What's up Fellow Vets,
I am new to this site and I wanted to explain my case and get advise.
I was medically discharged from the Army in 2004 due to a diagnosis of asthma (30% disability). I never had any kind of respiratory problems until I arrived in Germany in 2003. I started experiencing difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, excessive snoring, dry mouth, fatigue, ect. After several trips to the doctor and several tests, the Army doctors diagnosed me with having asthma. I never had asthma so all the symptoms i was experiencing were new to me.
Fast forward to 2017, I was having trouble with the hormones in my body. I was experiencing ecessive daytime sleepiness, fatigue, memory problems and loud snoring (ask my wife). After several tests and appointments, it was requested by my doctor that I have a sleep study performed. I didnt know why I would need this test but reluctantly, I agreed and took the test. After the test, I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea with an AHI 77.5. Moderate is 5 and severe is 10+. So it turns out that the symptoms i was experiencing while in the army were of both asthma and severe OSA. The doctors in the Army never even mentioned or tested me for sleep apnea. I had a DBQ done at the VA Hospital in which i am being treated. In the DBQ, the Dr states:
a. Describe the history (including onset and course) of the Veteran's sleep disorder condition (brief summary):
Veteran reports excessive daytime fatigue and sleepiness, unrefreshing
sleep ,snoring and frequent awakening. He had a sleep study at Northport VAMC on 8/11/2017
whihc showed severe obstructive sleep apnea with AHI 77.5 events per hour. He had a CPAP titration study on 8/23/2017 which showed
improvement to AHI of 12.9 events per hour. He just got his CPAP machine yesterday. As of now, he gets about 4
hours of sleep per night. He does not restorative sleep. He does find himself falling asleep during the day.
Does the Veteran's sleep apnea impact his or her ability to work?
[X] Yes [ ] No
If yes, describe impact of the Veteran's sleep apnea, providing one
or
more examples:
he is tired throughout the day. His poor sleep has led to foggy
thinking and poor short term memory.
I just went on ebenefits and submitted a claim for sleep apnea and Unemployability. Do you think i have a valid claim?
