social security usa
In the USA there are two main Social Security programs which IBS sufferers may be able to access. If you apply to one of these Social Security programs you will need to provide medical information to back up your claim.
A survey by the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD) in 2002 found that 5% of the 350 Americans they polled reported that they were on disability benefits due to their IBS. The survey was called "IBS in the Real World".
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
SSDI pays benefits to disabled people if you have worked for a certain period of time and paid enough Social Security contributions through your salary.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
The SSI program pays benefits based on financial hardship. It is funded by general taxes rather than Social Security taxes, and so doesn't depend on the amount of Social Security contributions you have made.
SSI is generally aimed at people who are blind, elderly or disabled and who have little or no income. The money is intended for basic needs such as food and shelter.
For further information on eligibility for all Social Security programs visit the Social Security website.
social security experiences
The tale of...Robin
Well, I'm on the second stage, reconsideration. Social security has lost my file twice and has done everything imaginable to make my process miserable, but I keep hanging in there because of the stories that I read on this site.
My reason for filing for SSI and SSDI is first for the IBS and GERD, but I'm also in treatment for pinched nerves and muscle spasms. I've been suffering with IBS for 10+ years. Family members recall even longer, but I was in denial for so long like many others. My episodes were always a "one-time incident", it wasn't going to happen again. Like the rest of you I knew where every restroom was when I travelled.
It got so bad that I would only work maybe three days. I would show up for six, sometimes seven days but I wouldn't last an hour. I would pack extra clothing but eventually my IBS would win in the end.
E-mail Robin: robinhallstrom[at]bellsouth.net
The tale of...Sarah
At present, I am waiting for my hearing with Social Security of which I will learn the date fairly soon, from what my lawyer said. This means that I've already been turned down on the appeals, which is common practice for anyone who's filed Social Security here in the United States.
I was honorably discharged because of my disability, IBS and GERD mainly, from the United States Marine Corps in 2002. I receive compensation, a form of disability, from the Veteran's Administration as a disabled veteran. I only get 10%, but that too is in the process of appeals, my representative being a Disabled American Veteran National Service Officer (a non-profit organization that represents veterans).
So I have two claims at present in process, one from the Veteran's Administration and one with Social Security. I don't know how they'll go, but I can give an update in a few months.
Once I was discharged from the military because of my condition, I tried working, but couldn't keep my job. I get sick too often, anywhere from four days to two weeks per month from my IBS and/or GERD. I also have really bad PMS, or endometriosis, which affects my stomach too. The last job I had was over a year and half ago, which I could not keep longer than the two months I worked there. My boss pressured me to quit after getting sick too often.
That's about it. I can only give you an update further down the road as to the success or failure of my case. I hope my input helps.
E-mail Sarah: london_sje[at]hotmail.com
The tale of...Timi
I am a retired Navy veteran who has gone through the Veterans Admin & the Social Security Admin for disability on my IBS. First of all, during my Navy career my gallbladder was removed and ever since then I have had to tolerate different diagnoses on what my bowels were doing.
I only received a 0% rating from the VA for my surgical scar and nothing else. No rating for gallbladder removal, chronic cholestectomy, or IBS. I have been denied statements from my civilian doctors and VA doctors who do not want to be placed into a position of pinning down my problem.
I am tired of being embarrassed because of the smell coming from the bathroom when I leave the bathroom of the department store, workplace and at home. My last compensation case through the VA tells me I am denied any rating because according to their criteria I have no residual effects from my gallbladder surgery or IBS. Just lately the VA sent me a letter stating they wish for me to send all relevant evidence to them but the info must show three things:
- I had a disease that began in or was made worse during military
service or an event in service that caused a disease
- I have current physical or mental disability shown by medical evidence
- There is a relationship between my disability and a disease in military service. Medical records or MEDICAL OPINIONS ARE REQUIRED to establish this relationship. However, under certain circumstances, VA may conclude that certain current disabilities were caused by service, even if there is no specific evidence proving this in my particular claim.
So now I am getting pissed after doing this run around of putting in appeals and revising my past claims in the hopes the VA will give me a disability rating or compensation. As for the SSA, they have denied my claim for the third time and again I have placed different versions of my claim in the event they will allow me a rating.
At this point I have been considering going through my state senator or representative instead of going through the Board of Veterans Appeals in Washington, D.C. If you can help me I would truly appreciate your help especially from other veterans who have been fighting their claims for almost six years. Thank you for listening to my story.
E-mail Timi: timiw[at]yahoo.com
The tale of...Steve
I got my IBS-D about the same time as I became diabetic and my depression went from average to very severe. I have applied for both SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and SSD (Social Security Disability). They took six months, and then OK'd me for SSI, but rejected me for my SSD. I filed for a 'Reconsideration' and as was my prediction, they turned me down again. I then filed for an ALJ (Administrative Law Judge) hearing to take it to a judge and won.
I know MANY people who hired lawyers to do for them what I did for myself, and they paid about $5,000. I'd like to see some people who had that happen to them attempt a "Class Action" against the Social Security Office to recover all their money and teach the jerks a lesson. I'm not a lawyer though and you run into State and Federal Immunity unless you really know your way around that system.
If you get all the little pamphlets on SSI and SSD, you will see that by their own policy it is the same formula to calculate if you qualify for either. SSI is for people who didn't work enough to pay enough into the system, that's the only REAL difference.
Most people look at SSD as welfare, but you pay into that system whenever you work, so it is not in anyway welfare. If you can get the SSI and you can show you worked enough you can get the SSD just as I did. It's up to you on if you think you can handle it yourself. I kinda had fun with it, as odd as that sounds.