IBS & irritable bowel decisions — 2011

The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and a VA examination to determine if his service-connected disabilities prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's schizophrenia is rated at 30 percent, but the Board found no evidence of more than occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks. The claims for PTSD, IBS, migraines, joint pain, and chronic fatigue syndrome with insomnia were not addressed as they are being remanded.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining relevant VA treatment records and scheduling a medical examination to determine the presence of any current disability involving the left ribs.

The Board has determined that the appellant's service-connected disabilities are of sufficient severity to prevent her from engaging in and retaining substantially gainful employment, thus granting TDIU.

The Veteran's claim for TDIU is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and a VA examination.

The Veteran's service connection claims for PTSD, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Headaches as a manifestation of an undiagnosed illness, and Chronic Fibromyalgia have been granted. The effective dates are based on the date of receipt of the claim.

The Board has determined that the appellant's chronic diarrhea is related to his service, and therefore grants service connection for a gastrointestinal disability.

The Veteran's service-connected gastrointestinal disability, which includes GERD, IBS, and a hiatal hernia, is currently rated at 10 percent. The Board has determined that the predominant disability picture warrants an increased rating to 30 percent due to the severity of his symptoms including daily discomfort from gas, bloating, and constipation.

The Veteran's major depressive disorder was rated at 50 percent prior to March 1, 2010 and has been rated at 70 percent since that date. The Board granted service connection for Tietze syndrome, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, irritable bowel syndrome, and sebhorrheic dermatitis.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a currently diagnosed pancreatitis disability and concluded that her symptoms are better explained by irritable bowel syndrome.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's OSA and IBS are presumed to be related to his service in the Gulf War, as per the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1117 (West 2002).

The Board denied service connection for IBS and the claim for an increased rating for cervical spine fracture, finding that the preexisting condition was not aggravated by service.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a gastrointestinal disorder, and migraine headaches. The other issues remain unresolved.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a VA examination to determine the relationship between his claimed conditions and service, including exposure to herbicides. The examiner should also address whether these conditions are secondary to esophageal cancer or its treatment.

The Veteran's appeal involves multiple service-connected conditions and their relationship to his current disabilities. The Board has ordered additional development of the claims, including obtaining clarification from the June 2009 VA examiner regarding the diagnoses and relationships between the Veteran's claimed conditions and his service-connected anxiety disorder and dysthymic disorder.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including new examinations and readjudication of the claims under both old and amended criteria for evaluating scars. The Veteran's service-connected residual scars are being evaluated again, as well as his claimed IBS, GERD, and erectile dysfunction.

The Veteran's service-connected abdominal scars, residuals of a gunshot wound to the left buttock, are rated at 10 percent. Service connection for IBS is granted on a presumptive basis under Persian Gulf War criteria. The other issues (sinusitis, fatigue, breathing problems, and sleep problems) are also granted.

The Veteran was granted service connection for fibromyalgia for the purposes of accrued benefits, as her death certificate showed she died from severe progressive interstitial lung disease and there is no evidence that any other disability caused or contributed to her death. The appellant has made no assertions that any other disability caused or contributed to her death.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for tarsal tunnel syndrome, arthritis of the spine/bone spurs, irritable bowel syndrome, and bilateral hearing loss. The decision found that there was no current diagnosis of hearing loss or evidence linking it to service.

Service connection granted for tinnitus, but denied for bilateral hearing loss.,Service connection granted for uterine fibroids with abdominal/pelvic pain with cramps and pressure.