Oklahomans who are diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease will understand how difficult it is to function normally and hold a job while suffering from it. IBDs include ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. There are common denominators with these disorders even though they are slightly different. With that, they can be treated similarly. With IBD, people suffer from remissions and exacerbations and the amount of time these last can vary. Since IBD can be so problematic for a person who is trying to work, its diagnosis and the circumstances treating it could be sufficient to meet the federal regulations to receive Social Security disability benefits for illness.
Crohn’s disease can affect a person’s body from the mouth through to the anus. Numerous physical problems can accompany it. It is rarely cured even if there is a surgical procedure done to treat it. With IBD, symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, pain in the abdomen, bleeding from the rectum, fecal incontinence, diarrhea, tenderness in the abdomen and other problems. The person might have a laboratory finding showing malnutrition, loss of weight, edema and more. Other body systems can be affected by IBD, with gallstones, kidney stones, inflammatory arthritis, and eye issues among multiple other illnesses and physical manifestations.
When the Social Security Administration determines whether to approve SSD benefits for IBD, it must be documented by an endoscopy, a biopsy or another medical imaging system. It can also be assessed if there is a surgical procedure and an obstruction in stenotic areas are found in the small intestine or colon and certain medical issues are found. If there was surgery at least twice a minimum of 60 days apart within back-to-back six-month periods, it is sufficient to be approved.
For people who have IBD, the accompanying symptoms will often leave them not just unable to work, but in need of consistent medical care. A legal professional who understands how to help people who are suffering from IBD receive disability benefits is important. When IBD is diagnosed, a lawyer can assist with applying for and receiving Social Security disability benefits for illness.
Source: ssa.gov, “Disability Evaluation Under Social Security,” accessed on Jan. 30, 2018