IBS & irritable bowel decisions — 2010

The Veteran's claim for service connection for alcoholism is denied as the law precludes such a finding after October 31, 1990.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disorder, an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD), and IBS. The evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating these claims.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development of his claims, including obtaining medical records and conducting examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Veteran does not have hypertension or irritable bowel syndrome that is proximately due to his service-connected low back disability.,VA examinations did not find any evidence of these conditions.

The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome is being remanded for further development to determine if it is related to his military service.

The Board found no evidence of a diagnosed PTSD and denied the Veteran's claims for service connection. The issues related to reflux esophagitis and IBS were not addressed as they had not been appealed.

The appellant is currently service-connected for multiple disabilities, including chronic fatigue syndrome with fibromyalgia and PTSD. His combined disability evaluation is at least 70 percent disabling. The VA has determined that the appellant's service-connected conditions render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of erectile dysfunction and service connection for various conditions have been denied. The RO also reopened a claim for kidney infections but did not grant the benefit sought.

The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome, bilateral hearing loss, hemorrhoids, and residuals of cholecystectomy are all found to be related to his service. However, the Veteran does not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating in any of these cases.

The Board found that the Veteran's diverticulosis and irritable bowel syndrome did not warrant a compensable rating, as there were no frequent episodes of bowel disturbance or adhesions. The claim for an increased rating for agoraphobia was remanded due to concerns about the adequacy of the prior examination.

The Board has determined that the appellant's substantive appeal was untimely filed, and thus lacks jurisdiction to consider his claim for increased ratings.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected IBS and scar.