I retired from active duty in 2004, and was diagnosed with sleep apnea and given and ween sleep test and given a breathing machine by a private doctor 2006. I keep in shape by going to the gym and running at least 12 times a week. My wife has been telling me for over 10 years that I snore and stop breathing at night. I have nothing in my medical records other than I went to the doctor while on active duty because of problems sleeping, and the doctor said it was insomnia. I was denied disability because the Va said my apnea is not service connected. I am very disappointed in the VA's decision because I gave 22 good years of my  life to and participated in all three Gulf War campaigns. Is there anything I can do to get compensated?

k9posse,

I would sugest going to the DAV (or a similuar orginization) for assistance on this.  They work with this type of thing all of the time and can better assist you in this.  one thought is if you could link it with Gulf War syndrom...

Good Luck

PanMan

i am in the Army i was found to have OSA i now have a CPAP. i also have high bp was told it could be from the osa, and im on 2 differnt meds for that. my peb came back fit for dutyand fully deployably reason being "i can expect access to electricity in most locations". it seems like im being told i can expect it but if its not there oh well sorry. i have been rushed to the er a few times because my bp had gotten very high. one time it was 176/114 and all i was doing was sitting on the ground at the range waitting my turn to fire.my question is what can i do to fight it? when it comes to my health and life needing a cpap when i sleep i dont want to expect power i want to know 100% its there.

I would just like to make a comment.  I feel that this site is very misleading and those military personnel who have been diagnosed with OSA need to know that when everone here is saying that they got 50%.  They really didn't get 50%.  The military disability rating for OSA is 0%.  If your lucky you will get 10%.  They 50% disability that they are talking about is the VA rating.  I have a wife and 4 children and 50% from the VA is roughly $700.00.  This is jack S%$#!  Especially when all this time everyone I have talked to, and people on this site, and doctors are telling me for the last year that I will recieve 50% disability.  This is true, but not from the Army.  There is a big difference in 50% from the Army and 50% from the VA.

Threebrosracing,
  With all due respect I have to say you are being very unfair in accusing everyone on this site about lying to you. In your first post:

Quote:

threebrosracing wrote:
    OK, I guess I have a few questions.  I have been in the Army for 14 years.  It will be 15 years on August 27th.  I was diagnosed with Severe OSA two years ago.  I have kept it under the table since I was diagnosed.  Currently I'm on my 3rd year as a Drill Sergeant and this OSA is kicking my butt.  Since my original diagnosis, my OSA has gotten worse.  I had to do another sleep study last year and they told me that im gettin worse.  I had to have my CPAP adjusted from"7" to "11".  I know that Severe OSA will get me 50% disability. The thing is that I don't want to get out.  I would like to contine to serve my remaining 5 years and retire.  But I have a few questions......

    1.  If I get a P3 profile now with 14 years and 8 months TIS, will they force a medical discharge on me?  I was told that I need to wait till I have 15 years TIS and then I will get a choice to get out or stay in.

    2.  If I choose to get out I was told that I want to get "Medically Retired."  Does this mean that I get a portion of my retirement and 50% disability, or am I just gonna get 50% disability?

    If I choose to stay in the Army and retire at 20 years, will I get my normal retirement of 50% + 50% disability, which equals 100%?  Or is there a catch to this as well?

    I have a wife and four kids to support and I know that there is no way that I could do this with just 50% Disability which = to: Base Pay (3424.20)  50%= (1712.10) + 20545.20 annually.

    3.  Also, how much would I get from VA for OSA?

[emphasis mine]

You made the statement that you knew yourself to have a 50% disability. Rather than asking about your medical history, I am pretty sure the Guest assumed you had enough other disabilities to make 50% or just ignored the situation altogether and just responded to how a 50% disability would work as far as base pay, etc. That is not an attempt to mislead you, but was an earnest attempt to answer part of your question. Regular members of this forum do not log in as guests unless there is an error, and at any rate one responder does not constitute "Everyone on the site".

The second post you made:

Quote:

Thanks Ron, the only reason why I say I'm getting worse is on my last sllep study they told me that generally most people get better on the CPAP (this is what Im using)  but for some reason your condition is getting worse.  Thas what they told me.  I'm not sure of the prand, but I don't think it has all those fancy features, and I know it doesn't have a humidifier and I'm pretty sure it is a constant pressure machine.  I will check tonight.

