Hypersomnia

A

Adam1389

Member
Registered Member
Good morning all, just registered here, but I am trying to plan for how things may go. I was recently diagnosed with Hypersomnia, one REM sleep away from Narcolepsy. The meds I was prescribed work great and take care of the symptoms, however I can't take them long term (provigil). So my options are either just deal with being excessivly tired all day, or to start the med board process. I can't find any good answers on where Hypersomnia would rate unless its caused my Apnea, which mine isn't. Any help would be much appreciated. Active Duty Coast Guard for 13.5 years.
Adam
 
Welcome to the PEB Forum! :)

Well, in short, I was diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea with CPAP which is a minimum 50% disability DoVA compensable via the DoVA's Veteran Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD).

Moreover, if your Hypersomnia medical condition is not within the VASRD, then the DoVA has the authority to use analogous ratings as annotated below:

§ 4.20 Analogous ratings.
When an unlisted condition is encountered it will be permissible to rate under a closely related disease or injury in which not only the functions affected, but the anatomical localization and symptomatology are closely analogous. Conjectural analogies will be avoided, as will the use of analogous ratings for conditions of doubtful diagnosis, or for those not fully supported by clinical and laboratory findings. Nor will ratings assigned to organic diseases and injuries be assigned by analogy to conditions of functional origin.

Thus, possessing well-informed knowledge is truly a powerful equalizer.

Best Wishes!
 
Adam,

I feel your pain in regards to the Hypersomnia. I was diagnosed with Hypersomnia over 12 years ago. I too was prescribed Provigil. I am now 18 1/2 years in the Air Force, taking Provigil every morning (I am not sure what they consider "long term" as far as taking the medication). I am currently undergoing a MEB (for a myriad of conditions) and I can vouch for Warrior's statement as far as Analogous Ratings. My Hypersomnia is classified as a "Depressive Disorder" (which I am vigorously fighting because it is not). The Air Force consider the condition as "can be unfitting but is not currently compensable or ratable". I don't know if any of this helps, but Hypersomnia is a sort of things with me, as I am sure you can understand.

Best of Luck
 
I was also diagnosed with Hypersomnia about 2 years ago though I was prescribed no medication to help deal with the issue. I have to wait and see if the sleep study in my record results in anything from the VA considering Hypersomnia is not listed in the VSRD
 
USAFGamecocks said:
Adam,

I feel your pain in regards to the Hypersomnia. I was diagnosed with Hypersomnia over 12 years ago. I too was prescribed Provigil. I am now 18 1/2 years in the Air Force, taking Provigil every morning (I am not sure what they consider "long term" as far as taking the medication). I am currently undergoing a MEB (for a myriad of conditions) and I can vouch for Warrior's statement as far as Analogous Ratings. My Hypersomnia is classified as a "Depressive Disorder" (which I am vigorously fighting because it is not). The Air Force consider the condition as "can be unfitting but is not currently compensable or ratable". I don't know if any of this helps, but Hypersomnia is a sort of things with me, as I am sure you can understand.

Best of Luck
Click to expand...

bpreachers said:
I was also diagnosed with Hypersomnia about 2 years ago though I was prescribed no medication to help deal with the issue. I have to wait and see if the sleep study in my record results in anything from the VA considering Hypersomnia is not listed in the VSRD
Click to expand...

From my experiences, it's vital to ensure that a medical condition "diagnosis" is accurately documented with your Service Treatment Records (STR) and/or Electronic Medical Records (EMR).

Otherwise, from a DoVA viewpoint, a "no diagnosis" medical condition for purposes of entitlement to DoVA benefits shall result in:
  • Service connection for "insert medical condition here" is not proposed. NODX
  • "Insert medical condition here" Proposed DES Not Service Connected, No Diagnosis
Thus, possessing well-informed knowledge is truly a powerful equalizer.

Best Wishes!
 
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