The Veteran's costochondritis and fibromyalgia have resulted in widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, stiffness, paresthesias, headaches, irritable bowel symptoms, depression, and anxiety. The disability has been constant and refractory to therapy. The Veteran is already receiving the maximum schedular rating for fibromyalgia.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's fibromyalgia presents with widespread musculoskeletal pain and tender points that are resistant to therapy and associated with fatigue, sleep disturbance, stiffness, paresthesias, headaches, irritable bowel symptoms, depression, and anxiety. The disability picture is fully consistent with the criteria for a 40 percent disability rating under DC 5025.
- Claimed conditions
- costochondritis, fibromyalgia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- December 18, 2018
- Citation
- 18158957
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 18158957.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines was reopened due to new evidence. Service connection is granted for painful scars, but the rating assigned remains at 10 percent. The claims for fibromyalgia and bilateral shoulder disability are denied.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for hypertension, fibromyalgia, and vertigo. The decision found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service or a service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ did not obtain all necessary opinions regarding whether the Veteran's symptoms are related to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (MUCMI). The claims for service connection for fatigue, fibromyalgia, left elbow disorder, right elbow disorder, and sleep disorder are remanded for further development.
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