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Archive for October, 2009

AIDS-Related Lymphoma and Disability

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Your lymph system is composed of thin tubes that branch, like blood vessels, into all parts of your body. These lymph vessels carry lymph. Lymph is a colorless, watery fluid that contains white blood cells that are called lymphocytes. Along this network of vessels are groups of little, bean-shaped organs called lymph nodes. Clusters of these lymph nodes store and make infection-fighting cells.

AIDS-related lymphoma is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells develop in the lymph system of patients who have AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV attacks and weakens your immune system. This allows infections and other diseases to invade your body. When this happens, because of AIDS, your immune system is not able to fight against them.

Many parts of your body have lymph tissue. Because of this, AIDS-related lymphoma can spread to almost any of your body’s tissues or organs. This includes your spleen, brain, liver or bone marrow (spongy tissue inside the large bones of your body that produces blood cells).

No one knows for sure what causes cancer. Researchers think that cancer is caused by your heredity and cancer causing agents in the environment. What is known is that people with AIDS are at a much greater risk for having this form of lymphoma than people who do not have AIDS.

There are several signs and symptoms that you may experience with AIDS-related lymphoma. However, other medical conditions may cause these same signs and symptoms. Your doctor is the one who can determine if they are being caused by AIDS-related lymphoma. Some of these signs and symptoms are:

  • Night sweats
  • A feeling of fullness below your ribs
  • Unexplained fever
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Swollen, painless lymph nodes in your groin, chest, neck or underarm
  • Itchy skin
  • Tiredness.

AIDS-related lymphoma usually grows faster than lymphoma that is not related to AIDS. It also spreads outside of your lymph nodes to other parts of your body more often.

You or a loved one may have AIDS-related lymphoma. This disease may be the reason that you or your loved one is disabled and cannot work.

If this is your situation, you may need assistance. You may need financial help.

Have you or your loved one applied for that financial assistance by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration because of the disability caused by AIDS-related lymphoma? If you or your loved one was denied and you plan on appealing the denial, here is something that you may not know.

You or your loved one will need a disability lawyer like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com to represent you in the appeals process. This is true because people who have a disability attorney are approved more often than those without a lawyer.

Do not hesitate. Contact the disability attorney at socialsecurityhome.com, today.

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Receiving Social Security Disability For Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Undifferentiated connective tissue disease is a condition which affects your muscles and body organs in a number of ways. It is a disorder that has not yet developed to a point where doctors can easily identify the disease.

Undifferentiated connective tissue disease describes people who have certain laboratory markers and clinical characteristics that suggest a systemic autoimmune disorder or connective tissue disease. However, these patients lack sufficient features for a well-defined connective tissue disease like lupus, scleroderma or rheumatoid arthritis.

It is similar to mixed connective tissue disease but is not the same. With mixed connective tissue disease, patients have enough characteristics of more than one connective tissue disease to simultaneously meet the criteria for several of these disorders.

In contrast to this, people with undifferentiated connective tissue disease do not have enough features of any one connective tissue disease to meet the established diagnostic criteria for that condition. Instead, they may have features of several known diseases. Therefore, they are said to be “undifferentiated”.

Undifferentiated connective tissue disease is believed to be a systemic autoimmune disorder. “Systemic” means that it can affect almost any system in your body. “Autoimmune” refers to conditions in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body tissues.

There are several different effects that you may experience with undifferentiated connective tissue disease. Some of these effects are:

  • Oral ulcers
  • Rash
  • Arthritis (link to page Arthritis and Disability)
  • Fever
  • Photosensitivity
  • Neuropathy.

A preliminary classification criterion for this disorder has been proposed. This involves two things:

  • Signs and symptoms for at least 3 years that are suggestive of a connective tissue disease but that do not meet the criteria for any defined connective tissue disorder.
  • The presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) being identified on two different occasions.

The effects caused by undifferentiated connective tissue disease can be debilitating. You or a loved one may be disabled and unable to work because of this disease.

You may be looking for help if this is the case. You may be searching for financial help.

Have you or your loved one applied for that financial assistance from the Social Security Administration for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability caused by undifferentiated connective tissue disease? Were you or your loved one denied?

You or your loved one may be thinking about appealing the denial by the Social Security Administration. If this is what you decide to do, here is something for you to think about.

You or your loved one may need a disability attorney like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com to represent you in what can be a long and trying process. The reason why this is true is because people who are represented by a disability lawyer are approved more often than those people who are not represented by an attorney.

