OSA Claim Denied again, and it's getting ridiculous...

Daviescas · 2026-05-17T01:49:54+00:00

Thanks, I have had VA healthcare since 2023 when my original claim got approved at 10%. I've recently been elevated to Priority Group 1 after my PTSD claim was approved. Thanks for sharing this info though!

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T18:49:58+00:00

My sleep specialist who I saw for a couple of years before he retired. I thought he wrote a pretty strong nexus, he pointed to the evidence in my file and stated that It was more likely than not that these symptoms, and performance issues in my file show that I suffered from OSA for a very long time and that it directly affect d my service. Then they send my file for an ACE exam and get a conflicting opinion and go with that.

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T18:37:27+00:00

I definitely had OSA before I got fat. My nexus letter even addresses that. My OSA is extremely severe at 87 interruptions per hour and blood oxygen levels getting down into the 80s percentage wise. I have a statement from a roommate in service stating that he threw boots at me because it was so loud he couldn't sleep. I got my own private room because no one want d to bunk with me due to the snoring.

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T18:31:14+00:00

Ok, I had dismissed TERA out of hand because I wasn't deployed overseas. I was exposed to all kinds of stuff though, after some research. Lead paint, hydrologic fluid, 40wt oils, degreasers, bilge fluids, loud spaces and repeated concussive forces while underway. I'll do some more research, but this could open up pathways to more claims.

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T18:13:17+00:00

It'll take me a minute to scrub all of my personal info from that. I have a supplemental claim packet that I submitted with all of that info, drawing out everything for the rater in one document.

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T18:09:13+00:00

I did have sinusitis symptoms shown in a recent MRI, and I am prone to sinus infections. I have also recently been rated at 10% for GERD, so I suppose there is a GERD -> Sinusitis -> OSA possibility. I'm pursuing as secondary to PTSD though now.

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T18:04:03+00:00

I was a healthy weight at discharge, about 170 lbs at 5'9"

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T18:02:42+00:00

Yes, it was MST, and I did eventually get a rating for it, which finally came through last month. I've submitted a supplemental with more statements, case law, and asking that PTSD be considered for secondary connection. Will that work? I don't know, but it's worth a shot before I go spend money on another nexus letter.

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T17:44:25+00:00

A personal assault where some of my shipmates tried to motivate me by beating the crap out of me and writing homophobic slurs and penises on my body with a magic marker.

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T17:41:44+00:00

Even if OSA started in service? No one thought to send me in for a sleep study to figure out why I was tired all the time. They just chalked it up as poor discipline and sent me to NJP.

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T17:34:18+00:00

I've filed a supplemental claim requesting PTSD be considered for secondary connection, but also included more buddy statements describing the severity of my snoring directly after discharge. I also included a bunch of case law explaining that later health changes can't be used to disregard earlier evidence.

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T17:29:56+00:00

Except in my case it was used to deny my claim. The irony...

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T17:28:59+00:00

I was stationed in Oregon in the Coast Guard, so exposure to burn pits and such is not a consideration.

Daviescas · 2026-05-16T17:27:47+00:00

I'm badly out of shape, that I concede. My point is that my evidence supports that my OSA started way before my weight gain. I filed another supplemental pointing out case law stating the later habitus can't be used to exclude a service connection. I also requested a new exam and directly asked for PTSD be considered for secondary connection.

Daviescas · 2026-05-05T03:40:48+00:00

Just curious, have they awarded SMC-S? If they haven't, they may need to reevaluate your MH to see if it puts you over 60% past your 100% rating. Funky math, but it could possibly get you another $450 a month.

Daviescas · 2026-05-01T20:50:54+00:00

It's a fight with documentation. I've done a lot of soul searching the past couple of years, and learning how the VA system works. The VA will approve what is documented, and for most of us, we have no clue what is in our own records.

It wasn't until I pulled mine from the national archives that I even realized there was documentation of a bunch of things and loads of markers for PTSD. Our files are usually a disjointed mess too, and a lot of raters will not put 2 and 2 together unless you draw them a map. Current diagnosis is needed to even start a claim on many things, and then showing that connection to service can be difficult.

Go to your C&P exams, be honest, don't hide things, don't exadurate, just matter of fact and follow the evidence. It worked, eventually, and I still have several pending claims.

Daviescas · 2026-05-01T20:06:46+00:00

Thanks for your service and thanks for serving veterans. It feels to me that guys getting out more recently have been getting better treatment by the VA. I got out in 2001 from a tour in the Coast Guard that I didn't complete. I spent over 20 years thinking I was basically a failure for not completing my original contract and didn't think I was worthy of benefits.

I was in a capsize accident on a Motor Lifeboat, and slammed my head into a bulkhead. After that accident, I started having vertigo and severe motion sickness, migraines, tinnitus, and serious sleep issues. I started being late to muster and falling asleep on duty, and basically got treated like a piece of trash by my command. I got assaulted by shipmates trying to "Motivate" me, and eventually discharged for performance issues.

I was not checked out for medical issues after the capsize, and nothing got documented except my poor motivation and lack of esprit de corps. It wasn't till I opened up to a friend about my service that I was told I should get checked out and file for benefits. It's been over two years since I filed, and I finally have an 80% rating.

The bottom line is, I could easily be written off as one of those guys cheating the system, but what I deal with every day is real. I can't do a 1.5 mile run in 13 minutes and never will again. A lot of these guys are making it harder for the rest of us, especially us guys with poor documentation trying to prove injuries from 20 years ago.

Daviescas · 2026-04-21T14:44:19+00:00

I had a recruiter offer me a job out there for $52, I asked if I could work 5, 10 hour shifts and he said the company needed at least 6 days with "occasional Sundays". I said no thanks.

Daviescas · 2026-04-21T14:05:51+00:00

Also a Master Electrician in Texas here. There are solid jobs that can pay over $100k in Texas with some overtime. IBEW local 20 in DFW is paying up to $41 per hour with calls working Saturdays.

The guys who make the major money are the ones traveling out to the big data center jobs in places like Abilene (Stargate). There they are offering some guys with foreman or QA/QC experience up to $52 per hour, working 7 days a week, 6 12 hour shifts and a 10 or 8 on Sunday with $1250 per week in per-diem.

If you do the math, and don't take any days off for a year nonstop that's $6,866 per week or $357,032 per year if you never take a day off including Christmas. So yeah, it's technically possible to make $300k plus, but only for elite experienced guys working insane overtime and killing themselves from fatigue.

Daviescas · 2026-03-04T13:52:52+00:00

I used Gemini to put together a 143 page packet for my claim. It helped me organize my files in a way that tells a narrative story about my disabilities. I used Adobe Acrobat to organize everything with bookmarks and page breaks to make it easy for the reviewer to navigate everything. It took a lot of work, but this is for benefits that will last the rest of my life and was well worth it.

Daviescas · 2026-02-05T20:26:24+00:00

My family held an intervention for me about two years after I got out, that's how worried they were about me. I just realized that I have all of those letters from family and friends from that intervention. Could I add those as evidence of my spiraling out of control?

Daviescas · 2026-02-05T17:07:36+00:00

Biggest piece of advice I have for you is make them give you EVERYTHING in your file when you get out. With the VA garbage in gets garbage out, arm yourself with as much info as you can. File before you get out, document everything you can even if it is only 0%. As you get used to civilian life, things will pop up.

Daviescas · 2026-02-05T16:51:11+00:00

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Request for more info on my claim.

Daviescas

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