    Quote: Anonymous wrote:
    Number 2. There is a catch. If you can get medically retired at 50% disability you will recieve 50% of your base pay at the time you medically retire, regardless if you make 20. When less than 20 year retirement with a medical retirement of 50% you will receive 50% of you base pay, and all of it will be non taxable. That's worth a couple of grand a year.  If you make 20 and have a 50% Army medical retirement, you will get that same thing.



So does this mean that if I get medically retired at 15 years with 50% disabillity, I will get 50% of my base pay and it is Tax Free?  Or are you saying that if I take a 15 year retirement option, and get medically discharged?retired it will be tax free?

Not sure what service you were in but there hasn't been a 15 year retirement option in the Army in probablly 10 or so years.

Again you assumed it was true that you were getting a 50% disability. Actually no one responded to this question specifically and it got lost in the stream.

Your third and final post is to accuse everyone of misleading you, when they never did. Most of the posts on this part of the thread were from Vets who were already getting VA disability and were responding to questions regarding VA disability and not really answering your question at all.
 
This is not necessarily an information site dedicated to military benefits per se. Once you post a question here, if someone has an idea as to the right answer they are free to post. None of the Moderators nor the ASAA certify that any of the information posted is gospel. If any doctors in the Army mislead you, then that's not the responsibility of this site either. I think you owe an apology.

John


_________________
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Threebrosracing,

What any of the services say your disability rating is does not matter.  What does matter is what the VA considers your disability rating is.  For them disability rating is at 50%.  Also, the last I heard was that the Army was deploying people with OSA.  They send you with XPAP and supplies because most locations have power.  And unless XPAP does not work for you they do not discharge you, but this is on a case by case basis.  The other thing is that your commander (at least in the Air Force) has some input in the process.  If they say that you are a valuable member of the unit and you do not pose a threat to others in your unit, you are not discharged.  In fact I have been told that the Air Force is now deploying people with OSA.

I hope that this helps.  Don’t let all of this get you down, it will get better!!!!


Pan Man

I would like to know what MTF your using in Italy.

amd91600 wrote:

i am in the Army i was found to have OSA i now have a CPAP. i also have high bp was told it could be from the osa, and im on 2 differnt meds for that. my peb came back fit for dutyand fully deployably reason being "i can expect access to electricity in most locations". it seems like im being told i can expect it but if its not there oh well sorry. i have been rushed to the er a few times because my bp had gotten very high. one time it was 176/114 and all i was doing was sitting on the ground at the range waitting my turn to fire.my question is what can i do to fight it? when it comes to my health and life needing a cpap when i sleep i dont want to expect power i want to know 100% its there.

I can't tell you anything about the high blood pressure, but I will say this much:
I am a SPC now with four years in. I was found FFD in November, 2006, deployed to Iraq December 2006 stationed on a small patrol base, with fluctuating power. I sleep in the same room as the generator mechanic, so thankfully it's rarely ever off that long. Anyway, when I got here, about two weeks in, my mask broke just from all the travel I did to get here. It took my wife two months for them to get me a new mask. The entire time, I was working nights on guard. (My profile says requires nightly CPAP treatment, mind you.) I finally got the mask in March, and about that time received the news about the extension orders. The extension news sucked, but I was able to come home on leave.

Coming back from leave, the HMMWV I was in caught fire and in it was my CPAP. It took about a month and a half to finally get a new one, but now I have a Respironics M Series and a DC-powered battery from Respironics (that I didn't have before). Before, I just had to deal with the power loss, but now I just charge the battery during the day and plug into that at night. (I was finally able to convince them to get me off the night shift, even with the CPAP, I couldn't stay awake working nights in the dark.) Ask your PA to get you a CPAP that has a compatible battery.

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is the Army doesn't give a pile of doo doo about Sleep Apnea. If they did, I first of all wouldn't be here, and second of all would have been redeployed home for medical reasons both times I had issues with my CPAP.

I just thought I'd let you know what you are getting yourself in store for.