Do not delay. Contact the disability lawyer at socialsecurityhome.com, today.

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Alzheimer’s and Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is also known simply as Alzheimer’s, is a neurodegenerative disease. Neurodegenerative disease is a condition in which cells of the brain and spinal cord are lost.

The most common form of Alzheimer’s is found in people above the age of 65. Over 24 million people worldwide suffer from dementia caused by Alzheimer’s. Over 4.5 million people have Alzheimer’s in America.

The first easy to observe symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are usually short-term memory loss and visual-spatial confusion.  In the early stage of the disease, people have a tendency to become less spontaneous or energetic, though changes in their behavior may go unnoticed even by the person’s immediate family.

Other behavioral changes are outbursts of violence in people who have no previous history of such behavior. This stage of the disease has also been called mild cognitive impairment. This is when the patient does not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of dementia.

These beginning symptoms progress from seemingly simple and often fluctuating forgetfulness and difficulty navigating oneself in space, such as in a traffic lane while driving. They lead to a more pervasive loss of short-term memory and difficulty orienting through familiar areas like a person’s neighborhood.

As the disease progresses to the middle stage, people may still be able to perform activities independently (such as using the bathroom), but they may need help with more complicated activities (such as paying bills). As the disease advances, there is a loss of well-known skills as well as recognition of objects and people.

In the advanced stage of Alzheimer’s, deterioration of musculature and mobility,  becoming bedfast, inability to feed oneself and helplessness will be seen if death from some external cause such as pneumonia or heart attack does not prevent this. Language becomes severely disorganized, and then is gone. People will not be able to perform even simple tasks independently and will require constant supervision.

If this describes a parent or loved one, you may have applied for financial help on their behalf from the Social Security Administration for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability caused by Alzheimer’s. Was your parent or loved one denied by the Social Security Administration?

If so, you may be trying to figure out what to do next? What recourse do you have?

One thing that you can do is to appeal the denial by the Social Security Administration. If this is what you decide to do on behalf of your parent or loved one, consider this.

Your parent or loved one will need the advice and representation of a disability lawyer like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com in this procedure. The reason for this is because people who are represented by a disability attorney are approved more often than those people who are without a lawyer.

This is something of vital importance for your parent or loved one. Contact the disability attorney at socialsecurityhome.com, today

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More Benefits of Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Another benefit of receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is that you may qualify to receive Medicaid. It is important to remember that Medicare and Medicaid are not the same thing. Medicaid is a federally-funded, state-run program that provides medical assistance for individuals and families with limited incomes and resources. Medicaid pays for your health care costs, including doctor’s visits and eye care.

If you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and you get Medicare, your state may pay your Medicare premiums if you have low income and few resources. In some cases, your state may also pay Medicare expenses like deductibles and coinsurance.

Only your state will know if you are qualified. Your state or local welfare office or Medicaid agency can tell you whether you are qualified to receive these benefits.

You also may be able to get extra help paying for the annual deductibles, monthly premiums and prescription co-payments related to the Medicare prescription drug program (Part D). You may qualify for extra help if you have limited income (tied to the federal poverty level) and limited resources. These income and resource limits change each year and are not the same as the SSI income and resource limits. You can contact Social Security for the current numbers.

If you have both Medicaid with prescription drug coverage and Medicare, Medicare and SSI, or if your state pays for your Medicare premiums, you automatically will get this extra help. You will not need to apply for it.

As you can see, there is a worthwhile monthly cash benefit that you will receive if you qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In addition, there are the additional benefits listed above that you may qualify for because you are receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI). It is certainly worth the time and effort to apply for SSI.

You may have applied and been denied for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). What can you do now? What options are open to you?

If you decide to appeal the denial by the Social Security Administration, you are probably going to need the help and advice of a good disability attorney. People who have an experienced disability lawyer are approved more often than those without an attorney.

SocialSecurityHome.com is the Web site where you can get in touch with a disability lawyer who can help you get the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits that you are entitled to.

Appealing the denial by the Social Security Administration can be a long and trying process. The disability attorney at SocialSecurityHome.com can counsel and assist you in your efforts to win your claim.

Do not put this off. Do not wait or delay. This is something that is vitally important to you and your future. Contact the disability lawyer at SocialSecurityHome.com, today.

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Asbestosis and Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

Asbestosis and/or complications resulting from this disorder may be the reason why you or a loved one is unable to work. It may be the cause of your disability.

You or your loved one may need assistance. You may need financial help.

