Veterans Show A Sharp Rise in Sleep Apnea Cases
June 28, 2010
By Ginny Estupinian
The veterans affairs recently released a report stating that more than 63,000 veterans are now receiving disability benefits due to having sleep apnea. This represents a 61% increase in the past two years.
Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that causes a sleeping person to gasp for a breath and awaken frequently during the night. One tall tale sign of this disorder is very loud snoring. The result is that the sufferer feels sleepy during the day despite trying to get a full nights rest. This makes prone to having accidents and have trouble performing during the day.
However, the real problem is that this condition can escalate to developing heart disease and stroke and other serious conditions.
Obesity appears to be one of the top risk factors for developing this condition. A sleep expert at the VA and other veteran’s advocacy organizations believe that troops’ exposure to dust and smoke in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq have been contributing factors as well.
According to Max Hirshkowtz, director of the Sleep Disorder Center at the Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center, veterans are four times more likely than other Americans to suffer from sleep apnea.
The Social Security Administration recognizes sleep apnea as a disability and pays benefits to those who can’t work because of a disability that is likely to last at least one year or kill then. In contrast the VA allows for veterans to receive benefits and still hold onto their jobs.
The important thing to remember is that being aware of this disorder is especially critical to veterans who are big men, may have become sedentary, and gain weight. The loud snoring is not just disturbing it could be a danger sign of bigger health problems
A Class Action Law Suit Can Help Veterans with PTSD
January 26, 2010
By Ginny Estupinian
The news outlet CNN reported that on Monday the Defense Department has agreed to move along the claims of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and have been denied benefits in the past.
Based on the report this case was originally filed in December 2008 by seven veterans who were suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and denied a required rating that would make them eligible for long term benefits. The lawsuit could give benefits to veterans who left the military because of post traumatic stress disorder.
Eligible veterans who respond to the notices will receive an expedited review of their disability rating and, if applicable, a correction of their military records to comply with the law. Benefits then would begin for six months until a further review and resolution of each medical case to establish permanent, long-term payouts.
Most of those eligible to join the lawsuit received disability discharges related to their military service in Iraq or Afghanistan from December 2002 through mid-October 2008, when the Defense Department is thought to have ended the challenged denials.
By GinnyEstupinian
Recent research is beginning to make great strides in the understanding and diagnosing of veterans who are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
In one recent study U.S. war veterans were involved in clinical trials that scientists say appear to have diagnosed the disorder using magnetoencephalography, a non-invasive measurement of magnetic fields in the brain.
Until this time conventional brain scans had failed to detect the disorder. However, now this new procedure is allowing doctors to identify those veterans who have PTSD from healthy subjects with a 90% accuracy. This work follows success in detecting other brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis, using the magnetic technique, scientists said. The method was invented by the University of Minnesota, led by Apostolos P Georgopoulos and the latest research was funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
In another related story the Washington Post recently reported the benefits of Morphine in preventing the Post Traumatic Stress from The study looked at 700 troops who were wounded in Iraq and saw that those who received morphine soon after being injured were about half as likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder as those who did not get the drug.
It was not know whether morphine’s apparently protective effect arises directly from the relief of traumatic pain or indirectly by blocking the brain circuits that lay down traumatic memory.
The next studies will begin to look at what the mechanism is in morphine that reduces post traumatic stress. As you can see the advances noted here will be able to help a lot of veterans either avoid or treat PTSD.
How a letter can wreck your emotional stability
August 25, 2009
By Ginny Estupinian
The Associated Press and other news organizations reported that at least 1800 veterans across the country mistakenly received a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs telling them that they had Lou Gerhrig’s disease. The letter was intended to notify the recipients of the benefits that they were now entitled to as a result of having this disease. Evidently the letters were sent by mistake due to a coding error.
Lou Gerhring’s disease is officially know as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
Half of all people affected with ALS live at least three or more years after diagnosis. Statistics show that twenty percent live five years or more; up to ten percent will live more than ten years.
So how can a letter affect someone psychologically?
Well a lot depends on the individual who receives this type of letter. Some will receive it and think there must be a mistake and for all intensive purposes just move on with their lives. For others, it may be a whole different experience. Those veterans who are dealing with trust issues and may not be as strong mentally, receiving this kind of notification can put them under a great deal of stress. After all the letter is coming from a recognized and trusted source of medicine. For many veterans their only health treatment comes through the VA. Therefore, receiving something like this with this authority has some serious weight.
The important thing here to stress is that any veteran who has been affected by this type of error, or similar errors, and feels stress should not ignore their feelings. Getting help is important and should be done sooner than later. There are many resources through the VA and other agencies that can help any veteran get the support and treatment they need.
By Ginny Estupinian
Returning service veterans who are dealing with post traumatic stress and other disabilities can often benefit from specially trained dogs that provide companionship, help and love for these veterans.
For Example specially trained psychiatric service dogs help veterans overcome their social isolation. One way that they do this is due to the need of the dog to be walked several times. This need causes the veteran to get outside and be in the public. Furthermore, a working dog will often illicit people to ask questions about the service dog and this allows the veteran to socialize and meet people in the community.
Many veterans with these dogs have reported that their anxieties and fears have been greatly reduced as a result of having the dog with them at all times. Some veterans have reported dealing better with nightmares due to the fact that when they wake up they are relieved by the fact that the dog just is tranquil just lying on the floor. Rationalizing that If there really was a threat the dog would have responded.
For wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan these dogs can help these wounded veterans: by walking alongside a wheel chair, opening a refrigerator, pulling socks off, pushing the light switch on/off, bringing a ringing telephone, and many other duties.
