How Lupus Qualifies for Social Security Disability. Social Security maintains a list of official qualifying diseases, called its ‚ÄúBlue Book,‚Äù and lupus is included on the list. For Social Security’s purposes, lupus qualifies as a disability when it meets these conditions: It involves two or more organs or body systems.
What category of disability is lupus?
Social Security maintains a Listing of Impairments for each of the major body systems. Lupus is listed under Immune System Disorders in section 14.02.
Which autoimmune disease is considered a disability?
An autoimmune condition such as lupus may be able to get disability benefits. If you are suffering from lupus, the SSA’s Blue Book may help you decide the type of medical evidence you will need to support a claim for Social Security benefits.
Can you get disability for RA or lupus?
If rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or Lyme disease is causing symptoms that prevent you from holding down a full-time job, you may be entitled to Social Security disability benefits, either under a listed impairment or through documentation of your functional limitations.
Can lupus qualify for disability Related Questions
What jobs to avoid with lupus?
Many lupus patients aren’t able to do intensive physical work, like waitressing or working in a grocery store. Jobs that involve standing for long periods, like working a cash register, greeting customers, or being a hostess at a restaurant, can be physically tiring as well as rough on the joints.
How do you prove you have lupus?
Your doctor will look for rashes and other signs that something is wrong. Blood and urine tests. The antinuclear antibody (ANA) test can show if your immune system is more likely to make the autoantibodies of lupus. Most people with lupus test positive for ANA.
Can you still work with lupus?
Many people with lupus are able to continue to work, although they may need to make changes in their work environment. Flexible work hours, job-sharing, and telecommuting may help you to keep working. It may be helpful to begin to make such arrangements soon after you have been diagnosed with lupus.
Is lupus a comorbidity?
Lupus is a complex autoimmune disease with many possible complications and what are known as comorbidities. Comorbidity is a medical term that means a person has more than one medical condition. A complication is slightly different. A complication is a health problem that occurs as a result of the disease.
Is lupus serious?
The seriousness of SLE can range from mild to life-threatening. The disease should be treated by a doctor or a team of doctors who specialize in care of SLE patients. People with lupus that get proper medical care, preventive care, and education can significantly improve function and quality of life.
Do all autoimmune diseases qualify for disability?
As with most impairments, having a autoimmune disease itself does not make you disabled for Social Security Disability. The severity of your symptoms and how the autoimmune disease affects you is the real question.
What’s the easiest thing to get disability for?
Arthritis and other musculoskeletal disabilities are the most commonly approved conditions for disability benefits. If you are unable to walk due to arthritis, or unable to perform dexterous movements like typing or writing, you will qualify.
Can I work with an autoimmune disease?
Many people successfully continue to work for a long time with an autoimmune disease, but if you reach the point where you just can’t keep it up, you also have a right to apply for Social Security Administration disability benefits.
What organs does lupus affect?
It can affect your joints, tendons, kidneys, and skin. It can affect blood vessels. And it can affect organs such as the heart, lungs, and brain. It can cause rashes, fatigue, pain, and fever.
What is lupus pain like?
Muscle and joint pain. You may experience pain and stiffness, with or without swelling. This affects most people with lupus. Common areas for muscle pain and swelling include the neck, thighs, shoulders, and upper arms.
Is lupus a form of RA?
Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are both autoimmune conditions in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue, causing inflammation in the body. They share some symptoms, and it is possible to have both lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers refer to the overlap of conditions as rhupus syndrome.
What can worsen lupus?
Overwork and not enough rest. Being out in the sun or having close exposure to fluorescent or halogen light. Infection. Injury. Stopping your lupus medicines. Other types of medicines.
Does exercise worsen lupus?
If you have a flare of your lupus symptoms, you may need to reduce or stop your exercise activity to prevent damage to inflamed joints and muscles and to avoid fatigue. Although exercise can help to reduce feelings of fatigue, too much exercise could trigger a lupus flare-up.
What is the enemy of lupus?
The sun is the main source of ultraviolet light and is enemy no. 1 for patients with lupus, because it can trigger the disease or trigger flares at any time in its development.
How did your lupus start?
It’s likely that lupus results from a combination of your genetics and your environment. It appears that people with an inherited predisposition for lupus may develop the disease when they come into contact with something in the environment that can trigger lupus. The cause of lupus in most cases, however, is unknown.
Should I tell people I have lupus?
It is not necessary to share all of the details about lupus. But you will want to describe the possible symptoms of lupus and your symptoms in particular. Explain your treatments, as well as the fact that lupus can develop in men and women, teens, and children.