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Archive for March, 2010

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Receiving Social Security Disability

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric anxiety disorder that is most commonly characterized by an individual’s obsessive, distressing, intrusive thoughts and related compulsions (tasks or “rituals”). These compulsions attempt to neutralize their obsessions.

To be diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you must have either obsessions or compulsions alone, or obsessions and compulsions, according to the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria.

Obsessions are defined by:

  • Persistent and recurrent thoughts, images or impulses that are experienced at some time during the disturbance. These are intrusive and inappropriate, and they cause marked anxiety or distress.
  • These thoughts, images or impulses are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems.
  • You try to ignore or suppress such thoughts, images or impulses, or you try to neutralize them with some other thought or action.
  • You recognize that the obsessional thoughts, images or impulses are a product of your own mind and are not based in reality.

Compulsions are defined by:

  • Repetitive mental acts or behaviors that you feel driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.
  • The mental acts or behaviors are aimed at reducing or preventing distress, or preventing some dreaded situation or event; however, these mental acts or behaviors either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent, or are clearly excessive.

In addition to these criteria, at some point during the course of the disorder, you must realize that your obsessions or compulsions are unreasonable or excessive.

There are many different effects of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).  Some of these are:

  • Repeated hand washing
  • Repeated clearing of your throat when nothing needs to be cleared
  • Fear of acting out violent or aggressive impulses, or feeling overly responsible for the safety of others
  • Unwanted sexual thoughts or obsessions
  • Fear of going crazy
  • A fear of contamination
  • An obsession with numbers
  • A need for both sides of your body to feel even
  • Fear of transformation into someone or something else.
  • Fear of germs or being hurt.

You or a loved one may have obsessive-compulsive disorder. It may be the cause of your disability.

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

You or your loved one may have tried to get financial help by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration because of the disability caused by obsessive-compulsive disorder. Were you or your loved one denied?

If you or your loved one is thinking about appealing the denial by the Social Security Administration, there is something important that you should know. People who are represented in this procedure by a disability attorney like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com are approved more often than those people who do not have a lawyer.

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Fragile X Syndrome and Receiving Social Security Disability

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Fragile X syndrome is the most common form of inherited mental impairment. There is a problem with a specific gene that causes the disease. This gene is called the FMR 1 gene. Normally, this gene makes a protein that you need for brain development. The problem is this mutation causes a person to make little or none of the protein. This is what results in fragile X syndrome.

The impairment caused by fragile X syndrome can range from learning disabilities to more serious intellectual or cognitive disabilities. This is sometimes referred to as mental retardation. Fragile X syndrome is also the most common known cause of autism or “autistio-like” behaviors.

Geneticist Herbert Lubs first identified fragile X syndrome. He first observed the chromosomal defect that is responsible for the syndrome in 1969.

Fragile X syndrome affects about 1 in 4,000 males and 1 in 8,000 females in the United States. It is evidenced in all racial and ethnic groups.

Children and adults with Fragile X syndrome may be affected in many different ways.  Males tend to be more severely affected than females. Some of these ways are:

  • Some degree of mental impairment (mental retardation) or learning disabilities
  • Autistic-like behaviors like hand biting and hand flapping
  • Mood and anxiety problems
  • Behavioral problems like frequent tantrums and difficulties paying attention
  • Speech problems
  • Sensitivity to sounds, light, textures and touch
  • Delays in learning how to talk, sit and walk
  • Subtle physical features that sometimes include a high arched palate, flat feet, large ears, a long narrow face and overly flexible joints (especially the fingers)
  • Males tend to develop enlarged testicles after puberty.

Girls with fragile X syndrome generally have fewer physical signs of the disorder than males. However, some girls have large ears. Only about one-third to one-half of affected girls have mental retardation or learning disabilities. Although, some affected girls with normal intelligence have learning disabilities involving attention difficulties, math, emotional problems (such as shyness, depression and anxiety) and poor social skills.

Most boys with fragile X syndrome have serious learning disabilities or mental retardation. They tend to have social and emotional problems like aggression.

Your child with disability may have fragile X syndrome. This may be the cause of their disability.

