Disability and Lupus

DISABILITY  AND  LUPUS

I have represented many people who have been disabled from the symptoms of Lupus.  In fact, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is a systemic autoimmue disorder that may affect almost any part of the body.  It may affect the heart, brain, skin, lungs, blood vessels, liver, kidneys or nervous system.

The majority of the Social Security Disability Claimants who seek to get disability benefits based upon having systemic lupus erythematosus usually have musculoskeletal type complaints.  It is often hard to differentiate musculoskeletal problems from symptoms emanating from other areas since the claimant usually has pervasive malaise and pain.

Similar to many other diseases, such as MS, one of the barriers to treatment of Lupus is the diagnosis of the condition itself.

Lupus can frequently be confused with fibromyalgia or arthritic type complaints.  The most common test for Lupus is an ANA screen.

One of the tragedies that I often witness is a client who comes to my office reporting they have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia.  Invariably, these are indigent people who do not have access to good medical coverage and treatment has been limited to Public Health Agencies or Family Practitioners.  Many times, with adequate medical testing, the true cause of their problems emerge and the single most likely diagnosis which occurs from advanced testing of individuals who claim to have fibromyalgia, in my practice, is in fact Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.  Less frequently they end up with a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis or other disorders.  There are also many other diseases that mimic the symptoms of Lupus.

The other element in proving a Social Security Disability claim is to document the frequency and severity of the symptoms produced by providing records from adequate medical treatment since some people have symptoms which are much more severe and pronounced than others and occur more frequently.  

If you have any questions on this matter or have any other issues, do not hesitate to contact Drummond Law, LLC at 1-800-842-0426.

DISABILITY AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Over the course of more than 30 years, I have been representing Social Security Disability Claimants for a variety of ailments including Multiple Sclerosis.  MS is somewhat unique in that the first hurdle that must be breached for a disability claim based upon Multiple Sclerosis is to prove that the claimant actually has Multiple Sclerosis.

Normally, MS is confirmed by detecting abnormalities in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid.  MS, like many diseases, are often episodic in nature where there are both relapses and/or flare-ups in the disease interspersed between periods of remission.  MS relapses are often unpredictable and occur without warning in many cases.

One of the problems with diagnosing MS is the symptoms often mimic a whole myriad of other diseases.  Sometimes a lumbar puncture to test cerebrospinal fluid can show quite a bit of information about the central nervous system as can MRIs of the brain or biopsies.

I advise my clients who suspect they may have MS to have regular tests since negative tests do not mean MS is not present.  It only means it hasn’t been confirmed.

I’ve had many clients who have had tests for MS turn up negative only to finally have a positive result.  When that occurs, the doctors usually have no problem in relating the symptoms back.

The bottom line is, if you suspect your problem is MS or any other significant connective tissue disorder, the first hurdle is a diagnosis to be followed up with accurate details concerning limitation which would prevent employment. 

If you have any questions on this matter or have any other issues, do not hesitate to contact Drummond Law, LLC at 1-800-842-0426.