Sleep Apnea Can Cause Major Problems

Sleep Apnea

Two of the major indicators for sleep apnea (snoring or holding your breath) are neck size and body mass index. As many as 75% of professional football players, and many college and even high school players, qualify for the neck size indicator, which is 18 inches. And despite being in sensational football condition, many qualify for the body mass index indicator, which is 30 and above.

  I have a large neck and head. It’s always been hard to hurt me by hitting me in the head, which has made me the topic of many jokes. I didn’t snore; I held my breath and made zoo noises, from growls to shrieks and everything in between. My family thought I was possessed. I’ve had sleep apnea for years and I use the CPAP, which can be a real pain. It’s a machine that forces air down your throat through a mask so you don’t hold your breath. For veterans who don’t have a 50% or more service connection, being diagnosed with sleep apnea can be a big expense if you lack health insurance.

  The machine cost about $2000 and the doctor visits to determine if you have sleep apnea probably cost about the same. I got my machine through private health insurance because I didn’t know the VA could help me with the sleep disorder. Now, I see the VA chest doctor and they replace my mask and heated water container and maintain my machine when necessary.

  I don’t hold my breath at night anymore, at least, most of the time, but my sleep isn’t any better. I still wake up every few hours, and I don’t sleep anymore than I did without the mask. This tells me that a lot of my problem is Nam related because my survival instinct never really shuts down. I usually catnap during the day without the mask.

  The mask takes time to become routine and made me feel like some weird astronaut. The only other alternative, because the base of my tongue is huge, was an operation that isn’t guaranteed to work. The doctor also told me it would make my chin pointed because they would have to remove half of my chin. They said I would probably look different. That went over big. At my age, I’m kind of used to my own weird face and I didn’t care to walk around looking like somebody else. So I passed on any kind of surgery.

   I did meet a veteran who had the surgery, and it worked for awhile but now he has problems again. It’s best just to get the mask and CPAP and deal with it. Then, if you don’t like it or don’t want to use it, you have the option to stop. But if you have the symptoms get checked out because untreated sleep apnea can cause other health problems.


Dennis Latham Books

 

 

 

At The PTSD Comp Exam

My childhood friend who didn't make it home. He got me to join the Marines.

 

At The PTSD Comp Exam

  For the PTSD, you will talk to a shrink. The shrink must be a medical doctor so it should be a psychiatrist and not a psychologist or a social worker. If it isn't a psychiatrist and they turn you down, then disagree on the grounds that it's not a valid comp exam.

  The shrink will talk to you, write a report and you should hear in a few months. They take the report and use the available evidence and make a decision, which will go all the way back to when you filed as long as the claim didn't lapse in between while waiting. The entire PTSD rating is always based on your ability to support yourself when compared to non-veterans.

  I would stress that you have problems working with others, whether you do or not, which you probably do anyway if you have PTSD. This can mean the difference between the 30 and 50 percent rating. Tell them if your employment has been scattered, and you believe it's due to your PTSD, which it may be.

  People with PTSD often don't realize the root causes. Don't give them anything they can use against you, like any childhood abuse. Tell them your childhood was normal and you didn't have problems until the military. They will try to use anything before service as a cause of PTSD. I believe they will probably service connect you at least 30 and maybe 50 on the first round. If you get 50, then disagree after you get your pay and go for 70%. Once you are 70%, they have to consider you for unemployabilty.

   Anything, and I mean anything, that happened before your military service will be used against you if it is a negative.

  You want to prove that the PTSD was caused by and aggravated by your time in the military. If you meet all the criteria, now all you need is the comp exam shrink to agree. It's a good sign if you are in there for over 30 minutes or so. They must also ask you about the issues which you think caused your PTSD while in the military. They may also give you a GAF score. (General Activity Function) or (Global Assessment Function). This rating can be different on each visit, but the VA tries to use it against you if it's high (50 on up). The ideal GAF for PTSD is around 40. Below that and you are almost in a vegetable state, according to the scale.

  The GAF cannot be used against you because it is one person's opinion and can change from day to day. The VA always states it is not your adversary, but on claims, they are, always.

 

 

 Michael In Hell (my PTSD novel)

 

The Reality Of Curing PTSD

 

The Reality Of Curing PTSD

(Inside S-2 secrets about what is happening from intelligence reports.)

  They are so bogged down with bureaucratic nonsense that they are losing track of listening to the patients. And, it is even worse with the mental health side of the house. That is becoming all about research and fudging outcome data.

  I have been telling the folks in the PTSD clinic that you cannot "cure" PTSD. Telling a veteran with PTSD that you can cure him is like telling a marine that lost his arm that the prosthetic device he is being fitted with will be better than the original as long as he is compliant with treatment. It just isn't going to happen.

  So, how do they get such positive outcomes that they report? Simple. You go into the PTSD program and identify one, or at most, two specific problematic stressors that occurred during your service. Then, they do a battery of tests focusing on how disruptive these symptoms are for you currently in your life. For the next seven weeks you are then bombarded by treatment just focusing on these specific symptoms. Then, at the end of seven weeks, you are again tested to see how disruptive these symptoms are now to you. At this point you are so desensitized to the point that naturally you are going to report less disruption with your symptoms. So, you are "cured".

  My argument was always that even if it seems the PTSD symptoms aren't as bad as they were right at the end of treatment that they will return soon after treatment. A much more reliable test would be to test veterans on the level of symptom disruption one year after treatment. You'll get the real story then. But, the VA won’t do that.

 

 

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