You may have tried to get financial help for your child with disability by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration because of the disability caused by fragile X syndrome and complications resulting from it. Was your child with disability denied?

If you decide to appeal the denial by the Social Security Administration, keep this in mind. People who are represented by a disability attorney like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com are approved more often than those people who do not have a lawyer.

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Chronic Pain and Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

There are 2 kinds of pain. Acute pain is pain that comes on you suddenly as the result of an accident, injury or illness. It goes away as your body heals. Chronic pain, however, is pain that continues long after your body has healed.

Chronic pain was originally defined as pain that lasted longer than 6 months. Now, chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than the temporal course of natural healing that is associated with a particular disease or injury.

Chronic pain can come in many forms. Chronic pain can come from:

  • General somatic pain – This is pain from your outer body.
  • Visceral pain – This is pain that comes from your internal organs.
  • Bone pain – This is pain resulting from disease or injury to your bones.
  • Muscle spasm – This is pain from something affecting your muscles.
  • Peripheral neuropathy – This is pain coming from the nerves leading from your head, face, trunk or extremities to your spinal cord.
  • Circulatory problems – This is pain coming from problems with your circulation.
  • Headaches – This is pain coming from your head hurting.

The obvious effect caused by chronic pain is pain that you continue to experience, that persists. It is pain that will not go away. Chronic pain is pain that goes on long after it should have stopped.

It should be apparent that chronic pain is not a disease, disorder, or disability. Chronic pain is an effect that is being caused by a condition, injury or ailment that can cause disability.

In other words, if you or a loved one is disabled, the cause of your disability is whatever is causing your chronic pain. Chronic pain may be the primary way that you or your loved one is being affected by whatever your underlying condition is.

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

Where will the financial help that you need come from? Who is going to help you? Who can you turn to?

Have you or your loved one applied for financial assistance from the Social Security Administration by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability that is primarily characterized by chronic pain? Were you or your loved one denied by the Social Security Administration?

You or your loved one may be planning on appealing the denial by the Social Security Administration. If this is what you decide to do, here is something that you need to be aware of.

You or your loved one is going to need the advice of a disability attorney like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com in this process. The reason for this being true is because people who have a disability lawyer in their corner are approved more often than those people who are without an attorney.

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Posted in Impairments that Affect Multiple Body Systems | No Comments »

Connective Tissue Disease and Receiving Social Security Disability

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Connective tissue disease refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders. Some of these conditions are inherited, and some are acquired.

A connective tissue disease is any disease that has the connective tissues of your body as a primary target of disease. Your connective tissues are the structural portions of your body. They essentially hold the cells of your body together. These connective tissues form a matrix, or framework for your body.

Your connective tissues are made up of two major structural protein molecules. These are elastin and collagen. Collagen protein comes in many different types and amounts in each of your body’s tissues. Elastin is like a rubber band or spring. It has the capability of stretching and returning to its original length. Elastin is the primary component of skin and ligaments. Ligaments are tissues that attach bone to bone in your body.

It is common for elastin and collagen to become injured by inflammation in people with connective tissue disease. This inflammation in your tissues is a result of your immune system attacking your own body tissues. When your immune system attacks your own body tissues it is called an autoimmune disease. When collagen is affected, it is also called collagen diseases.

There are many ways in which connective tissue disease may affect you. Some of these are:

  • A sunken or barrel chest
  • Migraine headaches
  • Back pain
  • Vertigo
  • Heart palpitations
  • Neck pain
  • Muscle cramps, especially in your calves
  • Depression, anxiety
  • Itching, sensitive skin
  • Insomnia
  • Rounded or frozen shoulders.

You or a loved one may have been diagnosed with some form of connective tissue disease. In fact, connective tissue disease and/or complications resulting from this disorder may be the reason for your disability. It may be why you are unable to work.

You or your loved one may need assistance, if this is the case. You may need financial help.

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

You or your loved one may have sought that help by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration because of the disability caused by connective tissue disease. You may be wondering what to do if you were denied by the Social Security Administration.

One thing that you or your loved one can do is to appeal the denial by the Social Security Administration. If you do, here is something important to remember.

You or your loved one may need the advice and assistance of a disability attorney like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com in what can prove to be a long and trying procedure. This is true because claimants who are represented by a disability lawyer are approved more often than those people without an attorney.

