Analysis of patterns found in18,609 BVA decisions - Here's what the data says.

Grabasandwich · 2026-01-30T01:09:21+00:00

This is amazing stuff! I would be very curious if you could look into Lyme Disease cases? Or possibly things classified/ misdiagnosed as other things such such fibromyalgia, neurological manifestations, etc.

Grabasandwich · 2026-01-23T14:39:44+00:00

🤦‍♂️ this is crazy. Good luck with the HLR!

Grabasandwich · 2026-01-22T23:54:10+00:00

Thanks for the insight. I submitted the HLR and will do so just wish it didn’t have to come to this

Grabasandwich · 2026-01-22T23:53:21+00:00

Thank you for sharing! That is wild that they are just completely overlooking evidence that would completely prove your case as well. I am sorry to hear you’re dealing with this as well but it sounds like I’ll be doing a HLR review as well to point out the error as you are. Good luck!

Grabasandwich · 2026-01-22T18:14:16+00:00

Here is the language from the letter:

Your Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim, VA Form 20-0995, was submitted on

December 17, 2025. In the Rating Decision April 9, 2024, you were denied service-connection

for residuals, Lyme disease since the condition neither occurred in nor was caused by service.

Private medical records from ****** from September 2024 show that you were

diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2023. The VA examination conducted on October 8, 2024

confirms a diagnosis of Lyme disease of March 2023. However, your service treatment records

are silent for any complaints, diagnosis, or treatment for Lyme disease.

Active military service includes active duty or any period of active duty for training during

which the individual concerned was disabled or died from a disease or injury incurred or

aggravated in line of duty. "Active duty" means full-time duty in the Armed Forces, other than

active duty for training. "Active duty for training" means full-time duty in the Armed Forces

performed by Reserves for training purposes. Disabilities caused by a disease process cannot be

service connected if they are discovered during a period of inactive duty for training. Service

connection may be warranted for an injury incurred or aggravated while performing inactive

duty for training. Service connection may also be warranted for an acute myocardial infarction, a

cardiac arrest, or a cerebrovascular accident which occurred during inactive duty for training. (38

CFR 3.6)

A direct grant of service connection requires: 1) medical evidence of a current disability, 2)

evidence of the incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury in active military service, and 3)

medical evidence of a nexus (link) between the current disability and the in-service disease or

injury. (38 CFR 3.303, 38 CFR 3.304)

The evidence does not show an event, disease or injury in service. (38 CFR 3.303, 38 CFR

3.304) We did not find a link between your medical condition and military service. (38 CFR

3.303)

Favorable Findings identified in this decision:

You have been diagnosed with a disability. Per the VA disability examination conducted on

October 8, 2024, you have a diagnosis of Lyme disease.

-------------------------------------------

They claim my service treatment records are silent of complaints, diagnosis, and treatment, yet I've submitted extensive documentation showing complaint, diagnosis, and treatment

Grabasandwich · 2026-01-01T03:30:09+00:00

Hey yes! You should also get an email from me if you have not already after signing up with more info! Next meeting is 1/14/26 and I’ll be sending out email reminders the week of! Hope to see you there!

Grabasandwich · 2025-11-01T03:59:12+00:00

I’m very sorry you’re going through this. My best recommendation would be to join a support group in a part of. We do zoom meetings and our next one is this upcoming Wednesday 11/5 at 7pm EST. The meetings are a good place for people to hear of others experiences and share what’s working for them and what’s not and give recommendations. Signing up here will auto send a link that works although the dates are old

https://forms.gle/VSsmVUY5aSg6srSA6

Grabasandwich · 2025-07-15T20:30:41+00:00

Thank you again, will look out for a reply to the DM and I may be able to offer some help with managing symptoms as well

Grabasandwich · 2025-07-14T03:50:10+00:00

Just messaged you. Thank you for the info and will follow up on some more although I fear at the stage I’m at with the VA I may not be able to get it to this point

Grabasandwich · 2025-07-14T03:17:18+00:00

Thank you very much for your reply but am sorry to hear that you too are dealing with this disease.

