VA Benefits for Female Sexual Arousal Disorder (FSAD)
Read the article below to learn more about FSAD and how to get it rated correctly.
What is FSAD?
Female Sexual Arousal Disorder (FSAD) is a condition that is characterized by persistent, recurrent problems with sexual response, desire, orgasm, or pain.
Some common symptoms include:
- lack of desire to have sex
- pain from sex
- inability to have an orgasm
FSAD can happen at any time but is usually triggered by an event such as physical trauma to vaginal area, stress, depression anxiety or PTSD.
Common Misconceptions About Getting FSAD rated
There are a lot of common misconceptions about getting rated for FSAD. I’ll go over a few of these scenarios below.
FALSE – You need to be in a relationship or married to get rated for FSAD
You do not need to be married or in a relationship to get rated for FSAD. If you are in a relationship, getting a buddy statement could help make your case, but it is not necessary.
If you aren’t currently in a relationship, be sure to mention how having FSAD has affected your previous relationships or how the desire you once had to have sex is now negatively impacted.
FALSE – You will need to get a vaginal examination to prove FSAD
There is no physical examination to “prove” that you have FSAD. This means that getting rated for FSAD relies heavily upon you actually talking about it.
You can have it documented in your medical records by talking to your primary care provider about it or you can talk about during your C&P exam.
FALSE – You need to have it documented in your medical records/be on medication for FSAD
While having medical records showing that you have mentioned your issue to your primary care provider would be extremely helpful, it’s not 100% necessary.
Talking about FSAD can be very personal and the VA seems to know this. This can be especially true if there is any major sexual trauma involved.
If you don’t have any documentation in your medical records, then it is extremely important that you are as open and honest in your C&P exam. C&P examiners have the power to diagnose you with FSAD so it’s important to not only mention your symptoms, but also talk about how it affects your life daily.
How to get FSAD rated?
Like most other VA claims, there are two ways to you get compensated for your disability.
- Service connected – The easiest way to get it service connected is to have documentation in your military medical records of you mentioning this to your primary care provider. If you were a victim of any MST in the military, you can also get it connected that way.
- Secondary condition – You can also get FSAD connected secondary to an existing condition. The most common ways to get FSAD rated secondary is to mental health disorders and hormonal imbalances. Keep in mind that some medicines that treat mental health issues like depression and anxiety are known to cause FSAD. You can get a condition rated secondary even if the medication is what is causing FSAD.
Getting rated because of prescribed medication
Like I touched on above, you can get rated FSAD due to the medications you are taking to treat any other service connected disabilities.
A lot of the medications used to treat depression, anxiety, ptsd, etc are known to cause a decline in sex drive. For example, side effects of many SSRI’s can cause low libido, vaginal dryness or delayed orgasms.
The VA allows veterans to get rated on the side effects of medication, so if you believe your medication is the reason for your FSAD, be sure to mention that to your provider.
How is FSAD compensated?
FSAD is rated at 0%. There is special pay that is designated for FSAD called SMC-K. You can find the current rates on the VA’s website.