Fibromyalgia Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a comprehensive examination to determine the nature and etiology of any claimed disabilities or symptoms.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities (myositis of the lumbar spine and left hip areas) may have contributed to or aggravated her fibromyalgia. The veteran is entitled to a TDIU rating effective from March 16, 2001.

The Board finds that the veteran's arthritis of the right fifth finger is due to an injury sustained during service and grants service connection for this condition. The Board also finds no evidence supporting a claim for other multiple joint arthritis, including back disability and fibromyalgia.

The Board found that the veteran did not timely file a notice of disagreement regarding the June 13, 2002 RO determinations. The initial ratings assigned by the RO are upheld as the veteran's fibromyalgia symptoms are not refractory to therapy and his headaches do not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board granted the veteran's claims for service connection for fibromyalgia, bilateral shoulder tendonitis and strain, left shoulder bursitis, and degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine. The claims for hand disability and joint pain were not addressed as they are separate issues.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a right hip disorder or left hip disorder related to her active service. The claims for these conditions are therefore denied.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a low back disability and granted it, finding that new evidence supports the claim. The veteran is now diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome, which he believes relates to his low back pain.

The Board has granted service connection for fibromyalgia as a presumptive disability due to service in the Gulf War. Service connection was denied for back, neck, and right shoulder disabilities unrelated to fibromyalgia.

The Board denied a higher initial rating for fibromyalgia, finding that the veteran's symptoms did not warrant a compensable evaluation.

The veteran's claims for muscle spasms and Persian Gulf War syndrome were denied. However, the Board found that his irritable bowel syndrome is proximately due to a service-connected disability (fibromyalgia), thus granting this claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's type II diabetes mellitus, fibromyalgia, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus are not related to his military service.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for fibromyalgia and bullous emphysema, but denied reopening of the claims for CFS and IBS due to lack of new and material evidence. The veteran's current level of hearing loss is not a disability for VA purposes, and tinnitus has not been shown by competent medical evidence to be etiologically related to service.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for her service-connected low back disability was granted, with a 20 percent evaluation effective from September 1, 2005. She also received separate service connection and a 20 percent evaluation for fibromyalgia.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected fibromyalgia with palindromic rheumatism is significantly impairing but has not resulted in severe or totally incapacitating impairment of health, nor are exacerbations severely incapacitating. Therefore, a rating in excess of 40 percent for fibromyalgia with palindromic rheumatism is denied.

The veteran's claims for service connection were denied as his conditions did not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection due to undiagnosed illnesses.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for lumbar degenerative disc disease with mild lumbar stenosis at L4-5 and fibromyalgia from August 14, 2001 were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable VA rating schedule.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, particularly fibromyalgia, render him unable to tend to the basic functions of self-care without regular assistance from another person and make him vulnerable to the hazards and dangers incident to his environment. The criteria for SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance have been met.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an extraschedular rating for her service-connected fibromyalgia, as there is no evidence of marked interference with employment due to the disability.

The veteran's fibromyalgia was not service-connected, but his lumbosacral strain with DDD resulted in a denied increased rating. The TDIU claim was granted.,The VA determined that the veteran's fibromyalgia is not related to his service-connected back disability and thus denied service connection for it.

The veteran's appeal for service connection for depression has been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the claim prior to a decision being made by the Board.