Disabling Conditions

While the disease is identifiable medically, it can be difficult to prove legally in a Social Security Disability case. Anyone who comes in contact with patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) knows its disabling effects. However, much about the disease remains unknown. One Social Security Judge referred to it as a “pervading mystery – its cause, duration and functional limitations.” These cases can be won as Social Security claims if the symptoms and the functional effects are made clear to social security.

Fibromyalgia cannot be established by an objective test such as X-ray, CT Scan or MRI. There is no lab test to demonstrate it, though there are promising breakthroughs on brain imaging. FMS is only diagnosed by documenting the patient’s pain at certain “tender points” on the body, and correlating this information with reports of depression and sleeplessness. It is important to record how this debilitating disease impacts the ability to perform ordinary tasks.

People with Long Term Disability Insurance, ERISA Disability, Social Security Disability or Veterans Disability claims often have psychological problems that limit their ability to work. Many claimants with serious physical problems, especially if they have been having pain for a long time, develop emotional aspects to their physical impairments. It is important that disabled claimants explain any emotional problems because it is often the emotional aspect of pain that interferes the greatest with the ability to work. Common problems include: