Many moons ago (1999) I got out of the service with a temporary 10% rating on my feet/legs/right hip. I don't remember what it was called, but the docs at the time said I would likely be in a wheelchair before I was 30 (beat them on that, now 42 and no chair).

I never applied for a permanent disability rating as although I am in constant pain I was always able to work around it by working positions that do not require much walking, lifting and so on.

Now 20 years later I have developed several medical issues that are not service related, but my lower body problems have also gotten a lot worse. Walking a few hundred feet for example, my feet will bruise up and I tend to easily crack the metatarsals.

I have spent the last 12 years working remote desk jobs, but last date I worked was October (I think) and after a short time on temporary medical leave I lost my job in December.

The various problems I now have (physical and neurological) has been making finding a new position that can work within my limitations almost impossible at this point.

I would prefer to work, but at this point I may have to accept that this may not be possible.

I will be seeing my primary care doctor next week, as I need to advise him of further issues (such as mobility loss in left arm, chest pain, trouble breathing and so on) that have started since I last seen him but I am planning on trying to get him to get me some additional testing so that I can get updated diagnosis on my lower extremities and the overall pain issues.

Since I am still able to walk (more or less) I think that the lower extremities would be a very low rating, but when combined with the other diagnosed issues I am trying to determine if better to go through the VA for disability (most of my issues are not service connected) or just to try and go through SSDI (I have enough work credits) directly.

Current diagnosed conditions/problem list from the VA:

1. Mild cognitive disorder - Tested in November and diagnosis given in 12/2019, ability to multi-task at previous levels have been impaired and the neurologist who diagnosed it says I will likely never be back to that level. This will likely get worse as time goes on. (This started after a couple bad seizures last year and is what cost me my last job)
   
2. Malaise and fatigue - chronic
   
3. Chronic pain syndrome - Overall pain (mostly joints), cause not found
   
4. Vitamin D deficiency - chronic
   
5. Abdominal pain - chronic,cause unknown
   
6. Upper abdominal pain - chronic, cause unknown
   
7. Migraine disorder - chronic/severely limiting capabilities
   
8. Complex partial epileptic seizure disorder
   
9. COPD (was mild, believe it is now what is causing my breathing issues)
10. Tinnitus - chronic
    
11. Ureteral Calculi - chronic
    
12. Renal colic - chronic
    
13. Mood Disorder due to a General Medical Condition (no surprise here)
    
14. Other specified gastritis without mention of hemorrhage - chronic
    
15. Somatization disorder
    

So any recommendations on what would be the best way to proceed?