People who suffer from a chronic medical condition like multiple sclerosis (MS) are sometimes hesitant to openly discuss their symptoms with either their employers or their physician. People are skeptical when you don’t show consistent external signs of the condition and tend to discount your suffering. Multiple sclerosis, considered a chronic medical condition, has symptoms that include difficulty with breathing, loss of motor functions, memory loss, and severe fatigue; and, while these symptoms alone may not be disabling, in combination they can render MS victims unable to perform day to day activities much less work an eight-hour shift.

You want to make sure that you don’t deny the impact of your MS symptoms. If you find yourself with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and you need to apply for disability benefits, don’t minimize what you are experiencing, especially to your doctor. You need to be particularly forthcoming with your doctor about ALL your symptoms as his/her documentation of your treatment is paramount to the proper application for your disability benefits to your disability insurance provider. A well-documented medical record offers you the best scenario for being awarded disability benefits for multiple sclerosis. Not reporting the effects of your disease or not reporting accurate symptoms to your physician could result in denial of your disability benefits claim since your physician’s medical records are a major factor in determining your level of disability.

WHEN TO HIRE A DISABILITY ATTORNEY

If you suffer from MS and are having difficulty performing your job, then you should speak with a disability insurance lawyer about your entitlement to short term or long term disability insurance benefits. A qualified disability attorney may be a good investment to make sure you have covered all the procedures and requirements set forth by your disability insurance company so you aren’t bombarded by endless paperwork that delays your benefit payments. A disability attorney with extensive experience handling disability claims is devoted to securing your benefits and can prove to be invaluable to your disability claim. And, as your advocate, a disability attorney will need to know all there is to know about your disabling condition. You’ll need to make sure you report accurately the severity, nature and frequency of your functional limitations and symptoms so he/she can represent you fully. It essential that your treating physician properly documents your restrictions and limitations.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, WHAT IT IS

As with any disabling condition, you’ll want to be proactive in educating yourself about your condition as well as following the program of recovery or treatment your physician prescribes. Knowing as much as possible about your diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis will always be beneficial to your health as well as your disability claim. It essential to hire an attorney that understands MS and has worked with claimants suffering from MS.

A potentially debilitating disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition in which your immune system gradually eats away the protective covering of your nerves. Consequently, MS interferes with the connection of your brain with the rest of your body, resulting in the deterioration of your nerves, an irreversible process.

The symptoms of MS encompass a wide range of symptoms that depend on the nerve damage present. In severe cases of MS, you may lose your ability to speak or walk, or both. A sometimes difficult disease to diagnosis, MS may have progressed to an alarming condition without you knowing it as the symptoms of the disease come and go, with periods of remission that can cause symptoms to disappear for months, only to return with a vengeance.

Multiple sclerosis is incurable; however, treatments may modify the course of the disease, help treat attacks, and mask symptoms. The symptoms of MS depend on the areas affected by nerve endings and include:

  • Weakness or numbness in one or more limbs. This typically occurs on the bottom part of your body or on one side of your body at a time
  • Complete or partial loss of vision, characteristically in one eye at a time, with pain during eye movement
  • Blurred or double vision
  • Pain and tingling in various parts of your body
  • Certain head movements that result in electric-shock sensations
  • Lack of coordination, tremors, or unsteadiness
  • Dizziness
  • Fatigue

In the beginning stages of MS, you may experience relapsing symptoms, followed by periods of partial or complete elimination of symptoms. A fickle disease, MS is sometimes worsened or triggered by increased body temperature. Consequently, MS symptoms must be well-documented by your physician to assure that proper evaluation of your disability claim is conducted so that your insurance provider has no doubts as to your disability benefit qualifications.

Multiple sclerosis is of unknown origins. Believed to be an autoimmune disease, MS attacks your body’s own tissues, destroying the fatty substance (myelin) that protects nerve fibers of your spinal cord and brain.

Unfortunately, researchers and doctors do not know why MS develops in some people and not others. Genetics and childhood infections may play a role in the development of MS. Regardless of the origin of the disease, multiple sclerosis is a very real and challenging condition for those who suffer with it.

If you suffer from MS, are unable to work and qualify for disability benefits under an employee benefits plan, contact a disability attorney who will act as your advocate in collecting on those disability benefits so you spend time dealing with your disease instead of worrying about paying the bills and convincing your insurance provider of your entitlement to your benefits.