Fibromyalgia is considered a functional disorder with unknown etiology and unclear pathophysiology. It's not well understood because there is little objective information to support the physical and psychological impairment that affected individuals report. This often becomes a challenge for individuals that feel disabled by the disorder and try to prove that the disorder prevents productive and meaningful work, so they qualify for disability benefits. Fibromyalgia is characterized by complaints of widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and poor sleep, cognitive and psychiatric symptoms, headaches including migraines, and a variety of other symptoms. With or without psychosomatic symptoms, depression and anxiety are common in fibromyalgia (Ghiggia, et al. 2017) and should always be assessed when evaluating the presence of and effects of fibromyalgia. Individuals with fibromyalgia experience a heightened response to stimuli.
Veterans Disability can be very frustrating and a long process. Medical & Psychological issues are challenging for claims people, attorneys and judges alike to assess in vocational & functional terms. If there is conflicting information, what are the implications, how will it be addressed? It is the purview of the Vocational Expert to address vocational limitations and abilities based on medical and psychological limitations.
Would you allow a person to use a wheelchair? Would you carry him or her? If using a wheelchair gives someone an unfair advantage in a race, should his or her time count the same as that of other runners? Would you allow a person to wear glasses for reading a test, even if they only help a little? What about glasses that are so strong that they give the person an ability to read faster than average? Would you allow a person to use a word processor if you knew that the person had a severe writing disability but had ideas that showed evidence of giftedness? Would you allow dictation for a gifted student who had a severe writing disability?
Those of you marketing disability insurance today will no doubt agree that our choices in competitive contracts have significantly changed and diminished in number during the past 5-8 years
Picture this scenario: in the past, you were a successful dentist, surgeon, or chiropractor. Your hands were your livelihood. You worked in an area that involved a fine degree of tolerance, an area in which a mistake could be detrimental to the well being of your patients