Have you or your loved one applied for Social Security disability benefits from the Social Security Administration because of the disability caused by asbestosis and/or complications resulting from it? Were you or your loved one denied?

You or your loved one may be thinking about appealing the denial by the Social Security Administration. If you do, you need to be aware of this.

You or your loved one will need a disability lawyer like the one at socialsecurityhome.com to help you in this process. The reason for this is because people who are represented by a disability attorney are approved more often than those people who do not have a lawyer.

Here is some information about Asbestosis and its cause.

Asbestos is a natural mineral product. The fact that it shows great resistance to corrosion and heat has made it extremely valuable in manufacturing. In the past, it was widely used in products like cement, fire-retardant materials, insulation and some vinyl floor tiles.

In the middle of the 70s, the United States government began to regulate the use of asbestos and asbestos products. The handling of asbestos is strictly regulated, today.

Before this government regulation many people who, in their work, had long-term, heavy exposure to asbestos developed a breathing disorder called asbestosis. It is regarded as an occupational lung disease. This condition affects the parenchymal tissue of your lungs. Asbestosis is characterized by scarring of your lung tissue and shortness of breath.

Asbestosis is also called other things. It is also referred to as pulmonary fibrosis – from asbestos exposure and interstitial pneumonitis – from asbestos exposure.

The effects of asbestosis do not usually show up until 5-10 years after the exposure to asbestos. However, there have been documented cases within 1-3 months of exposure to asbestos.

The signs and symptoms that you may experience can range anywhere from mild to severe. Some of these are:

  • Tightness in your chest
  • Chest pain
  • Coughing
  • Shortness of breath with exertion, but later even while resting
  • Decrease in tolerance for doing physical activity
  • Nail abnormalities
  • Clubbing of your fingers.

Most of the effects caused by asbestosis are like those of other breathing disorders, such as asthma. However, the way they develop is much different. The indications of asbestosis come over a period of months and years.

There can be serious complications with asbestosis. Some of the things this disease can result in are:

  • Heart problems
  • Lung cancer
  • Other cancers
  • Other lung damage
  • High blood pressure in your lungs.

If you are suffering with asbestosis, you may need the assistance of a disability attorney to get the Social Security disability benefits you are entitled to. Contact a disability lawyer here for a free evaluation of your case.

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Crohn’s Disease and Receiving Social Security Disability

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Crohn’s disease is also known as regional enteritis. Crohn’s disease is a chronic, inflammatory, episodic disease of the gastrointestinal tract. It affects the entire wall of your bowel or intestines that is involved. Skin lesions are areas of inflammation that develop with areas of normal lining in between. This inflammation often spreads deep into the layers of affected tissue.

Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It can affect any part of your gastrointestinal tract from the anus to your mouth. Like ulcerative colitis, another common IBD, Crohn’s disease can be both painful and debilitating and sometimes may lead to a life-threatening complication.

Crohn’s disease may be an autoimmune disease. This is a type of disease where your body attacks its own cells. For example, cancer is an autoimmune disease. Heredity and environment are also possible factors in the development of Crohn’s disease.

Crohn’s disease usually begins between the ages of 15 and 30. However, this condition can occur at any age in life.

It is possible for you to be affected by Crohn’s disease for many years before it is diagnosed. Some of the signs and symptoms that you may experience are:

  • Abdominal pain and cramping
  • Diarrhea
  • A bloody stool
  • Reduced appetite and weight loss
  • Delays in growth or sexual development
  • Ulcers.

As mentioned above, Crohn’s disease can be both painful and debilitating. It may have reached that point with you or a loved one. Crohn’s disease may be why you or your loved one is not able to work. It may be the cause of your disability.

If this is the case, you or your loved one may need help. You may need financial assistance because of the disability caused by Crohn’s disease.

Who can you call on for the financial help that you or your loved one needs? Where will that help come from? What will you do?

Have you or your loved one thought about applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration because of the disability caused by Crohn’s disease? Have you or your loved one already done this and been denied by the Social Security Administration?

You may be wondering what to do next? What options do you have? Do you have any recourse?

One step that you or your loved one can take is to appeal the denial by the Social Security Administration. If you decide to do this, here is something to keep in mind.

You or your loved one is going to need the help and assistance of a reputable disability lawyer like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com in what can be a long and arduous process. The reason why this is true is because people who are represented by a reliable disability attorney are approved more often than those people who are without a lawyer.

Do not hesitate. Contact the proven disability attorney at socialsecurityhome.com, today.

