Crowe & Shanahan | The Social Security Law Group

Can’t work because of a disability? Call us Toll-Free at 📞 1-877-213-7793 or Locally at 📞 314-231-6660

No initial fees and no fees until your claim is approved.

Those with severe Crohns symptoms may qualify for disability

On Behalf of | Sep 7, 2018 | Firm News

If you’ve known someone who has been diagnosed with the digestive disorder Crohn’s, then you’ve likely witnessed first hand just how debilitating of a disease that this condition can be.

A large majority of those who have Crohn’s experience occasional mild to moderate flare-ups that can be managed through medical interventions. For a select few, though, their condition affects other organs and causes debilitating symptoms. If it impacts their ability to work, then they may be eligible to receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

Most who suffer from this chronic type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) experience extreme fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea on a regular basis. As if these symptoms of Crohn’s weren’t already bad enough, those who live with the most severe type of this disease also may struggle with inflammatory arthritis, malnutrition, visual impairments, oral ulcers, anemia, neurological symptoms or skin rashes.

If you have proof that you’ve been diagnosed with Crohn’s and a registered dietitian can document that your malnutrition stems from your diagnosis, then you may qualify for SSDI. You may also qualify for it if you’ve developed anemia and have a hemoglobin reading under 10.0 gm/dL because of it.

Those Crohn’s patients who have undergone a surgery because of a colon or small intestine blockage may also qualify to receive SSDI if it impacts their ability to work. Those who have lost at least 10 percent of their body weight or have a body mass index of less than 18 may also qualify. So may those who don’t respond well to medications intended to treat the disease.

In all of the cases listed above, an individual’s Crohn’s symptoms must be so debilitating or severe that they’ve adversely impacted a person’s life for at least the last 12 months. If their condition is expected to deteriorate over the next year or is terminal, then they too may qualify to receive SSDI. To do so, an individual must be earning less than $800 in income per month.

One of the reasons that work and Crohn’s don’t mesh is because digestive disorders do not wait for a convenient time. Those with advanced disease can experience debilitating pain that affects their ability to focus on their work. For these individuals, a St. Louis attorney can work with their doctors to document their illness and show how it’s preventing them from working.