I am still on active duty preparing to retire in a few months. Awhile back I was diagnosed with pretty bad sleep apnea. I was put on a CPAP machine for the rest of my life. Is that service connected since I am still on duty and is it ratable? Thanks

Hey Chief, who are you? Fill in your profile...

Wray...

The answer to your question is yes.
I am rated 50% for sleep apnea and know a few others that are also.

Depends on if the member has an approved retirement letter on file. If the member has an approved retirement letter on file, and the condition is neither grave nor acute, then there won't be a medical board, and the member will retire. Not sure what the VA will do after retirement. . . .

Important point here is the make darned sure that if you are currently on active duty, that any information concerning your sleep apnea condition is documented on your official Coast Guard health record.

Learning from experience with the Department of Veterans Affairs, if it isn't in writing, it then never happened and you WON'T be compensated.

FWIW, I too sleep with a CPAP pump because of severe apnea and am unable to sleep without it. It really sucked to wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air and then feeling worn out during the daytime because of lack of sleep. When prescribed the CPAP pump, I began to sleep like a baby. It made all the difference in the world.

As a Coast Guard retiree, the TRICARE Prime program and my primary care provider, David O. Grant Medical Center at TRAVIS AFB, has been nothing but GREAT in providing me with the best equipment and periodic replacement of expendible material such as masks and filters.

Mark

Ya know it's all fine and well to keep hammering
on people to "make sure it's in your Health Jacket" however there really is no way ot tell what they do bother to write...I started with
the capemay crud way back in '74 and have had
various breathing issues ever since. I can recall at least twenty times that I had been treated for that type of stuff while active and here when I really need that documentation all these years later I'm told by the VA that there were "NO" entries indicating respritory issues... The VA has tested me and given me a cpap about a year and a half ago and although
the VA gave me a NoN s/c pension, sleep apnea
doesn't seem to appear on the raters radar as it relates to me..After three years of chasing down documentation of sorties gone bad and other crap related to PTSD, plus a heart attack
and four stents later, I'm still getting jerked
around while awaiting a rating board decision...nothing is as simple as it appears...

I don't understand.... either your info is documented, or it is not. Just because something is documented does not mean you will get a VA "rating" for it... I have had a "cronic cough" for years... it was documented numerous times in my health record. I received no VA rating for it.

Other things, such as high blood pressure, heel spurs, broken bones are easily documented, and accepted. The key is to have all your ducks in a row prior to your retirement. Upon retirement keep your health record, or at a minimum make 2 copies of it. (I kept mine)

Many on active duty do not understand how important the VA disability rating can be... You decide, would you rather get your "high blood pressure" pills free for life, or pay for them monthly from your local drug store, for the rest of your life.....

Additionally, with 'concurrent receipt' you will get your disability payment in addition to your regular retirement. (currently that is only for those over the 50% rating, but I'm sure that will cange.. in time) Wouldn't you want an extra $500 - $1,000 per month in retirement? -- that is, every month for the rest of your life!

These are your military benefits.... use 'em or loose 'em.....sure doesn't matter to me.

Wray....

The VADC is trying to change the term of "service connected". With budget deficts soaring to record heights and no slowdown in the forseeable future some cuts will have to be made. I don't believe the VA is immune to cuts. If I was in charge I would outsource all VA functions. Keep benefits to eligible vets but outsource everything else. I think the VA health benefits would be much better being outsourced.

Wray,
You are correct. My father works for the VA and 'concurrent receipt' will eventually include all ratings.

Thanks for the replies. It is documented in my record for the sleep apnea. I am also being seen for some lower back disc problems that are well documented. I found this in the CFR's. If I read it correctly, a CPAP machine gets you 50%.
6847 Sleep Apnea Syndromes (Obstructive, Central, Mixed):
Chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention 100
or cor pulmonale, or; requires tracheostomy...............
Requires use of breathing assistance device such as 50
continuous airway pressure (CPAP) machine.................

quote:

Originally posted by RDBiker:
The answer to your question is yes.
I am rated 50% for sleep apnea and know a few others that are also.

Whos palm did those guys grease? I went trough this also for my "retirement" 3 day physcial at the local VAH. After 2 days in the sleep tank... They said I had "mild" sleep apnea but wanted to do more tests. I called BS and said we were done. Maybe my fault but I didn't get any raiting at all. They offered me some device but tech agreed it seem to make me worse. I just never went back. Kidding about the grease thing but it just goes to show just how inconsistant the VA is. I think my problem has gotten worse. To get a rating, do you have to go to the VA or can they get sent info from a civial doctor to compound what is already in the VA records and they form a rating on that? Maybe I should go back and try it again.

quote:

Originally posted by MarkW51:
Important point here is the make darned sure that if you are currently on active duty, that any information concerning your sleep apnea condition is documented on your official Coast Guard health record.

