[USAF] Disability Rating Received (DUAL AFSC)

Hello all,

Been reading a long time but haven't posted before. I am currently a USAF Active Duty Missileer officer, (O-2). I just received my VA DRAS disability rating and just as we all thought (here on base) I got a 0% from the VA.

The condition is called Sleep Wake Disorder, or sometimes called Shift Work Sleep Disorder. The VA actually doesn't even recognize it as an actual problem, the exact words they said I can't put on here until I get the official word from my PEBLO. My rating was sent to Texas today for the PEB to repackage and send to my PEBLO for me to get the official word.

To make the situation even a little more wonky, I have a dual AFSC, right now I am on a Nuclear Missile tour (3 years in missiles) then I move to 17D (cyber operations). Which is my primary AFSC.

Primary AFSC: 17D
Secondary AFSC: 13N3

I'll field this question before hand, I have no entered tech school for Cyber operations, but I have completed tech school for Nuclear Missiles.

Should be about a week or so (Says the PEBLO), before I hear the official word but I was wondering if anyone had any input on a situation where someone had dual AFSC, and the condition only disqualified them from one and not the other.
 
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That is odd, sleep wake disorder is a classification of disorders in the DSM-5 and is used by general mental health and medical clinicians.

Sleep-wake disorders encompass 10 disorders or disorder groups: insomnia disorder, hypersomnolence disorder, narcolepsy, breathing-related sleep disorders, circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, non–rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep arousal disorders, nightmare disorder, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder, restless legs syndrome, and substance/medication-induced sleep disorder.

Perhaps your diagnosis did not differentiate which of the 10 subsets you actually have?

You described the condition as Shift Work Sleep Disorder, which is typically an issue with the circadian rhythm. Since the VASRD does not specifically list circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, they would need to rate you based upon an analogous or equivalent code.

I would think the most equivalent code in this case would be 8108 narcolepsy, which is analogous to hypersomnia.

Code 8108: Narcolepsy is not an actual epileptic condition caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Instead, it is a sleep disorder where the individual experiences abnormal sleep patterns. Daytime symptoms can include severe drowsiness, sudden muscle weakness that can cause drooping of the limbs and head or falling, impaired vision and speech, and momentary paralysis.

Although this is not technically an epileptic condition, it is rated as petit mal epilepsy (code 8911). The final code for this condition will be 8108-8911.

This link will take you to the ratings for petit mal epilepsy, I would imagine that hypersomnia would be considered a minor seizure.
 
Based upon what you have described, if you were my patient (client) I would diagnose you with: G47.26 Shift work type sleep disorder, persistent.

Treatment would consist of light box therapy, in combination with melatonin.
 
Also, since I have been taken off of the erratic shift work (that is night shift Monday, maybe Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, then every week different), I have had 0 symptoms of the shift work sleep disorder, secondly, the Air Force will likely find me unfit and I intend to fight it but if they find me undeployable I really don't have any ground to stand on.

Also when I was diagnosed with shift work sleep disorder it was by the doctor who read my sleep study report, I actually made an appointment with him, he said i was 100% normal (according to the sleep study) and based on my history and sleep deprivation I have the shift work sleep disorder.

Perhaps the issue is, when I'm not doing the erratic night shifts I show literally 0 symptoms and I have no actual category of shift work sleep disorder?
 
How did you get your ratings?
 
I received my ratings through my VA rep here on base, then went to the PEBLO to confirm, they confirmed it was 0%.
 
I think that you should elect a Formal PEB and request a fit for duty finding.
 
What I am wondering is the process at which an actual doctor reviews records and decides if it is in unfitting or not. Could this (the current situation) be soley through the case managers decisions?
 
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