What is the difference between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)? IBS describes a set of symptoms which include abdominal pain. To be sure, it can cause, in some cases severe pain and result in disability. However, IBD is considered by the medical profession to be the…
Treatments which are used to attempt to relieve pain are important facts to be considered by the Administrative Law Judge in accessing claims for Social Security Disability based on pain. Some treatments are effective and some are not effective. Most pain relieving treatments do not totally “do away” with the…
Obviously, no one but you can know the extent of your pain, how it feels or how long it lasts. There is no definitive medical test which can conclusively measure pain. SSA allows pain to serve as a basis for disability. According to 20 CFR § 404.1529(b)(c) and SSR 96-7P,…
The mental condition known as “anxiety” can also serve as the basis to obtain Social Security disability benefits. What is anxiety? How serious does anxiety have to be in order to qualify as a disability? “Anxiety” is a normal reaction to stress. It is part of mental makeup which is…
On June 17, 2010, the U.S. Treasury issued a proposed rule to require that all payments to claimants whose claims for disability benefits are filed on or after March 1, 2011 be paid by direct deposit, thereby eliminating paper checks. Many claimants have chosen already to receive their payments by…
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has listed the condition commonly known as “depression” as a basis to obtain Social Security disability benefits. Depression is actually under a broader category of mental impairments called “Affective Disorders”. So what are “Affective Disroders”? “Affective Disorders” is a psychiatric term used to describe a…
Over the next several blog entries, the topic of mental illnesses in Social Security Disability Cases will be discussed. Many people have asked whether depression, anxiety (which includes panic disorders, post traumatic stress, obsessive/compulsive disorder and agoraphobia) and bi polar disorder can serve as the basis for an award of…
Over the years, I have heard people remark that so and so received disability benefits because of a drug or alcohol addiction. In fact, many believe that the law provides for the granting of disability to addicts. The law is far more complicated. Before 1994, a person could receive disability…
The Federal Register published on December 14, 2009 a change to the Endocrine Listing (Listing 9) proposed by the Social Security Administration (SSA). SSA proposed that the impairments set out in Listing 9 be eliminated. Listing 9 includes not only thyroid disorders but also diabetes. The elimination proposal by SSA…
Fibromyalgia is a terrible condition which causes pain, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, morning stiffness, headaches, painful menstrual periods, tingling or numbness of hands or feet, and difficulty thinking and remembering. Some people with this condition may also experience irritable bowel syndrome, pelvic pain, restless leg syndrome, and depression. Fibromyalgia is also…