PanMan wrote:

Threebrosracing,

What any of the services say your disability rating is does not matter.  What does matter is what the VA considers your disability rating is.  For them disability rating is at 50%.  Also, the last I heard was that the Army was deploying people with OSA.  They send you with XPAP and supplies because most locations have power.  And unless XPAP does not work for you they do not discharge you, but this is on a case by case basis.  The other thing is that your commander (at least in the Air Force) has some input in the process.  If they say that you are a valuable member of the unit and you do not pose a threat to others in your unit, you are not discharged.  In fact I have been told that the Air Force is now deploying people with OSA.

I hope that this helps.  Don’t let all of this get you down, it will get better!!!!


Pan Man

The only deployed location that I have heard OSA diagnosed members going to is Qatar because they have a fixed MTF.  From what I have been instructed by my primary care manager (PCM) is that your PCM has a say in where you are cleared to deploy.  The unit commander can say, "the doc is nuts and your going to Iraq.  Pack yer s#!@."  The responsibility than falls with the unit commander and should anything happen (i.e. fall asleep on post, sleep deprived and not functioning properly during a fire fight or even during a patrol, or any other situation that can pops its ugly head when in a warzone) it is the commanders liability.  I do not know too many commanders in the air force that are willing to accept that kind of risk or responsibility.  In fact they are more apt to keep that person in a unit position that will benefit from the continuity that is provided by someone not fully deployable.  

This is only from my personal knowledge based on my PCMs and unit commanders guidance.  There may be commanders out that that are willing to put the risks aside and send people downrange.  

As for the 50% disability, you are absolutely correct.  The military can rate you at 10% but its the VA rating that will decide what compensation you will recieve.  The military rates you on each individual problem, where the VA rates you on the whole body.  I hope someone who has more knowledge can correct me if I am not understanding what my PCM stated or I am slightly off but it was told to me that the Air Force uses the VA disability rating guide.  He stated that because I was diagnosed with OSA while on AD that it is service-connected and I will get a rating of 50% for this condition from the AF as well as the VA.  The other problems will be rated accordingly.  I may only get 50% from the Air Force but the VA will come in and tack on another 30-40% for migraines and hearing aids that have been an ongoing issue for the last 10 years.

People should not get discouraged by what the military rates them when they do their final out physical.  The VA will more than make up the difference and that's where the compensation is derived from.

I only found out about SA after my retirement from the Marines.  Reggie White's death brought everything to the fore front.  I had the symptoms during my service years but did not relate it with the disorder.  Now, I'm climbing a up hill battle to try and prove to the VA that I did have this illness during my tenor.  I currenlty work for the Air Force and ask the troops here if they've ever heard of it (SA), MOST don't where some have.   I think this forum is great, however there really needs to be more awareness on this subject matter with our troops.

I'll let you know how it all turns out with the VA.

I was just diagnosed with mild obstructive sleep apnea.  I will be seperating from the military soon.  Can I expect any service-connected disability, even though I am separating?

Rebull wrote:

I was just diagnosed with mild obstructive sleep apnea.  I will be seperating from the military soon.  Can I expect any service-connected disability, even though I am separating?

Yes. You got it while in the service, correct? You're a lucky guy. At least it's steady money every month, even if it's not much.

Yes, superslacker.  I developed sleep apnea in the military.  I was also ordered a CPAP machine.  I here that the VA's current disability rating for sleep apnea is 50%.  Does it matter what type of sleep apnea you are diagnosed with(mild,moderate and severe) will you get disability for all types?

Rebull wrote:

Yes, superslacker.  I developed sleep apnea in the military.  I was also ordered a CPAP machine.  I here that the VA's current disability rating for sleep apnea is 50%.  Does it matter what type of sleep apnea you are diagnosed with(mild,moderate and severe) will you get disability for all types?

In general, most people will get 50% as long as they are on a CPAP.  It doesn't matter what the severity of the OSA is.

There are probably some exceptions to the rule no doubt, but I just hope I don't wind up being one of them once I finally do leave the military.

Since there is no info here, is that to say no one has posted here? I am just an Army puke with a recent diadnosis who has some questions...like am I going to be medically discharged? Do I now qualify for a medical retirement, and if so, what %? Anyone tackle this subject before?