Question:
I have sleep apnea but it's not rated as service connected. I served in Desert Storm and have allergies and asthma. I was diagnosed with asthma within a year of separation. I never thought to apply for disability. Now I am unable to get the diagnosis in my medical record. Connected them no recollections. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Jim's Reply:
As luck would have it, your diagnosis of asthma within a year of separation is likely now a presumptive airborne or burn pit disabling condition and you will be due disability benefits after you apply and go through the usual exams. Your timing couldn't be much better. I'm not happy to hear of your health problems but I'm very glad to bring you some positive news for your future.
There has been a lot of recent legislative activity about asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis.
https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/burnpits/
I have no clue what, "Connected them no recollections" means but for anything at all to happen you must initiate a claim for your disability. Let me repeat that...you must formally file a claim for disability benefits for anything to happen. If you don't file the claim, nothing at all will happen for you. Don't worry about records and so on, file the claim now and then VA will help you find records. I recommend that you DIY the claim. I urge you to file soon to set the effective date of your claim.
https://www.vawatchdog.org/how-to-file-a-claim.html
Filing your claim is a task you can do from the comfort of your home or you can get some help from a state or county VSO who knows how to get this done. If you choose to get some help, show them this email so they'll know what's up.
When you file your claim (or someone helps you with the task) be sure to claim asthma as the primary service connected condition and then claim OSA (obstructive sleep apnea and the CPAP) as a secondary condition caused by the asthma. If you don't claim it that way the OSA could be denied...VA has interesting ways of looking at things.
I'll go out on a limb and say you're likely to end up with a fairly robust VA disability rating...up to as much as 100% disabled...if you'll simply open a disability claim. This is very hard to try and quantify without seeing your medical records to determine exactly when you were diagnosed but if there is any formal military record to show that you were becoming ill while on active duty you could be owed a lot of retroactive pay.
If this is a bit overwhelming or if you have other questions and concerns, don't hesitate to get back in touch with me...this is a big deal in your life and we want to get it right! Good luck.