IBS VA rating
The VA rates ibs under DC 7319, and most ratings land in the 10–30% range. What decides yours is the criteria below and what your record actually documents.
What the criteria ask for at each level
DC 7319 — 38 CFR §4.114
| Rating | What the record has to show |
|---|---|
| 10% | Moderate: frequent episodes of bowel disturbance with abdominal distress. |
| 20% | Frequent exacerbations with more constant distress. |
| 30% | Severe: diarrhea (or alternating diarrhea/constipation) with more or less constant abdominal distress. |
The schedule's own words
Ratings turn on specific terms, and a record that describes the same reality in different language often reads as a lower rating. These are the words this code measures:
- more or less constant abdominal distress
- alternating diarrhea and constipation
Evidence that moves this rating
- A symptom log covering several weeks (episodes, severity, work/life impact)
- GI treatment records
What your statement has to cover
Doctors chart symptoms; they rarely chart consequences. That part is yours, and it is usually what separates a documented rating from a reported one.
- Describe frequency and unpredictability: bathroom urgency, planning life around bathroom access.
- Gulf War veterans: IBS is PRESUMPTIVE — no nexus letter needed.
Our Statement Builderwalks through the questions that produce that kind of statement, in the schedule's own terms.
What ibs can lead to3 documented pathways
A secondary claim runs through a condition the VA already accepts, so the argument about your service is already won. What is left is the medical link — and a nexus opinion has to name the mechanism, not just the pair.
| Can lead to | The mechanism a nexus has to state |
|---|---|
| Depression | Chronic abdominal pain and gut-brain axis disruption cause depression. |
| GERD (acid reflux) | Chronic gut dysmotility and abdominal pressure changes aggravate acid reflux. |
| Hemorrhoids | Chronic bowel disturbance and straining directly cause and aggravate hemorrhoids. |
A pathway existing in the literature is not the same as your claim being granted — your records and the VA decide that. How secondary claims work covers the argument.
Before you spend money on this claim
VA ratings do not add. Each new rating applies only to the part of you the VA still counts as unimpaired, then rounds to the nearest ten — so from 70%, a new 10% condition leaves you at exactly 70% and changes your payment by nothing.
That does not make the claim worthless; it can still matter for TDIU, for SMC, or later when something else is added. But it is worth knowing before you pay for a nexus letter rather than after. Check what one more condition does at your rating — it takes a minute.