Fibromyalgia Part 1
If you are suffering from fibromyalgia and your condition is preventing you from working, you may qualify to receive Social Security disability benefits. In this article, an Ocala disability lawyer will give you a general overview of fibromyalgia as it relates to Social Security disability benefits.
In order to determine whether you are “disabled” as a result of your fibromyalgia, the Social Security Administration must evaluate your fibromyalgia to see if it is a severe medically determinable impairment. If it is a severe medically determinable impairment, then the Social Security Administration will see if it’s severe enough to equal a listing under Social Security’s Listing of Impairments.
If your medical condition does not meet the listing requirement, the Social Security Administration will have to look at your residual functional capacity (RFC), which is the work that you’re still able to do despite your fibromyalgia, in order to see if you still qualify for disability benefits.
What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia, which is also called fibrositis or fibromyositis, is an arthritis-related medical disorder characterized by chronic and widespread musculoskeletal pain and fatigue, disruption of sleep, memory loss, and/or depression. Both its causes and cures are unknown, and oftentimes the symptoms are subjective. Even if there are no “objective” findings of fibromyalgia, however, the pain from fibromyalgia can be so severe that you’re unable to do any work.
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) defines fibromyalgia as “widespread pain in all four quadrants of the body for a minimum duration of three months and at least 11 of the 18 specified tender points which cluster around the neck and shoulder, chest, hip, knee, and elbow regions.” Fibromyalgia is often characterized by a prevalent dull ache, usually from the muscles. To be widespread, the pain must occur on both sides of your body and both above and below your waist.
Other concurrent symptoms include severe fatigue, anxiety, depression, cognitive dysfunction, headaches, endometriosis, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Symptoms may arise after surgery, physical trauma, infection, stress, or the occurrence of severe psychological issues (such as depression). Sometimes, the symptoms arise gradually over time without a single event or factor that triggers the fibromyalgia.
How your fibromyalgia can qualify as a medically determinable severe impairment
When the Social Security Administration evaluates whether or not you qualify as “disabled,” it will see if you have a medically determinable impairment that is severe. This is the prerequisite for receiving Social Security disability benefits. The only way to establish that you have a medically determinable severe impairment is through medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques.
For your fibromyalgia to qualify as a medically determinable severe impairment, you must show to the Social Security Administration that you are suffering from:
(1) Widespread pain lasting for at least three months;
(2) Pain on palpitation in at least 11 of the 18 tender point sites (which have been classified by the ACR);
(3) Stiffness in the morning or after sitting down for a short period of time; and
(4) Fatigue.
If you are suffering from fibromyalgia and it’s preventing you from working, you may have a good claim for Social Security disability benefits. Experienced Ocala disability lawyer Claudeth Henry may be able to help you with your claim. Simply fill out the form on this page for a free initial consultation.