Earlier this year I posted a story regarding the Institute of Medicine’s report recommending that Chronic Fatigue be renamed to Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease or SEID.
I have had a number of clients who experience Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
These type of cases are difficult to win because there is no specific test for diagnosing Chronic Fatigue and some judges think people are faking their condition.
If you suffer from SEID you should ask your doctor to research the new report and ask your doctor to either write a letter or include in your treatment notes his opinion whether you meet the diagnostic criteria and whether he or she believes it will result in you missing more than 2 days of work per month and whether it will cause you to off task more than 20 percent of the day.
The diagnosis requires the patient to have a substantial reduction or impairment in the ability to engage in pre-illness levels of occupational, educational, social, or personal activities that persist for more than 6 months and is accompanied by fatigue, which is often profound, is not the result of ongoing excessive exertion, and is not substantially alleviated by rest, and experiences post-exertional malaise, and unrefreshing sleep. At least one of the two is also required: cognitive impairment or orthostatic intolerance.
The doctor’s opinion regarding absences and productivity is important because no employer will tolerate low productivity or poor attendance.
Questions about your disability case? Feel free to contact Illinois Social Security Disability Lawyer Dirk May with Williams and Swee at 309-827-4371.