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Arteriosclerosis, Atherosclerosis and Receiving Social Security Disability

Monday, March 29th, 2010
simplified diagram of the human Arterial syste...
Image via Wikipedia

Arteries are blood vessels that carry nutrients and oxygen from your heart to the rest of your body. Healthy arteries are elastic, flexible and strong. Over time, however, too much pressure in your arteries can make the walls of your arteries thick and stiff. Sometimes this restricts blood flow to your tissues and organs. This process is called arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

The two terms arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis are often used interchangeably. Atherosclerosis, however, is a specific type of arteriosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a hardening of an artery due specifically because of the buildup of plaque.

There is a third term that is similar in spelling, yet distinct in both spelling and meaning. Arteriolosclerosis refers to a hardening of arterioles (small arteries), while arteriosclerosis refers to a hardening of medium and large arteries.

Atherosclerosis can affect arteries in any part of your body, even though it is usually considered to be a heart problem. When it affects arteries going to your limbs you may have circulation problems in your legs and arms called peripheral arterial disease. When atherosclerosis affects arteries that supply blood to your brain, you could have a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA). If the arteries of your heart are affected, you may have angina, heart attack or coronary artery disease. Atherosclerosis can also cause a bulge in the wall of your artery. This is called an aneurysm.

Arteriosclerosis/atherosclerosis is a gradual process. You do not usually experience any effects until your artery becomes so clogged or narrowed that it cannot supply an adequate amount of blood to your tissues and organs.

Specific ways that arteriosclerosis/atherosclerosis can affect you depend on which of your arteries are affected. If it affects:

  • Arteries in your arms and legs – You may experience signs and symptoms of peripheral arterial disease like leg pain when you are walking.
  • Heart arteries – You may have symptoms of a heart attack like chest pain.
  • Arteries supplying blood to your brain – You may experience signs of a stroke, such as dizziness, numbness and weakness.

Arteriosclerosis/atherosclerosis may also cause erectile dysfunction in men.

The effects caused by this condition may be keeping you or a loved one from working. Arteriosclerosis/atherosclerosis may be the reason for your disability.

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

Have you or your loved one applied for financial assistance from the Social Security Administration by applying for Social Security disability benefits because of the disability caused by arteriosclerosis/atherosclerosis? Were you or your loved one denied?

If you or your loved one is planning on appealing the denial by the Social Security Administration, keep this in mind. People who are represented by a disability attorney like the one you will find at socialsecurityhome.com are approved more often than those people who are without a lawyer.

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Disc Herniation and Receiving Social Security Disability

Friday, March 26th, 2010
Stages of Spinal Disc Herniation
Image via Wikipedia

The term “disc herniation” refers to a medical condition that is known by several other names. Disc herniation is also called bulging disc, compressed disc, herniated intervertebral disc, herniated nucleus pulposus, prolapsed disc, ruptured disc and slipped disc.  No matter what name you call it, disc herniation is a medical condition that can cause you a great deal of pain.

Your spine or backbone is made up of 26 bones that are called vertebrae. In between these vertebrae are soft discs that are filled with a jelly-like substance. These discs cushion and keep your vertebrae in place.

Disc herniation is when one of these discs ruptures or slips out of place. If the disc that moves out of place presses against a nerve, it can cause back pain or sciatica.

There are several signs and symptoms that you may experience with disc herniation. Some of these effects include:

  • Numbness or tingling
  • Back pain that spreads to your legs and buttocks when the disc herniation is in your lower back
  • Weakness or muscle spasms
  • Neck pain that spreads to your upper arms and shoulders when the disc herniation is in your upper back
  • Bladder or bowel problems
  • Abdominal sensations that are experienced like electric shock pain.

Disc herniation can be caused by an accident, injury or a fall. Disc herniation may happen gradually over time as the result of any activity that causes repetitive straining of your spine. Aging causes your discs to become rigid. When your discs lose their elasticity, they can rupture. Many people who have disc herniation already have spinal stenosis, which may contribute to a disc herniation.

The effects caused by disc herniation can leave you incapacitated. Serious complications can result from this condition.