Learning from experience with the Department of Veterans Affairs, if it isn't in writing, it then never happened and you WON'T be compensated.

FWIW, I too sleep with a CPAP pump because of severe apnea and am unable to sleep without it. It really sucked to wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air and then feeling worn out during the daytime because of lack of sleep. When prescribed the CPAP pump, I began to sleep like a baby. It made all the difference in the world.

As a Coast Guard retiree, the TRICARE Prime program and my primary care provider, David O. Grant Medical Center at TRAVIS AFB, has been nothing but GREAT in providing me with the best equipment and periodic replacement of expendible material such as masks and filters.

Mark

Mark, when I got my SA noticed, I was in for something else. I was getting my "retirement" physical done to check up on all the things I had "wrong" when getting out. I complained about breathing issues and they my lungs only "held 85% capacity"? Next thing I know, they asked about snoring. Yes I did, very loudly. So, I ended up in a sleep clinic. I stopped going after the 2nd visit as I felt it wasn't getting me anywhere. They said I had "mild" SA but I felt I would let it go. Maybe it's time to go back.

Dennis,

As I mentioned, TRICARE is pretty good at paying for not only the overnight diagnostic sleep clinic but in paying for whatever equipment (CPAP, filters, mask, & etc.) if prescribed by a physician after the diagnosis.

Before being diagnosed with SA, I thought for sure that I had either low iron blood anaemia or something worse and possibly connected with all those years in close proximity to RF radiation emissions. I had absolutely no energy and almost fell asleep several times while driving to work on I-80.

The pulmonary physician who diagnosed me said that a lot of this was probably due to years of irregular sleep schedules such as the 12 hour rotating watch schedule stood my most RM/TC/OS personnel during their entire careers.

With the CPAP, that has all changed. It's nice to get a full night's sleep.

Don't hesitate to get checked out. Sleeping with the CPAP isn't hard to get used to. My wife said that she prefers the low whine of the CPAP over my loud snoring before I was diagnosed.

Mark

I have the ole OSAS also. The CPAP can mean life or death in serious cases. It's best to use it if you have it!!

I love my CPAP! They found my Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea while doing a workup for hypothyroidism [it stopped working]. Did several sleep studies after trying various things, like loosing wieght and they found my blood O2 level was in the mid to low 80's when asleep. After being on it now for over 4039 hours [mine has an hour meter] of blissful sleep I wonder how I even functioned. I've even taken it to the hospital for each of my surgeries...they went kind of nutty when they find out you're being treated for that and made sure that they had the extra stuff on hand during your surgery.

Documentation, Documentation, Documentation is the key plus copies of all visits, procedures and tests.

For those who use CPAP pumps, do any of you have the pump attached to an uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)?

Reason I ask, a few times this past winter, the power has gone out in the middle of the night and I've woken up almost suffocating for air because the CPAP has stopped and the seal of the mask & hose is pretty efficient.

To overcome the power loss, heavy traveling while on AD, Walter Reed AMC has a unique dentist there that uses the Thornton Adjustable Positioner TAP
It is really great for traveling but you do wake up with a sore jaw and you have to get your jaw back into position. I have both a CPAP and TAP and they both have their good and bad points.

quote:

As I mentioned, TRICARE is pretty good at paying for not only the overnight diagnostic sleep clinic but in paying for whatever equipment (CPAP, filters, mask, & etc.) if prescribed by a physician after the diagnosis.

Yeah right Mark...Tricare is jacking me arout on my CPAP machine - they have changed the "rental rules" and tell me I need to continue to pay the rental company for 6 more months until the CPAP machine is paid for - 3 months ago I was told my cost share had been satisified.

A word about VA ratings...Wray is right...document document document. I have 2 copies of my medical record, well documented. I am rated at 80%; if I added all the percentages up it would be 150% but they don't add them all up....
My dealings with the VA have have been nothing but great.

If the VA already said I had "mild SA" (I don't have any copies of the records but I'm sure (yea h right) it's as simple as asking for it but what if I go to a civ doctor and they say it's worse the "mild" will the VA accept that and rule on a rating or do you think I have to start from square one. I really rather forget the rating thing if I gotta spend nights at the va hospital. Anyone ever delt with the outside doctor vs the VA?

tc1uscg,

When I applied a second time(an increase and some new items) to the VA, almost all of my medical documentation was from private doctors. All the medical stuff was done while I was on the TDRL, so I was not seeing many military doctors. On some issues the VA didn't even give me a C&P exam, because I supplied so much outside documentation.