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Endocarditis and Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits

Friday, October 9th, 2009

The inside of your heart contains four valves and four chambers that are lined by a thin membrane called the endocardium. Endocarditis is an inflammation and/or infection of this inner layer of your heart. It usually involves your heart valves (native or prosthetic valves), also.

Infective endocarditis, which is sometimes called bacterial endocarditis strikes somewhere between 10,000 –20,000 people in the United States each year. Although endocarditis is not a common disease, it is important because even with antimicrobial therapy it can lead to the need for open heart surgery, stroke or even death.

Endocarditis is known by some other names besides the two just mentioned. It is also called rheumatic endocarditis, acute endocarditis, valvular endocarditis and mural endocarditis.

There are also several types of endocarditis. These range all the way from acute forms that appear suddenly to subacute forms that develop gradually over a period of time.

The effects that you may experience with endocarditis vary according to the cause of the infection and the type of the disease. Some of the ways that you may be affected by endocarditis are:

  • Weight loss
  • Night sweats
  • Fever
  • Chills
  • Chest or back pain
  • Joint or arthritis pain
  • A persistent cough
  • Shortness of breath
  • Tiny, purplish-red pinpoint spots of bleeding under your skin (petechiae)
  • Headaches
  • Painless, bumpy nodules on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet.
  • Dark red lines of bleeding under your nails (splinter hemorrhages)
  • Tender spots under the skin on the pads of your fingers (Oster’s nodes).

There are other clinical effects caused by endocarditis that will have to be confirmed by your doctor. Some of these are:

  • An enlarged spleen
  • Stroke
  • A change in the quality of an existing heart murmur or a new heart murmur
  • Embolisms caused by clumps of blood cells and infectious fungi or bacteria.

Endocarditis and problems along with or resulting from it may be causing you or a loved one’s disability. This disease may be why you or your loved one cannot work and needs financial assistance.

Who can you turn to for the financial help that you need? Where will this assistance come from?

Have you or your loved one applied for financial help from the Social Security Administration by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability caused by endocarditis and problems resulting from or along with this disease? Were you or your loved one denied?

If you or your loved one is planning on appealing the denial by the Social Security Administration, here is something that you need to remember. People who are represented and assisted by a skilled disability attorney like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com are approved more often than those people who do not have a lawyer.

Do not wait. Do not put this off. Contact the trustworthy disability attorney at socialsecurityhome.com, today.

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Chronic Liver Disease and Receiving Social Security Disability

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

Chronic liver disease is an umbrella term that can refer to any one of a number of liver diseases. These liver diseases are slow progressing. They usually continue for a long period of time.

The result of chronic liver disease is a progressive destruction of your liver. There is also a regeneration of your liver parenchyma that leads to fibrosis and cirrhosis. This destruction of your liver will probably take place over a period of several years.

There is an extensive list of liver diseases that fall under the heading of chronic liver disease. Some of these include:

  • Cirrhosis
  • Alcoholic liver disease
  • Hepatitis B and C
  • Liver cancer
  • Epstein Barr Virus
  • Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
  • Primary sclerosing cholangitis
  • Wilson’s disease

The signs and symptoms of chronic liver disease do not usually appear until the disease has progressed for a while. Then you may begin to be affected by several signs and symptoms. Some of these are:

  • Loss of appetite
  • Fatigue
  • Nausea
  • Dry mouth
  • Jaundice
  • Mental confusion
  • Excessive thirst
  • Abdominal pain and tenderness.

The effects of chronic liver disease can reach a stage where they are debilitating. In fact, you or a loved one may be at a point, right now, where you cannot work. Chronic liver disease and/or complications caused by or associated with it may be the reason for you or your loved one’s disability.

If this is true, you or your loved one may need help. You may need financial assistance.

Who will you turn to for the financial help that you need? Where will it come from? Who can and will help you?

Have you or your loved one thought about applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration because of the disability caused by chronic liver disease and/or complications caused by or associated with this condition? Have you or your loved one already done this and been denied by the Social Security Administration?

You or your loved one may be wondering what to do next? Do you have any recourse? What options are open to you?

One option that you or your loved one have open to you is to appeal the denial by the Social Security Administration. If you decide to do this, here is something important for you to think about.

You or your loved one is going to need a qualified disability lawyer like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com to represent and advise you in what can prove to be a long and exasperating process. The reason for this being true is because people who have a proven disability attorney on their side are approved more often than those people who do not have a lawyer.

Do not delay. This could affect you or your loved one for the rest of your life. Contact the reliable disability attorney at socialsecurityhome.com, today.

