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disability

Fri, March 29, 2013 11:43 PM

Question...I have UC and am on Remicade every 6 weeks. (for 4 yrs) I am finding it more and more difficult to work because of fatigue, joint pain, bath room breaks, etc. I was wondering if anyone else with the same problems are on disability and if so, was it difficult to get on.

ckornoelje
Joined Mar 29, 2013

Fri, April 05, 2013 11:25 PM

I am currently on disability for Crohn's, but it was not easy. For the first 6 months I was on short term disability, which was just a matter of having my GI fill out a simple one page form (the disability was through the state). For the long term disability, I actually receive both private disability (long term employer disability insurance through MetLife) and Social Security disability. Fortunately, I have a GI who was willing to argue my case with MetLife because they did not see why I couldn't just "use the bathroom" when I needed to go. Once approved, I have not had any problems and was recently approved through retirement age (I am currently 43), provided there are no major changes in my condition.

As far as Social Security is concerned, I had to file for reconsideration after the first denial and then had to file for an appeal hearing. I was told by my representative that unless I was basically illiterate, based on my age, there was no way I would be approved for a GI issue without having a hearing. SS disability is based on age and education so generally the older and less educated you are, the easier it is to obtain. Age does not start helping until you are over either 50 or 55. However, the hearing was easy enough and I was approved in the end. It was just a long process (about 18 months from first filing to approval).

I will say that I also have crohn's related arthritis, so I have pain/swelling with my joints, and side effects from the meds I have been on for the crohn's (extreme fatigue, ongoing headache, memory issues, etc). Not sure how much that figured into the judge's decision and how that compares to your current situation.

Hope this helps!

cnowlen
Joined Nov 3, 2010

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