Gulf War illness / chronic multisymptom decisions — 2004

The Board has granted service connection for multiple sclerosis, finding that the veteran's symptoms are attributable to this condition and have been present since her military service. The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is supported by medical evidence, including a VA examination report and private physician opinions.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including fatigue, nosebleeds, muscle tension headaches, shortness of breath, herpes of the left parietal scalp (claimed as skin rash with hair loss due to undiagnosed illness), throat irritation, and hiatal hernia. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to his service or an undiagnosed illness.

The veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of headaches. The case is remanded to determine an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for undiagnosed illness characterized by muscle and joint pain, dizziness, fatigue, mood and memory problems.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and records review. The issues of rating PTSD and undiagnosed illness are still pending.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling a VA examination to determine the etiology of any respiratory disorder and considering whether service connection can be granted.

The Board found that the veteran's stomach disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by active military duty and did not manifest as an undiagnosed illness. The claim for service connection is denied.

The Board granted service connection for PTSD and assigned a 100% evaluation effective from April 2000. The veteran withdrew his appeals concerning the other issues on appeal.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, including due to an undiagnosed illness, finding that his fatigue is a symptom of his service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder.

The veteran's complaints of extreme fatigue and sore joints have not been linked to his service or any service-connected condition. The Board denied the claim for service connection due to lack of evidence establishing a relationship between these symptoms and active duty.

The veteran requested withdrawals of his appeals for service connection on multiple issues, including penetrating keratoplasty of the left eye, herpes zoster, and fatigue due to an undiagnosed illness. The appeal is dismissed.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder, fatigue (undiagnosed illness), headaches, sleep disorder or insomnia, and memory loss due to lack of credible supporting evidence for claimed in-service stressors.

The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been denied as there is no evidence to support the presence of these conditions during his active military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection due to lack of response to scheduled examinations, failure to report for VA evaluations, and insufficient evidence supporting his claims.

The Board has reduced the veteran's rating for undiagnosed illness manifested by joint pain from 40 percent to 20 percent, effective September 1, 2002. The reduction is based on a VA examination that demonstrated no objective clinical evidence of present disability and material improvement in health.