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Best approach to disability? CFS or Ebv?

Clerner

Senior Member
Messages
249
Location
Sarasota Florida
Titers (igg) to EBV have increased, early antigen still high after 1year, 6 months.

Have: ebv, parvovirus, hhv6, many strains of Coxsackie A &B, chlamydia pneumoniae, chlamydia trachomatis, mycoplasma pneumoniae, and yersinia entercolitica, C4a 13,000, cd57 68. Only dx fibromyalgia so far.

Easier to get disability for CFS or chronic, active ebv or fibro? Any advice in getting disability? Thanks for any info.
 

halcyon

Senior Member
Messages
2,482
I recommend reading through the following to start if you're considering applying with a diagnosis of CFS.

https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/cfs-pub063.htm
https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/rulings/di/01/SSR2014-01-di-01.html

Of note to your specific question, from the 2nd link:
Laboratory findings. At this time, we cannot identify specific laboratory findings that are widely accepted as being associated with CFS. However, the absence of a definitive test does not preclude our reliance upon certain laboratory findings to establish the existence of an MDI in people with CFS. While standard laboratory test results in the normal range are characteristic for many people with CFS, and they should not be relied upon to the exclusion of all other clinical evidence in decisions regarding the presence and severity of an MDI, the following laboratory findings establish the existence of an MDI in people with CFS:

  • An elevated antibody titer to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) capsid antigen equal to or greater than 1:5120, or early antigen equal to or greater than 1:640;

  • An abnormal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan;

  • Neurally mediated hypotension as shown by tilt table testing or another clinically accepted form of testing; or

  • Any other laboratory findings that are consistent with medically accepted clinical practice and are consistent with the other evidence in the case record (for example, an abnormal exercise stress test or abnormal sleep studies, appropriately evaluated and consistent with the other evidence in the case record).
 

Clerner

Senior Member
Messages
249
Location
Sarasota Florida
@halcyon Thanks for the info! So basically I should forget about if I don't have sleep studies or stress studies! Just a ton of blood work with lots of viruses and infection and inflammation. my ebv numbers are not in a ratio to compare. Ugh!
 

Denise

Senior Member
Messages
1,095
@Clerner - Social Security Disability and long-term disability (LTD) determinations are based on functional capacity rather than diagnosis.
How much can you walk, sit, stand, work in a day?
How do physical activities impact you?
How do cognitive activities impact you?
Are you able to complete Activities of Daily Living? http://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/caringforyourparents/handbook/pdf/cfyp_adl_checklist.pdf
What happens if you exceed limits? Duration, severity of symptoms....
How does this differ from pre-illness?

There are many PR threads on disability.
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
@Clerner - Social Security Disability and long-term disability (LTD) determinations are based on functional capacity rather than diagnosis.

You need two things in order to be approved for Soc. Sec. disability:
1. A diagnosis of a disorder/disease.
2. Proof that this disorder/disease is causing you to be disabled (unable to work).

I went before an administrative law judge with an attorney. While I was there, the judge went through the manual and checked off which disorder/disease I had. Then we spent more time talking about how my illnesses (CFS/FM) affected my ability to work.

An attorney specializing in Soc. Sec. disability cases would know "which door" (as my attorney put it) would be easiest to get through, as far as a diagnosis goes. If you are at the first stage of applying for Soc. Sec. disability, I would list ALL known diagnoses that are potentially disabling. If you eventually meet with an attorney, they might have another strategy.

Long-term disability law is contract law, so you would have to read the contract you signed when you took out the policy, to see what they require.