Citation Nr: 18153993
Decision Date: 11/28/18	Archive Date: 11/28/18

DOCKET NO. 16-48 694
DATE:	November 28, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to an initial 10 percent evaluation for fibroids with dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia is granted.
FINDING OF FACT
Fibroids with dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia necessitate regular monthly prescription medication for severe pain.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for an initial 10 percent evaluation for fibroids with dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia are met.  38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.1, 4.3, 4.7, 4.116, Diagnostic Code 7613 (2018).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty with the United States Army from November 1986 to November 1990.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2016 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Paul, Minnesota, which awarded service connection and assigned a noncompensable evaluation.
The Veteran’s fibroids are rated under Diagnostic Code 7613, which provides that for disease, injuries, and adhesions of the uterus, a 0 percent rating is assigned when symptoms do not require continuous treatment.  When continuous treatment is required, a 10 percent rating is warranted.  A 30 percent rating is assigned for symptoms that are not controlled by continuous treatment.38 C.F.R. § 4.116.
Although a VA examiner stated in October 2105 that the currently diagnosed fibroids required no treatment, the Veteran has provided private treatment records and her own competent and credible lay statements showing that she is prescribed high-dose NSAIDS for the severe pain associated with her periods.  She is instructed to begin taking the medications several days prior to the start of bleeding.  As this treatment is regular and monthly, and has been in place for many years, the Board finds it qualifies as continuous treatment and warrants a 10 percent rating.
While the medications do not eliminate the pain, they do appear effective in reducing and controlling such, and hence a higher, 30 percent rating is not warranted.
 
WILLIAM H. DONNELLY 
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	B. J. Komins, Associate Counsel