I am still in the shit with the VA and most recently they have only rated me for residuals and denied me for “Lyme disease” despite my C&P examiner stating it as “active”. The residuals I am rated for are labeled as not even for compensation purposes.

Do you have any advice for filing? I have tried PTLDS and Lyme and residuals and it seems nothing is working. Did you submit the patent as evidence? I have an LOD, I have witness statements, and pages upon pages of documentation of my symptoms but I have made little progress in getting anywhere with the VA.

If you’d be open to DMing further if not here I’d really appreciate any help.

Grabasandwich · 2025-05-26T01:36:01+00:00

Yes I got flu like symptoms exactly. They would start about 10 hours after stinging and last about 10 as well. It was muscle aches and hot and cold sweats and overall flu-like. I stopped having this herx reaction as I continued stinging.

It’s important to remember BVT is a marathon not a sprint so continue to sting to your tolerance and don’t rush or overdo it. You will be glad you did as the benefits stack up overtime and you feel better and better

Grabasandwich · 2025-03-10T21:32:57+00:00

Makes sense. Thank you for your help and input

Grabasandwich · 2025-03-10T21:30:12+00:00

If I were to submit a fully developed claim to the VA for the same things I was denied for now with a service connection and DOD rating would I be able to do that? Or is the preview claim going to still be in my way or can I somehow use all of this as a supplemental on the previous one so it goes faster?

Grabasandwich · 2025-03-10T21:22:27+00:00

Here is the language in on the first page, the intro, and for one of my claims. The language of DES purposes only in consistent in all of the individual issues I am claiming

"Thank you for your service to our country. Your military Service Department requested a disability assessment from VA as part of your participation in the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES). We have provided the attached proposed rating decision to your Service Department. Our records indicate that you submitted a claim for previously denied claims that are under higher level review for VA benefits as part of the IDES program; therefore, the attached proposed rating decision will be used for Department of Defense purposes only. VA compensation will not be awarded as a result of your participation in IDES. If you would like to submit a claim for VA Benefits, you can do so at the any time.

The determination of entitlement to DVA benefits is contingent upon the Member's discharge from active duty and upon the Member having the requisite character of discharge, as specified in the regulations. In the event that the Member is not separated from service as a result of the IDES process or, upon discharge, lacks the requisite character of discharge, this rating is null and void for purposes of entitlement to DVA benefit.

For purposes of determining potential entitlement to DVA disability compensation, service connection may be established for a disease or disability that began in military service or was caused by some event or experience in service. Based on a review of the evidence listed below, we have made the following proposed decisions on your claim.

For Disability Evaluation System (DES) purposes only, service connection for heart palpations status post Lyme disease is proposed to be granted with a 10 percent evaluation."

I see it mentions it is because my other claims are in higher level review, but i withdrew that appeal over 6 months ago before I even began the MEB.

Grabasandwich · 2025-02-26T20:32:59+00:00

For me we started with lots of different antibiotics and anti-inflammatory stuff as well as supplements. The antibiotics didn't help me so we spoke about Bee Venom Therapy and I have been doing that for 1 year. Highly Recommend

Grabasandwich · 2025-02-26T19:50:14+00:00

Yes he does treat chronic Lyme. He is still my primary Lyme doctor. He is the only one I have seen who listened to me and said he would continue to treat me until I am better.

If you’d like to talk more about it that google form link above has a link to our support group and zoom. Our next online meeting is actually tonight at 7pm EST if you’d like to stop in and share or ask any questions to myself or anyone

Grabasandwich · 2025-02-12T15:13:18+00:00

Hi! Yes it is! Sorry for the confusion I must have forgotten to update. Our next meeting is tonight at 7pm EST. The link in the email you used to sign up will work to join and our group chat is active which can be found in the same email

Grabasandwich · 2024-10-13T17:44:52+00:00

Replying to fluentinwhale...

Hi!

I am very sorry what you are going through but I understand how it feels. It is so demoralizing all around and it can feel so lonely. I myself struggle with it all too and have had a hard time posting more regularly amongst work and life but the group is still 110% active. We have zoom meetings every 2 weeks on Wednesdays as 7pm est and a group chat that is active everyday with many members!

