Your body stayed ready for danger long after you came home—heart pounding at sudden sounds, sleep that never quite comes, muscles that won’t relax. This constant state of hypervigilance didn’t just exhaust your mind: it wore down your immune system, leaving you vulnerable to conditions the VA doesn’t automatically connect to your service-connected PTSD.
Veterans with PTSD frequently develop autoimmune disorders years after their initial diagnosis. Fibromyalgia. Irritable bowel syndrome. Rheumatoid arthritis. These aren’t random health problems—they're the physical toll of chronic stress on a body that never stopped fighting.
At the Law Office of Sean Kendall, our experienced United States Veterans lawyers understand secondary service connections and how to prove that link to secure the benefits you’ve earned. Here’s what you should know about PTSD autoimmune disorders, how to connect them to your service-connected PTSD, and what else you’ll learn when you contact us.
What Is a Secondary Service Connection?
It’s a new disability developed because of a service-connected condition the VA already recognizes. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rated your PTSD and compensated you for it. The autoimmune disorder that developed because of chronic stress from your PTSD deserves recognition, too.
However, the VA doesn’t grant secondary connections automatically. You need medical evidence showing causation—that your service-connected condition directly caused or aggravated the secondary condition. For PTSD and autoimmune disorders, that means proving the biological link between chronic psychological stress and immune dysfunction.
Why Does the VA Deny These Claims?
Often, the connection between mental health conditions and physical immune disorders seems indirect. The VA may acknowledge your PTSD and fibromyalgia, but deny that one caused the other. Without medical opinions explaining the stress-immune pathway, claims fail despite scientific evidence supporting the connection.
Timing also matters. If your autoimmune disorder appeared decades after service, the VA may question whether PTSD caused it or whether aging or other factors play a role. Strong medical evidence directly addresses these doubts.
How Does PTSD Damage the Immune System?
PTSD keeps your body in a perpetual state of fight-or-flight. Stress hormones, such as cortisol, flood your system constantly. Initially, cortisol helps manage inflammation, but chronic elevation has the opposite effect, dysregulating immune function entirely.
Your immune system begins attacking healthy tissues. Inflammation becomes chronic rather than protective. The body that once defended you now turns against itself, creating autoimmune conditions that range from painful to debilitating.
The Stress-Inflammation Cycle
Chronic stress from PTSD triggers inflammatory responses throughout the body. Elevated cytokines—proteins that regulate immune responses—create systemic inflammation. This inflammation contributes to conditions like:
- Fibromyalgia. Symptoms include widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive difficulties. Research shows Veterans with PTSD have higher rates of fibromyalgia than the general population.
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). People experience chronic abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation caused by gut-brain axis dysfunction. The stress response directly affects digestive system regulation, and Veterans with PTSD report IBS symptoms at rates far exceeding civilians.
- Rheumatoid arthritis. This autoimmune condition attacks joint linings, causing pain, swelling, and eventual joint damage. Studies link chronic stress exposure to increased rheumatoid arthritis risk.
- Psoriasis and eczema. These skin conditions are driven by immune dysregulation and inflammation. Veterans with PTSD experience flare-ups triggered by stress responses that never fully shut down.
Proving the Nexus Between PTSD and Autoimmune Disorders
Winning a secondary service connection claim requires establishing nexus—the medical link between your service-connected PTSD and your autoimmune disorder.
Medical Opinions That Establish Causation
A nexus letter from a qualified medical professional makes or breaks these claims. The physician must explain:
- How chronic PTSD-related stress affects immune function.
- Why your specific autoimmune disorder developed as a result.
- That the connection is “at least as likely as not”, according to VA standards.
Generic statements won’t suffice. The opinion should reference your medical history, document your PTSD severity, note when the autoimmune condition appeared, and cite medical literature supporting the stress-immune connection.
Supporting Evidence Veterans Need
Your evidence package should include:
- Treatment records. Documentation showing ongoing PTSD treatment and the timeline of autoimmune symptom development.
- Lay statements. Your testimony and statements from family members describing how PTSD symptoms coincided with physical health decline.
- Medical literature. Published studies linking chronic stress, PTSD, and specific autoimmune conditions strengthen your expert’s opinion.
- Diagnostic tests. Lab work and diagnostic results confirming your autoimmune disorder diagnosis.
This evidence helps paint a more complete picture: service-connected PTSD created chronic stress that damaged your immune system, resulting in a diagnosable autoimmune disorder.
Our Nationwide United States Veterans Lawyers Are Ready to Help With PTSD Autoimmune Disorder Claims
Sean Kendall’s legal team understands how to build nexus arguments the VA must acknowledge. We work with medical experts who articulate the stress-immune connection in terms the VA accepts. We gather evidence strategically, address VA objections before they arise, and appeal denials with stronger medical opinions when necessary.
If you developed an autoimmune disorder after your PTSD diagnosis, that’s not coincidence or bad luck. Your body responded to years of chronic stress exactly as medical science predicts. Getting the VA to recognize that reality—and compensate you accordingly—requires the right evidence presented precisely. We can help.
