Citation Nr: 18151672
Decision Date: 11/20/18	Archive Date: 11/19/18

DOCKET NO. 16-45 853
DATE:	November 20, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for fibromyalgia is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran had active service from November 1987 to November 1991, to include service in Southwest Asia during the Persian Gulf War.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) from a March 2015 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).
Entitlement to service connection for fibromyalgia is remanded.
VA records do not indicate that this Veteran has been examined for fibromyalgia.  
Given his service in Southwest Asia, the Veteran may be entitled to compensation for an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses, such as fibromyalgia.  See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1117, 1118; 38 C.F.R. § 3.317(a).  As the Veteran contends that he has nerve and muscle pain, muscle problems, insomnia, and memory loss which he believes is caused by fibromyalgia, a medical opinion should be obtained to determine whether he has fibromyalgia.  
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Ask the Veteran to identify all outstanding treatment records relevant to his fibromyalgia claim.  All identified VA records should be added to the claims file.  All other properly identified records should be obtained if the necessary authorization to obtain the records is provided by the Veteran.  If any records are not available, or the Veteran identifies sources of treatment but does not provide authorization to obtain records, appropriate action should be taken (see 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)-(e)), to include notifying the Veteran of the unavailability of the records.
2. After records development is completed, the Veteran should be afforded a VA medical examination to determine the nature of the complaints he believes result from fibromyalgia, and to obtain an opinion as to whether such is related to service.  The claim file should be reviewed by the examiner.  All necessary tests should be conducted and the results reported.  
The examiner is asked to address the following:
(a)	List all diagnoses accounting for the Veteran’s complaints of nerve and muscle pain, muscle problems, insomnia, and memory loss to include if a diagnosis of fibromyalgia or another medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness is warranted.
(b)	For each diagnosed disorder, is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the disorder is related to an in-service event, injury, or disease, to include the Veteran’s service during the Persian Gulf War?
(c)	If any claimed symptoms are not accounted for by a known clinical diagnosis (to include a diagnosis of fibromyalgia) the examiner should list the symptom(s) and address the severity/impairment caused by the symptom and any objective indications of disability related to the symptom (i.e., objective evidence perceptible to the examiner or other non-medical indicators that are capable of independent verification).  
 
Nathan Kroes
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Ruben D. Rudolph, Jr., Associate Counsel