My wife has Diabetes Mellitus, Chronic Pancreatitis, IBS, chronic diarrehea and has suffered considerable weight loss due to nutrient malabsorbtion. She also has tremors in her arms and hands, we have not yet been able to find out the cause of this. She worked steady, up until the time She was diagnosed with Diabetes. Then the pancreatitis, and the rest has followed. She is 49 and will be 50 in a few months. We have just started the SSDI procedure, without any representation. What do you think Her chances are or winning without respresentation.
–Ryan

Jonathan Ginsberg responds: Ryan, based on the description you present, I would say that your wife stands a good chance at getting approved. The factors I see as positive are:

• she has a long and consistent work history – Social Security judges usually see claimants with long work histories as being credible
• I would focus on the chronic diarrhea, IBS and the pain of the pancreatitis as the main medical issues. These are serious medical problems with clear diagnoses.

I would ask one or more of her treating physicians to complete a “functional capacity” questionnaire describing how her medical symptoms result in work attendance and performance issues, now and on-going

At the initial and reconsideration levels of appeals, you will be dealing with State Agency adjudicators (not judges). I would take a look at the adult disability listings to see if her condition meets any of the listings. Generally at the State Agency level, a listing argument is going to make more headway, however I would also include any functional capacity documentation that you can generate.

–Jonathan

[tags] diabetes, Social Security disability, IBS, irritable bowel, diarrhea, tremors, pancreatitis, nutrient malabsorbtion, functional capacity, Social Security listing [/tags]