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Applying for Social Security Disability (SSD)

Monday, October 5th, 2009

You believe that you are disabled and would like to apply for Social Security disability (SSD) benefits. Or, you have a child that you believe is disabled and would like to apply for Social Security disability benefits for your child with disability.

How do you go about doing this? What do you have to do to apply for these benefits? Where do you have to go? Is the application hard to fill out? How long is the application? What information will you need to have to fill out the application?

These are all questions that you may have. These are questions that you need answered.

To begin with, there is an application that you have to fill out in order to apply for Social Security disability benefits. This application can be filled out in one of three ways.

The first way to fill out an application for Social Security disability (SSD) is by going in to your local Social Security Administration office where you can fill out the application in person. If you do not have a Social Security Administration office near where you live, there are two other ways to fill out the application.

You can fill out the application online. To do this, you have to go to the Social Security website which is www.socialsecurity.gov. Here, you can fill out an application for Social Security disability (SSD).

The other way to fill out the application for SSD is by telephone. The number to call is 1-800-772-1213. If you are deaf or hard of hearing the number is 1-800-325-0778.

When you go to the website to apply for SSD online, the first thing you are asked to do is to select the age category of the person who is disabled. If it is a child under the age of 18, you are then directed to a page that tells you how to apply for disability benefits for a child.

You have to complete an Application for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and a Child Disability Report. At the present time, only the Child Disability Report can be filled out online. The SSI application has to be done either by phone or in person.

Also on this page, you will find steps on how to apply for your child with disability. These steps include a Child Disability Starter Kit that answers common questions about applying for SSI benefits for children, and it has a worksheet to help you gather the information that you will need.

If you are applying for yourself or another adult over age 18, you are directed to a page that tells you how to apply for disability benefits for an adult. You have to complete an application for Social Security Benefits and an Adult Disability Report. Both the application and the Adult Disability Report can be done online, by phone or in person.

As with the page on filing for a child, there are also steps on how to apply for an adult on this page. There is an Adult Disability Starter Kit that answers common questions about applying for benefits for an adult, and a worksheet to help you gather the information that you will need to fill out the application.

Here is a list of the information that you will need to have in order to fill out the application. You will need:

  • Your social security number
  • Your  birth or baptismal certificate
  • Names, addresses and phone numbers of the doctors, caseworkers, hospitals and clinics that took care of you and dates of your visits
  • Names and dosage of all the medication that you take
  • Medical records from your doctors, therapists, hospitals, clinics and caseworkers that you already have in your possession
  • Laboratory and test results
  • A summary of where you worked and the kind of work you did
  • A copy of your most recent W-2 Form (Wage and Tax Statement) or, if you are self-employed, your federal tax return for the past year.

If you have the above mentioned information ready, it may only take you 15-30 minutes to fill it out. The Social Security Administration estimates that it will take you 10-30 minutes to fill out the application with the average time being about 15 minutes.

The first section is personal information including your name, social security number, gender and date of birth. It also will ask you if your disability has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months.

The second page of the Social Security disability application asks for your address, phone number, the best time to call and your email address. Your language preferences are also asked for on the second page.

The third page of the application is about citizenship. It asks if you were born in the United States or a U.S. Territory or Commonwealth, and if you are a United States citizen.

Once you finish the three page application for Social Security disability benefits, you will be given an application number. In order for the date that you fill out the application to be the official application date, you have six months from that date to complete the application process.

There is then an additional information section that you have to fill out of two pages. The first wants to know if you have ever used any other social security number or name. The second page asks if you want to receive reduced Retirement benefits while waiting for the disability decision.

The next section is a three page section that asks about your family. It asks about your spouse and children.

The next section is about military service. If you were in the military, you will need to provide information about the branch you served in and dates of service.

The next section is about your work history. You will need names, dates of employment and what you did.

Next, is a section about direct deposit. Here, you will need to supply information about your bank or credit union.

You are then asked to list your disability or disabilities. At the end of the application you will need to authorize the Social Security Administration to get a copy of your medical records to confirm your disability and eligibility for Social Security disability benefits.

If you are denied by the Social Security Administration in your application for Social Security disability benefits, you may need the help of an experienced disability attorney to help you in appealing the denial. SocialSecurityHome.com is the website where you can contact a skilled disability lawyer who can help you in what can be a long and complicated process.

If you have been denied, do not wait or delay. Contact the reliable disability attorney at SocialSecurityHome.com, today.

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