Filing For Sleep Apnea

Question:

Hello Jim, I want to apply for a Sleep Apnea disability, but I am concerned that my timeline may not work. I am a USN 30 year Veteran, and I am an Agent Orange boots on the ground Aircrew Veteran. I retired on 30 Nov 1986. I was hospitalized by the VA on 16 – 17 December 1986 for an overnight Holter Monitor study. (16 – 17 days beyond one year after I retired) The diagnosis was Bradycardia and it was recommended that I be referred for a pacemaker review. At that pacemaker review, the DR was telling me that it is not unusual for a person that is physical fit to have Bradycardia. So here I am, having high blood pressure and being overweight. So, I asked the Dr if I appeared to be the physical fitness type! End of discussion and no pacemaker. I have the VA form 10-1000a (1986) dtd 19DEC1986 Abbreviated Medical Record that documents the Bradycardia diagnosis. What is significant to me was that the annotation of “r/o/ sleep apnea” is on this form 2 times. Presently the VA requires a sleep study to verify sleep apnea. So how was the VA able to r/o sleep apnea for me, if they did not do a sleep study? I have recently had a sleep study by a private DR and was verified as having sleep apnea. I have been using a CPAP mask for the past few days. Although that bradycardia was just outside of the one-year time frame, I have had a disability for recurrent headaches  dated December 1986. There are many references from reputable medical sources on the Internet concerning Bradycardia and recurrent headaches. They seem to indicate a possible tie in between the two with sleep apnea. What would be your recommendation concerning that I file a claim for sleep apnea? Additionally I have read your comments concerning Prostate Cancer. I am currently at 100% for that but it is a battle keeping that. I will provide a separate input concerning that.

Jim's Reply:

To be honest, I believe you're chasing a claim that will not be awarded. You're reaching back to 1986, 34 years ago, to a vague diagnosis that was evaluated and it appears the doctors determined there was nothing wrong. You had a "pacemaker review" and it was negative.

If you've required a pacemaker since then, maybe I'm wrong? If you don't have a pacemaker today, what do we think then?

Now 34 years later,  you've gained weight. Sleep studies weren't done as often in the 1980's and although I can't speak to why they decided not to do one, it was probably because you were younger and healthy and didn't need it. When we gain weight and get older, we develop OSA (happened to me)...no mystery there.

VA is aware why so many veterans are desperately trying to get an OSA rating this late in life...the 50% rating is very attractive, isn't it? Unless you're diagnosed while on active duty, these days it's almost impossible to get an OSA rating. Even the military has decided you can remain active and use a CPAP...OSA isn't really disabling. I use a CPAP, not service connected, and it appears to work well and it's hardly disabling.

As always, you're allowed to file for anything you wish but I don't see much of a chance here.