Providing these dogs is an expensive process. The Veterans Administration does not pay for any of this and this is service is left to non-profit organizations.
On Saturday the 11th, of July 2009, you can see these animals in action and visit one of the wonderful groups that train them . The Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) Southwest Regional Center in Oceanside, CA is hosting their second annual “CCI Salutes Independence” event, an open house for active duty military members, veterans, their families, and friends, from 11AM to 3PM.
New Report Shows the Importance of Screening for Brain Injury
December 6, 2008
By Ginny Estupinian
On Thursday the Institute of Medicine released their report recommending that returning Iraq war veterans be evaluated for traumatic brain injury. Some 5,500 military personnel have suffered brain injuries ranging from mild to severe. These wounds account for an estimated 22 percent of all casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq. This rate is twice the amount of the Vietnam war. Experts attribute this increase in part due to the advancements in on-site medical care and body armor that has increased the survival rate of ground troops. In the past a lot of these injuries would have killed these troops but due to medical advancements they now survive. The challenge is finding a way to treat the brain injuries.
Many of the brain injuries are a result of the high impact of roadside bombs. Veterans who have been involved in high impact blasts often complained of persistent, disabling symptoms like sleeplessness, dizziness, and confusion. At times these disorders can resemble other disorders like post-traumatic stress which can complicate psychological assessments.
Post-military monitoring of these returning veterans is another important key issue. Researchers have observed a trend where people with brain injuries proceed for years in a stable condition and then suddenly suffer dramatic drops in mental and physical capacities. Many medical professionals have found brain injury can manifest in more severe ways when a service member switches to a less structured lifestyle.
The National Guard announced that it has launched an effort to screen every one of its Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. The only concern is that the people doing the screening are warning that it is a long process.
It is my view that the screening needs to be done and that processes have to be created to take care of our veterans. There is no other choice and ignoring the problem will not make it go away or diminish the pain suffered by these veterans.
New Report Shows Gulf War Illness Is Real
November 17, 2008
By Ginny Estupinian
In 2002 Congress created The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veteran’s Illnesses to investigate whether or not there Gulf War illness exists. This was the first report review the hundreds of U.S. and international studies on Gulf War veterans since the mid 1990′s.
For the past 17 years veterans suffering from this illness would complain of a combination of memory and concentration problems, persistent headaches, fatigue, and widespread pain. Other characteristics include skin rashes, chronic digestive and respiratory problems
The report that was released today stated that at least one in four U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf war suffers from multiple symptoms cause by exposure to toxic chemicals. Previously government officials had denied the existence of any illness and attributed these conditions to the effects of wartime stress.
The report stated that “the extensive body of scientific research now available consistently indicates that Gulf War illness is real, that it is the result of neurotoxic exposure during the Gulf War deployment, and that few veterans have recovered or substantially improved with time”.
The panel reported that they believe that the pesticides and pyridostigmine bromide (PB) aimed at thwarting the effects of never gas were most likely the causes of the illness.
Some Returning Veterans are at Higher Risk for Alcoholism
September 9, 2008
By Ginny Estupinian
In my last post I discussed s few studies that identified the increase in post traumatic stress disorder as a direct result of the amount of exposure to combat zones. Now another study is showing that abuse of alcohol is also an accompanying problem that increases with exposure to combat zones.
In this study on alcohol abuse, returning service members who has seen combat were 63% more likely to experience excess drinking and binge drinking than those individuals who were in non-combat zones. To put this in prospective, the CDC defines excess drinking as more than two drinks daily for men and one drink a day for women .
As was reported in my previous post the studies here also showed that the incidence rate for Reserve or National Guard members are higher compared to members in other military branches.
A separate study on excess alcohol intake lists additional dangers to abusing alcohol as including a greater chance of developing metabolic syndrome, which includes obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
The researchers suggested that returning soldiers often use alcohol as a coping mechanism to help them deal with stress and depression . The researchers went on to suggest that one way to help these returning soldiers is to provide them with a familiar and supportive network of trusted family, friends, or fellow veterans. The idea is to provide other places to meet rather than at a bar.
As the studies have shown the best support comes from fellow veterans who have had similar experiences.
By Ginny Estupinian
In a recent meeting of the American Psychological Association in Boston, various reports were presented that clearly showed the correlation between the amount of time soldiers spend in combat and the subsequent development of symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder and depression. Although on first blush this may appear to be obvious what is different is that these studies looked at the increase in mental health problems specific to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
One report showed that in a typical unit headed to Iraq, 60% were on their second, third or fourth tour of duty. Each of these tours usually last about a year in duration and as the amount of tours increase the potential risk for developing mental health issues increases. The office of the U.S. Army Surgeon General stated that in their observations, by their third tour more than a quarter of the soldiers begin to show signs of mental health problems.
In another report funded by the Pentagon and produced by RTI International, found that in a survey of 34,000 active duty troops, (made up of reservists, and National Guard members deployed ) reservists had the highest rates of traumatic stress symptoms and of “seriously” considering suicide.
This report was further supported by a Veterans Affairs Analyses that showed that there were 115 Amy suicides and 935 reported attempts in 2007. The report showed that National Guard and reservists sent to Iraq and Afghanistan made up the majority of the returning veteran suicides. Sadly, this is a new record high.
The National Veterans Foundation which runs a crises hotline reported that about 75%of the 400 calls a week come from reserve and national Guard troops or their families.
Although these studies and reports are important we must remember that it is not just the stress that comes from combat that is affecting these soldiers. In many cases it is also the stress that comes from the current economic conditions. At times these mental health challenges fall on top of other serious economic problem that many families are struggling with.
