IBS & irritable bowel decisions — 2011

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's gastrointestinal and genitourinary conditions, as well as her migraine headaches.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling VA examinations.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, bipolar disorder, and depression, is service connected as secondary to his service-connected irritable bowel syndrome.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection on all issues related to his claimed conditions has been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeals.

The Board has granted an initial 30 percent rating for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) since the effective date of service connection, finding that the Veteran's symptoms more closely approximate severe IBS with frequent episodes of bowel disturbances and abdominal distress.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for skeletal conditions, including knees, fractured ribs, a scarred lung, hip, and elbow is being remanded due to the need for additional development of his service treatment records from 1996-1997, an appropriate VA examination, and obtaining medical records.

The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome has been assigned the maximum schedular rating of 30 percent, and does not present an exceptional or unusual disability picture with such related factors as marked interference with employment or frequent periods of hospitalization to warrant referral on an extraschedular basis.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA disability records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to inadequate reasons and bases in its previous decision, including the need for a VA examination.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied, and the Board found that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen several of his claims.

The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome is presumed to have been incurred in active service, and the Board finds that he has a chronic unexplained multisymptom illness characterized as irritable bowel syndrome. The claim for service connection for sleep apnea and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for irritable bowel syndrome based on a diagnosis of the condition at a VA examination in August 2010, and also grants service connection for PTSD due to verified in-service stressors. The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome is presumed under 38 C.F.R. § 3.317.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied as there was no evidence of more than the currently assigned ratings for his service-connected conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of headaches other than those associated with allergic rhinitis and episodic sinusitis. Therefore, service connection for this issue is denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for his claimed conditions, finding that there was no evidence to support a direct or secondary relationship between his service and these conditions.

The Board found no evidence of a current cervical spine disability or chronic headache disorder related to service. The Veteran's gastrointestinal disorder is not proximately due to or aggravated by medications for his service-connected low back disability.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected irritable bowel syndrome with recurrent colon polyps is being remanded. Additionally, the issue of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim of service connection for digestive disability, claimed as peptic ulcer disease, is also being remanded.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including scheduling a travel board hearing. The Veteran's claims of service connection and reopening her irritable bowel syndrome claim are pending.

The Veteran's service-connected gastrointestinal symptoms and IBS are granted an initial evaluation of 30 percent. The Veteran's stabbing muscle pains, random twitching, joint pain, and stiffness are presumed to be related to his period of service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations.

The Veteran's sinusitis, also claimed as allergic rhinitis, has been evaluated at a noncompensable level since the initial grant of service connection in August 2007. The evidence does not support a compensable evaluation due to no more than x-ray-detected sinusitis with occasional episodes of headaches and facial pressure.,The Veteran's IBS is currently rated at a noncompensable level, but meets criteria for a 10% rating based on moderate symptoms involving frequent episodes of bowel disturbance with abdominal distress.