and it comes back does anyone think that the AF would medically retire me because of it or would i be just booted out? Any help/advice would be great. I've been in going on 11 years and I definitely want to make the right decision before i go on with this. If i can get medically retired than yeah that would be great but not medically boarded out. That would be horrible. Way too much time invested but I don't want to endanger myself by not getting the problem fixed.  If i get medically boarded I can still get disability though right?  Please help!

Thanks,
Daniel S. Hopper, SSgt, USAF

[quote="Anonymous"]DO NOT GET THE SLEEP STUDY DONE UNTIL RIGHT BEFORE RETIREMENT.  OTHERWISE, YOU WILL BE MEDICALLY BOARDED OUT WHICH IS A MAJOR SCREW JOB!  NO RETIREMENT BENEFITS OR RETIREMENT!

What is right before?  My retirement date is 1 Feb 09, I'll walk out the door in Mid Nov 08.  Thats in 11 months.  I have some info in my records as a snoring problem.  (No study done).  I'm not sure how long it takes to schedule a sleep study.  I dont want to wait too late or too early.  Would they medically board me with retirement orders in hand for sleep apnea?

What is right before?  My retirement date is 1 Feb 09, I'll walk out the door in Mid Nov 08.  Thats in 11 months.  I have some info in my records as a snoring problem.  (No study done).  I'm not sure how long it takes to schedule a sleep study.  I dont want to wait too late or too early.  Would they medically board me with retirement orders in hand for sleep apnea?[/quote]



I retire from the Air Force 1 SEP 08. I have retirement orders in hand.  I completed my last sleep study 15 DEC 07. I should get my CPAP machine next week. I had the sleep study completed after I had selected to retire. I have friend who is under the same circumstances and he says he is not going through MEB because he has a retirement date and retirement orders.

My sleep study was scheduled within a month of receiving the referral.

I will be separating from the military in Feb.  I wanted to know if anyone has seperated from the military not retired and filed a claim for Sleep apnea?  I have a CPAP and documentation of this in my medical records.  Is it a long process and do you think that I have a legitimate claim?

Rebull wrote:

I will be separating from the military in Feb.  I wanted to know if anyone has seperated from the military not retired and filed a claim for Sleep apnea?  I have a CPAP and documentation of this in my medical records.  Is it a long process and do you think that I have a legitimate claim?

Rebull,

I don't think you would have a problem getting disability from the VA for sleep apnea. It's already in your medical records. There was a post somewhere on this board of a dude that seperated and had no problem getting disability for sleep apnea and he had documentation. As far as how long it takes, I filed my claims with the VA in Feb07 after the AF decieded to Medical board me and I'm still awaiting results. I guess it really depends on where you filed your claim, the amount of claims, and what kind of exams and such you have to do for your claim.

I am AD AF with just shy of 5 years in. I was diagnosed with mild OSA a few months ago, recieved a CPAP, and after using it and getting no improvement I opted for surgery. I had my uvula removed, as well as my soft palate trimmed, and a procedure called "hyoid suspension". I recently came off of con leave and in a month I am supposed to have my deviated septum corrected. I still snore just as loud as before and am still tired all the time. If I am MEB'd becuase of this does that mean I am screwed out of dissability?

Listen, I am retired now. If you are diagnoised with sleep apnea while in the service, no matter if you retire or not if you get a C-Pap machine and keep using it you will get a 50% disability rating from the VA. Even if you can't retire you can get your VA disability.

Best bet is to do the following:

1.  Loose weight, this one of the big factors on how bad the apnea is.
2.  Have the uvula surgery but it is the worst surgury I ever had. Takes months to feel right.
3.  Consider having your nose looked at also. You might have a deviated septum.
4.  Exercise, exercise, exercise. Most people that have apnea, have sexual disfunction, high blood pressure, high chlorestoral, heart disease also.
5.  C-pap machine will make you feel better if your pressure gets adjusted to the right setting. They also have a dental mouth piece you can put in while sleeping that brings your jawl forward improving airway.

i have sleep acnea and have 35% rateing i have episodes all night long every night my wife tells me that its to the point that i turn blue can i get a higher rateing? and do they take away the penssion check will i appeal my case?

i have sleep acnea and have 35% rateing i have episodes all night long every night my wife tells me that its to the point that i turn blue can i get a higher rateing? and do they take away the penssion check will i appeal my case?the va rep said that i shouldnt appeal my case!

I am not sure I understand how you could get 35%, the VA uses the VASRD found in CFR 38 to rate disabilities.  CFR 38, Section 4.97 explains the ratings for sleep Apnea

6847  Sleep Apnea Syndromes (Obstructive, Central, Mixed):    
Chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention or cor pulmonale, or; requires tracheostomy    100
Requires use of breathing assistance device such as continuous airway pressure (CPAP) machine            50
Persistent day-time hypersomnolence                                                                                               30
Asymptomatic but with documented sleep disorder breathing                                                              0

I have not yet gotten to the VA part of all this but my understanding is that they use these % when figuring disabilities.

The VA only rates in 10% increments (i.e. 10%, 20% etc).  Don’t get confused with the rating that is sometimes given by the AF, Army, or Navy.  The only thing that the service rating does is help with monetary benefits if you are discharged.  The VA is a separate rating and is unrelated to a service rating.  I would go talk to one of the service originations like the DAV and ask for assistance.

PanMan

in the navy they tested me for sleep apnea i had 263 episodes in one night the test also said my oxygen was below 90% and somtimes below 60%   but they said the test was "unconfirmed" and that i needed another test i told the va that i needed another test but they didnt want to give me another one what should i do? and how much of a dissibility rateingshould i expect?will they give me a cpap machine or do i have to do it myself?