Disc herniation and resulting complications may be keeping you or a loved one from working. This condition may be the cause of you or your loved one’s disability.

If this is the case, do you or your loved one need help? Do you need financial help?

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

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

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

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Degenerative Disc Disease and Receiving Social Security Disability

Friday, March 26th, 2010
Vertebral column.
Image via Wikipedia

There is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about degenerative disc disease. Part of the confusion that people have is that the term sounds like a progressive disease. However, the term, “degenerative disc disease,” is a misnomer.

The term “degenerative” implies to most people that the symptoms will get worse with age. The disc degeneration will probably progress over time, but the low back pain from degenerative disc disease usually gets better instead of worse with the passage of time.

Also, degenerative disc disease is not really a disease, but a condition that at times can produce pain from a damaged disc. Finally, people are confused about degenerative disc disease because medical professionals do not agree on what does or does not determine a diagnosis of degenerative disc disease.

Spinal discs are soft, compressible discs that separate the interlocking bones that make up your spine. These discs act like shock absorbers for your spine, enabling it to twist, flex or bend. Over time these discs wear and tear, or deteriorate. This is something that happens to all of us as we age, but not everyone experiences low back pain with the deterioration of these spinal discs.

Degenerative disc disease can take place anywhere along your spine. Usually, it occurs in your lower back (lumbar region) or neck (cervical region).

The signs and symptoms of degenerative disc disease are usually lower back or neck pain, but it is not the same in everyone. Some people have no pain, but others with the same degree of disc damage experience severe pain that hinders activities.

Where you have pain is determined by where your affected disc is. If you have a deteriorating disc in your neck you may have pain in your neck or arm. If the affected disc is in your lower back, your pain may be in your back, leg or buttocks.

The pain you experience often gets more intense when you reach up, twist or bend over.  It is also possible for you to have tingling or numbness in your arm or leg with degenerative disc disease.

The effects of degenerative disc disease and/or complications resulting from it can be debilitating. You or a loved one may be disabled and in need of financial assistance because of this disorder.

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

You or your loved one may plan on appealing the denial by the Social Security Administration. If you do, consider this.

You will need a disability lawyer like the one at socialsecurityhome.com to assist you in this process. This is true because people who are represented by a disability attorney are approved more often than those people without a lawyer.

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Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome and Receiving Social Security Disability

Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Hematology: microscopic image of a normal bloo...
Image via Wikipedia

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a disorder that happens when an infection in your digestive system produces toxic substances that destroy red blood cells. It is a disease characterized by blood clotting within your capillaries, the smallest blood vessels in your body.

Red blood cells are sheared apart and broken as they pass through your clogged capillaries. This is called hemolysis and is responsible for the first part of the syndrome’s name. The other half of the syndrome’s name refers to kidney failure in which urea and other waste products build up in your bloodstream because your kidneys cannot filter and dispose of them.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a serious but uncommon condition that can cause life-threatening kidney failure. This is especially true for children and older adults.

In children, most cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome develop after several days of diarrhea that is often bloody. This is due to infection with a specific strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) known as O157:H7. Adults also may develop hemolytic uremic syndrome after an E. coli infection, but more often the cause is uncertain or even unknown.

There are several different effects that you may experience with hemolytic uremic syndrome. Some of these are:

  • Pale skin color
  • Yellowish skin color (jaundice)
  • Skin rash that looks like tiny red spots (petechiae)
  • Decrease in urination
  • Blood in your stools
  • Fever
  • Diarrhea and vomiting
  • Fatigue, weakness, lethargy and irritability
  • Abdominal pain
  • Swelling in your hands, feet, face or all over your body
  • Unexplained, small bleeding or bruises from your mouth and nose
  • Low urine output
  • No urine output

Sometimes, you may have neurological effects like seizures.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome and/or complications resulting from this disease can cause you to be disabled. This may be the case for you or a loved one.

As a result, you or your loved one may need help. You may need financial assistance.

Have you or your loved one applied for financial assistance from the Social Security Administration by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability caused by hemolytic uremic syndrome? 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, you need to think about this.

