People can qualify for Social Security disability benefits for a variety of medical or psychological conditions. If a person’s condition is on the Social Security Administration’s Listing of Impairments, that person may qualify for disability benefits. One such condition on is called inflammatory bowel disease.
What is IBD?
Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is actually a group of conditions which affect the large and small intestine. The cause for IBD is not fully known, although doctors do understand that it involves a person’s genes, their immune system, and certain factors like infections, the use of antibiotics, NSAIDs (e.g., aspirin and ibuprofen), and smoking. As its name suggests, IBD causes chronic inflammation in the intestinal tract.
The most common forms of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Both of these diseases are long-term maladies with symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Crohn’s disease can involve any portion of the digestive tract, while ulcerative colitis is limited to the colon (large intestine).
There is no specific set of symptoms for each disease, just a general group that varies depending on which part of the intestinal tract is involved. These symptoms commonly include diarrhea, abdominal cramping and pain, rectal bleeding, urgent bowel movements, ulcers in the colon and rectum, and constipation. The disease may also produce symptoms outside the digestive tract, such as fever, weight loss, fatigue, joint pain, or arthritis.
IBD cannot be truly cured. Instead, it can only be managed. A person suffering from IBD experiences times when the disease is active (a “flare”) and times when the disease is in remission. A flare can be triggered by stress, eating certain foods, smoking, or taking certain medications.
When IBD is in remission, a person may experience few or even no symptoms. A doctor treating IBD seeks to bring the disease into remission and keep it there. This is accomplished through a regimen of specific drugs, or even surgery if the IBD is severe enough.
How the Clauson Law Firm Can Help
Obviously, IBD is not just painful, it is also debilitating. A person with a severe enough case of IBD may not be able to work at full capacity or at all when his or her disease flares. In this situation, that person is faced with reduced or no income while still having to pay medical and pharmacy bills for treatment of his or her IBD. He or she probably qualifies for disability benefits from Social Security.
Mr. Vaughn Clauson of The Clauson Law Firm, PLLC is a licensed attorney and a N.C. board certified Social Security disability law specialist located in Durham, North Carolina. He has extensive experience with the intricacies of dealing with the Social Security Administration and building a thorough case for each of his clients. If you suffer from IBD or any other condition that affects your ability to work, contact his office for a free case evaluation.
