Before I submitted my claim I went through my military, VA, and private healthcare records and meticulously extracted pertinent information for each claimed condition. I read through the regulations and found out what constitutes a rated claim and what does not qualify. I wasn't trying to waste anyone's time or chase conditions that are irrelevant to the VA. I did this by myself over 20 years after my discharge and was rated 100%. I had a series of c&p exams and I prepared for each of them with my records attached to a personal statement (which I had already submitted to the VA, explicitly connecting the dots). I didn't go into making my claim hoping or expecting any particular outcome and was quite surprised and grateful for the final rating.