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

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Multiple Myeloma and Receiving Social Security Disability

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Cancer starts in your cells. These are the basic building blocks of your body. Old cells die when they should and new cells take their place when you need them if your body is functioning like it ought to. But, when things go wrong, old cells do not die like they should and new cells develop when you do not require them.

A tumor (mass) can originate with these excess cells. These tumors are either benign or malignant. Benign tumors are not cancer. Malignant ones are.

Cancer is much broader than a single disease. It is a wide group of diseases. Cancer is evidenced by cells that are invasive (they invade and destroy adjacent tissue), aggressive (they grow and divide without respect to normal limits) and sometimes metastatic (they spread to other parts of the body).

Multiple myeloma is one of the many different types of cancer. It begins in your plasma cells in your bone marrow. These are a kind of white blood cell that produces proteins that are called antibodies that help you to fight infection.

With multiple myeloma, a group of mutated (abnormal) plasma cells that are called myeloma cells multiply, which raises the amount of abnormal proteins in your blood. The result can be difficulties with your immune system, red blood cell count, kidneys and bones.

Over 20,000 new cases of multiple myeloma are diagnosed each year in the United States. Most of the people who get this disease are over 50 years of age. Men have this disease more often than women.

Like many other cancers, multiple myeloma may not cause any signs or symptoms in its early stages. Signs and symptoms may also vary from person to person. Some of the signs and symptoms that you may experience are:

  • Unexplained fractures
  • Back or bone pain
  • Problems with bleeding
  • An increased likelihood of infection
  • Mental confusion
  • Constipation
  • Excessive urination and thirst
  • A high calcium level in your blood
  • Numbness or weakness in your legs
  • Symptoms of anemia like shortness of breath, fatigue and tiredness
  • Unintended weight loss
  • Loss of appetite
  • Nausea.

You or a loved one may have multiple myeloma. This disease and/or complications resulting from it may be causing your disability and need of financial help.

You or your loved one may consider applying for financial assistance from the Social Security Administration by applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits because of the disability caused by multiple myeloma and/or complications resulting from this disease. You or your loved one may have already applied and been turned down?

If you or your loved one decides to appeal the denial by the Social Security Administration, never forget. People who are represented by a disability attorney like the one at Social Security Home are approved more often than people who do not have a disability lawyer.

Contact the disability attorney at Social Security Home, today.

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Mesothelioma and Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Asbestos is a natural mineral product. It has been an extremely valuable product in manufacturing because of its resistance to corrosion and heat. In the past, it has been used extensively in products like fire-retardant materials, insulation, cement and some vinyl floor tiles.

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

The reason for government regulation is that heavy, long-term exposure to asbestos before this regulation has led to serious breathing and lung problems. One such problem is asbestosis.

Another is mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. Malignant cells develop in your mesothelium. This is a protective lining that covers most of your body’s internal organs.

Mesothelioma is divided into different types according to which part of your mesothelium is affected. Some of these are:

  • Pleural malignant mesothelioma – This affects the tissue that surrounds your lungs. This is the most common form of the disease.
  • Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis – The lining around you testicles is where this type develops.
  • Peritoneal mesothelioma – This type occurs in the tissue in your abdomen.
  • Pericardial mesothelioma – The tissue surrounding your heart is where the disease develops.

The effects of mesothelioma depend on the part of your mesothelium that is affected. Some of the effects of peritoneal mesothelioma are:

  • Change in your bowel habits like more constipation or diarrhea
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Abdominal pain
  • Lumps of tissue in your abdomen
  • Abdominal swelling.

The effects of pleural mesothelioma include:

  • Chest pain under your rib cage
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Pleurisy (painful breathing)
  • Shortness of breath
  • Dry cough
  • Painful coughing
  • Unusual lumps of tissue under the skin of your chest.

The effects of mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis and pericardial mesothelioma are not clear. There is little information on these forms because they are so rare. A mass on your testicle may be the first indication of mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis. Chest pains or problems breathing may be indications of pericardial mesothelioma.

You or a loved one may have mesothelioma. This disorder may be the cause of you or your loved one’s disability. It may be the reason why you need financial help.

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

If you or your loved one plans on appealing the denial by the Social Security Administration, remember this. People who are represented by a disability attorney like the one at Social Security Home are approved more often than those people who are not represented by a lawyer.

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