Today we will tell you a little bit about fibromyalgia disability and how to get Social Security benefits if you have fibromyalgia. This content is in reference to Dr. Anthony Bohan who is a lawyer as well. Dr. Anothony practice at LawMed Disability Attorneys which is a law firm that specializes in getting Social Security benefits for clients.
Fibromyalgia Disability & Social Security
Dr. Anthony will further discuss and to talk to you a little bit about fibromyalgia and how to get Social Security benefits if you have fibromyalgia. First of all, what is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia
Well, those of you who have it certainly know that it is a condition where there is pain and the muscles joints and tendons as well as stiffness and tenderness to the touch. The fibromyalgia pain types sometimes may hurt all over. It may be accompanied by headaches by fibro fog which we refer to in that way when there are confusion and memory lapses.
Fibromyalgia Symptoms
It may have colitis symptoms associated with it and fibromyalgia symptoms may often have headaches and other symptoms as well as chronic fatigue. These are all the symptoms that most patients with fibromyalgia have to a greater or lesser extent. The cause of fibromyalgia is not known. There are many theories that we won’t get into today, but certainly, no one knows exactly what causes fibromyalgia.
Diagnosis of Fibromyalgia
The diagnosis of fibromyalgia depends on the American Rheumatism Association criteria that were established in 1990 which incorporate finding 11 out of 18 trigger points. Now the newer criteria established more recently by the College of Rheumatology. It has actually done away with the trigger points. That is to say, trigger points are no longer a part of the diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Why is that?
Social Security
It is because the ACR thought trigger points were just too inconsistent and not reliable to really diagnose this condition. However, Social Security still probably uses trigger points when they process claims. Your doctor should be aware though that there are newer criteria to diagnose this condition. All soon what’s new is the fact that there is now an objective blood test to help diagnose fibromyalgia.
Measure Cytokines
For years fibromyalgia is a condition that we often said didn’t have any objective findings. The new tests for fibromyalgia which is called FM /an FM for fibromyalgia /a is a blood test that measures cytokines in the blood and certain patterns of cytokines help to diagnose and confirm the presence of fibromyalgia.
The Bonding B/W Doctor & You
Ask your doctor about the FM a test. If appropriate maybe that should be done in your case to help objectively diagnose fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be quite disabling. You and your doctor have to discuss your symptoms in detail as to how much chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms you have, how much sleep disturbances you have. Whether or not your pain is grade 7 or grade 9 or grade 10 out of 10 and so forth.
Document Every Aspect
What’s important is that your doctor must document all of these symptoms and findings in your medical record. Why is that so important? It is so vital because Social Security looks at your medical records, in order to determine whether you have a Fibromyalgia disability.
The Importance of Communication
If you do not communicate to your doctor your findings and symptoms and if your doctor doesn’t carefully document them in your medical record then when your case comes up to be heard, security may have nothing on which to base a fibromyalgia disability award. That’s why it’s so important to have two-way communication between you and your doctor. Have your doctor carefully document your condition.
HIPPA
Now under HIPPA(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), you have the right to look at your medical records, and to see what your doctor has entered. I would recommend that you do that. Ask your doctor for a copy of each and every progress note when you see the doctor. So that you can see what in fact your doctor enters into your medical record.
If your doctor isn’t entering the data that you need for your fibromyalgia disability award, what your symptoms are, how they disable you, what you can or cannot do, then you can talk to your doctor at each and every visit. To see that that information is captured in the medical record.
Your Legal Right
You have a legal right to look at it inspect your medical records. So finding a good doctor is going to work with you. A doctor who understands fibromyalgia, who is willing to capture the information that you give that doctor and make a solid medical record for you, that’s important if you’re going to win your fibromyalgia disability case.
A doctor’s perspective regarding tips for presenting and documenting fibromyalgia as a disabling condition for Social Security fibromyalgia Disability.
- Subjective and Objective medical documentation.
- Importance of being consistent in detailing your symptoms and limitations to your doctor.
- Being a proactive patient – and receiving medical attention from a doctor that has experience with and understands fibromyalgia pain.
References
This content is strictly an overview and is for informational and educational purposes only. Neither the sources of this content nor the publisher of this content takes responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All readers of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any medication.
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