Important Tips for Getting Social-Security Disability When You Have Severe Asthma

If you have severe asthma that does not respond well to the different maintenance drugs on the market today, or if it is inadvisable for you to use those medications, you may be eligible for social-security disability benefits. However, many people apply for disability benefits for their severe asthma and are denied, and many people erroneously expect to be turned down for benefits, so they don't apply. In addition, handling the paperwork and other complications of filing can be challenging, especially when you are already sick, so speaking with a social-security disability lawyer is likely to be helpful. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the following information when you are unable to work due to the severity of your uncontrolled asthma and deserve disability payments. 

Show That You Have Been Hospitalized Multiple Times in the Year Prior to Applying

In general, you should remember that in order for you to be considered by the federal government to be sufficiently impaired by your illness to be eligible for disability payments, you should expect to have been hospitalized a minimum of three times within the last twelve months. It is important to note that in this instance, hospitalizations do not include merely being seen in the emergency room or watched overnight. Specifically, each hospital stay needs to relate in some way to an exacerbation of your asthma symptoms and include your presence for at least 48 hours.

If the asthma is new, and you have had it for less than a year, or if medical care only became necessary for its treatment in the past year, you will not be able to apply for disability payments until the first anniversary of a hospitalization has occurred.

Ask for the Right Tests

Another aspect of uncontrolled asthma that will come under inspection when you apply for disability payments is the testing you have received thus far. In this instance, the federal government will want verification of arterial blood gas studies that you had done while in the hospital as well as spirometry test results. The arterial blood gas evaluations, or ABGS tests, are used to evaluate the amount of oxygen your body is able to access and thus can be used to evaluate the severity of your asthma. The spirometry test involves you blowing into a tube or similar item for as long or hard as you can, and this can help you to determine the amount of lung ability you have.

The results from those tests should be done when you are in the hospital, or else you may find that your disability application is denied. Your primary-care doctor or pulmonologist may need to do spirometry tests when you are healthy as well to allow a baseline of your normal breathing abilities to be created and can be a crucial part of your care plan.

In conclusion, it is not always easy to get approved for social-security disability benefits when your primary complaint is severe, uncontrolled asthma that makes it impossible to maintain steady employment. As a result, it is important to consider the above information prior to choosing an experienced disability attorney for your case.

Visit sites such as http://www.johnehornattorney.com to find a firm near you. 

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