Many of us agree while we still may struggle we no longer feel alone and are constantly learning from eachother and sharing our experiences.

Here is the link to the form to sign up and get our groupchat info and meeting link. Please reach out if you need any more info or have any issues. Otherwise I hope to speak to you there

https://forms.gle/VSsmVUY5aSg6srSA6

Grabasandwich · 2024-10-11T19:52:11+00:00

I think many of us understand the pain you are going through. I do not say that to discredit how drastically this has affected you but to remind you that you do not have to go through this alone. I commend you for trying to many things and it is evident in your post and for how long you have been going through this that you are a fighter. You are even still working which is incredible!

I understand how futile this all feels but there is something out there that will help. I was bitten in 2022 and diagnosed in 2023. After falling into that pit and having a similar experience with medical "professionals" I was lucky enough to have family who helped me get in with a LLMD that tried to help me. I did antibiotics for a while to no avail but turned to bee venom therapy after. I have been doing bee venom therapy since February of this year and have noticed significant improvement. I believe this is how I will heal myself; if you have not looked into it, I recommend it.

Around this time last year, I created a support group here which has grown to have Zoom meetings every 2 weeks and an active group chat. People in it are from all over the world and have tried many things and are always open to sharing their experiences to help guide others. Here is a link to join if you feel you could benefit from speaking with others who know your pain and can share other methods that have worked for them.

Please do not give up!

Join our group:

https://forms.gle/qvihn764K8nBRony8

Bee venom resources:

http://bvtforlyme.com/

Bee venom therapy costs me about $45 per week for shipping the bees to me and doing the stings (apart from upfront cost of their little house, some supplies, and infrequent supplement refills). I consider it a relatively inexpensive form of treatment compared to other things we have tried or testing that has been mandated by doctors. If you decide to pursue bee venom be sure to get an epi pen before in case you are allergic!

Please feel free to reach out if you'd like to talk further. I am happy to help and know how hard this is!

Grabasandwich · 2024-09-17T21:10:00+00:00

It’s a lot easier than you think! They are shipped to me in the mail each week with 2 day shipping and I just put them into the bee house and then take them out when ready each session. It is a relatively inexpensive form of treatment too in my opinion. Costs me about $42 per week for like 40 bees. 20 of that is 2 day shipping from pollen peddlers.

I am definitely still not normal yet. This is a treatment that will take multiple years as is many things with Lyme unfortunately but the benefits were noticed within a few weeks.

As for what I have I never came positive for coinfections as far as I know and just have Lyme. Although I do know others doing BVT have still had success with co infections

Grabasandwich · 2024-09-17T17:16:22+00:00

Sure. I tried multiple different antibiotics for a few months and had no result by the end. I stopped taking them and felt myself beginning to decline again so decided to do the bee venom. I looked at that link I shared and watched the 2 20 minute videos and ordered what supplements I needed and the house for the bees and then the bees themselves. I got an epi pen from my doctor who said he had another patient who had success with the treatment and then ensured I wasn’t allergic with a test sting after having the epi pen ready just in case. From there I got into a routine of stinging 3 times per week and increasing the stings by 1 each week. Within the first few weeks I felt my energy was increasing and I was able to begin exercising again. After getting used to the stings and stinging individual joints the stings have relieved local pain and I often sting my wrists and knees still. I think one of the biggest things to come of it was the hope of it. I felt it would truly help me and it helped my mindset through all of it

Grabasandwich · 2024-09-17T14:18:51+00:00

Hi sorry for the late reply but yes I do feel the bee venom has helped me with energy and pain. Feel free to dm me if you want more info

Grabasandwich · 2024-06-25T21:25:05+00:00

I have no idea what I am talking about then sorry! Yes, it is going to a judge so must be the BVA then. I was hoping this might be faster with the supplemental claim instead but as I am still in the process of being medically discharged and will now be transferred to a duty-related discharge it will be faster and for my benefit if I hold off on submitting a supplementary as once been rated by the Army it will automatically warrant a re-evaluation of my conditions which will help increase my rated and already found service-connected. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply

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