Currently I am handling a case for a lady who has Addison’s Disease. Addison’s Disease is interesting, since, from a disability standpoint, it may be difficult to prove a disabling condition and receive an award from the Social Security Administration for Disability due to Addison’s Disease because of its varying nature. People who apply for disability and who do have Addison’s Disease have a condition that is not intuitively obvious to a Judge or medical practitioner without specific testing. This is a rare, chronic, endocrine disorder in which the adrenal glands do not produce sufficient hormones and it may cause a variety of symptoms including very low blood pressure or even a coma. Often it produces dark pigmentation of the skin.
Unfortunately, people with Addison’s Disease often have a lifelong problem plagued by what are commonly called “flares” where the disease becomes much worse.
From the perspective of Social Security Disability, the question becomes how often do these symptoms appear and at what severity. Unfortunately, a lot of people with Addison’s Disease don’t go to the doctor every time they have an increase in symptoms or even when they have a significant “flare” because they don’t want to go to the hospital and try to take care of it at home through medication. Often, the hospital treatment does not differ greatly from what they are able to do at home.
Although this may be understandable, when it comes to trying a claim it can be difficult for a Judge to believe that Addison’s Disease is disabling without the medical documentation of multiple hospital emergency room visits and associated treatment.
One of the more notable people having Addison’s Disease was John F. Kennedy. His Addison’s Disease was pretty secret but the obvious problem is, President Kennedy did not appear to be disabled at any time during his presidency. Therefore, if one tries to get disability approved by the Social Security Administration for Addison’s Disease or similar diseases that wax and wane, proving the frequency of their occurrence and the severity of their occurrence is critical in presenting a good case for a claimant.
