Find Someone Who Understands Your Condition
If you’re living with fibromyalgia, you haven’t felt like yourself in a long time—even if you still look the same to people around you.
You’re suffering from exhaustion and full-body pain. Stiffness, digestive issues and changes in mood all characterize your day-to-day. You’re feeling “fibro fog” and have trouble getting sleep.
Some people think it’s a figment of your imagination. But for you, the pain of fibromyalgia is too real.
This disease can become debilitating enough that you can’t work anymore. But you don’t have to sit helpless while the bills pile up. You can apply for Social Security Disability benefits
or supplemental security income. Monthly disability payments could help you maintain your independence.
However first, you have to prove your case when you apply for SSDI. Don’t fight that battle alone.
Give the job to the attorneys at the Law Offices of Karen Kraus Bill. We’ve been helping people win benefits in Columbia, Jefferson City, Fulton, Moberly, Sedalia and all across Missouri for more than 30 years.
What Causes Fibromyalgia?
Usually, pain comes from sickness or injury. When you have fibromyalgia, there’s no visible cause for your pain and no change in your outward appearance. But no matter what people say, you’re not imagining the pain.
The volume of your pain is louder than for most people. That means minor bumps don’t just bruise, but ache for weeks and months. Things that shouldn’t cause pain often do.
Researchers are still trying to discover the causes of fibromyalgia. But no matter what spurred this condition, it can keep you from working—and Social Security recognizes that.
You can tell the legal team at the Law Offices of Karen Kraus Bill about your particular case of fibromyalgia and get an assessment of your disability claim for free.
How to Prove Disability for Fibromyalgia to Social Security
It might be frustrating to have to prove what you’re experiencing on a daily basis—especially if those around you have questioned whether it’s “all in your head.” But to receive Social Security Disability for fibromyalgia, you need to document your symptoms.
Common fibromyalgia symptoms include:
- Full-body pain that lasts for three months or longer
- Specific points of tenderness on your body
- Overall stiffness, numbness and/or tingling
- Chronic fatigue, headaches and migraines
- Thinking and memory problems, often called “fibro fog”
- Trouble sleeping
- Mood disorders, including anxiety and depression
- Irritable bowel syndrome
Social Security requires “objective medical evidence” to prove that your condition constitutes a qualifying disability. Evidence you can provide falls into three key categories:
- Medical records from evaluations and treatments you’ve received
- Full records on additional treatments, including evaluations from psychologists
- Information from non-medical “character witness” sources—friends, family, neighbors or your employer—about the way fibromyalgia has impacted your life
You deserve an advocate who takes care of every detail to help you get the Social Security Disability benefits you deserve.
What If Social Security Denies Your Claim?
You might have spent years living in pain before filing your disability claim. You’re thinking about how much that monthly payment will improve your life.
Then you get the letter. Your claim has been denied. You’re filled with stress wondering what to do next.
You should file an appeal. And because you have only 60 days to appeal, your best move is to quickly enlist experienced professionals like those at the Law Offices of Karen Kraus Bill.
We can help you navigate the appeals process, showing Social Security that:
- Your health problems are too bad for you to function in your previous jobs
- You couldn’t switch to a less strenuous job
- Your condition will last at least a year or could lead to death
We understand the seriousness of your condition. We’ve helped thousands of people win benefits. The Law Offices of Karen Kraus Bill can help you regain hope when fibromyalgia disrupts your life.