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I have dealt with back and joint pain the majority of my adult life. My primary physician shrugged it off because I am overweight. After changing primary physicians about 2 years ago, I expressed my concern over my increasing joint pains to my new primary, and he referred me to a Rheumatologist. After various blood tests, x-rays, and MRI's, the specialist diagnosed me with Anklyosing Spondylitis. I have taken anti-inflammatories, methotrexate, and am now injecting myself with a biologic every week (50mg). The problem is that my health continues to deteriorate. My back and neck are still in pain, and my ribs ache when I breathe. To add to this issue, I also have osteoarthritis in both hips, arthritis in both knees, and a torn meniscus. I live in New York City, and commute to work, so I use staircases frequently, and it's very painful walking and worse using stairs. A few weeks ago, someone bumped into me in the train station as I was walking down the stairs, and I fell down the last 3 steps. I work in an office, so I am sitting most of the day, and I have to get up every hour, and walk around a bit, because my joints are aching, and my back is already hunching over. I am in constant pain, and I use a cane already, and I'm pretty sure a wheelchair is in my future. I am only 47 years old, can I file for disability, and what would be my possibilities of getting it?
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Hey Susan,
The link you included to the SSD application isn't working. It looks like it has changed to - http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityssi/apply.html
Also, there's a nice overview of the SSD process here - http://www.ssdfighters.com/social-security-disability-lawyer/an-overview/
October 6, 2014 - 8:06amThis Comment
Thank you, Anon. Susan's link was shared in 2009, so it's not surprising that it's been updated. Thanks for sharing! Pat
October 6, 2014 - 6:30pmThis Comment