Will PCOS qualify you for SSI / Disability?

[JessicaBT]

I have a variety of problems, including PCOS and Sleep Apnea, that are keeping me too miserable to work. (Did you know that PCOS causes sleep apnea?)
Qualifying for Disability or SSI for Sleep Apnea alone is really difficult. You have to prove that it is really debilitating, that you are compliant with your treatment, and that treatment is not solving all of your problems.
What I want to know is if PCOS is even on the list of disabilities, and if it will help me qualify. If anyone knows, please let me know. If you can post a link to a site where I can read about it, I'd appreciate it.

[sinnie]

I've been told by my doctors that I should NOT be working. Back then I had been working with UPS at 50hrs a week, and often lifting 80lbs on my own.

I went down to part time, 25-28hrs and it's helped me a lot. I couldn't simply just not work. My husband makes $35k a year but with the mortgage that isn't enough for us to live on.

I don't know if PCOS would qualify you for disability but I really doubt it.

[ttara123]

I really doubt it, too. PCOS makes us miserable, for sure... but rarely do I think it is completely debilitating. Even if it is... I feel like it'd be hard to prove that. What about PCOS makes you unable to work? Just the sleep apnea?

[Fuzzy Bear]

JessicaBT ~ I don't know if it was because I was put onto disability 10 years ago, and things were really different, or if severe depression is enough for disability anymore.
At the time, my doctor and therapist told them that I was not able to cope with work and it was unlikely I would ever be able to.
My depression has evened out with my therapy and meds., but it will never be gone. I have Major Depressive Disorder and even drugs can't guarantee to let me stay on an even keel all the time.
If you are physically not able to work, it's different than mentally/emotionally not being able to cope at work.
So I guess it depends on your emotional well-being, and whether your doctor seriously wants you off work.
HTH
Fuzzy Bear
(I'm in Canada)

[junior_j]

Hmm...i wouldnt of thought it could be classed as a dissability. I hate it when a doctor or sum1 reffers to pcos as a disease i know in a weird way it kinda is but a disease sounds horrible i much refer syndrome any one else agree that syndrome sounds better then disease??

Jess x

[foostar]

I know in the UK, you don't actually have to be disabled to claim disability - you can claim it if you have a long term health condition which impacts on your life. I don't claim for PCOS, although I do for something else which keeps me out of work for the time being (and I'm also registered disabled). I don't know what the laws are like elsewhere.

[Fuzzy Bear]

j_gormo ~
I agree; PCOS is a syndrome, not a disease, and it bugs me when they call it a disease too.
One of my g/f's insists on calling it a disease, and just doesn't acknowledge it when I correct her.
I just looked up Syndrome and Disease at dictionary.com and I'm appalled!

syndrome (sĭn'drōm')
An abnormal condition or disease that is identified by an established group of signs and symptoms.

dis·ease (dĭ-zēz') n.

1. A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.

I can't believe it!
Anyone want to make a comment on this?
I don't think I can right now!
Fuzzy Bear

[sinnie]

Most of my doctors use syndrome which makes it sound better to everyone. I guess it is a sort of disease though. It doesnt sound like a disease to me because what is in me isn't dying and isn't contagious. So it's all in how you look at it.

I know after the day I had yesterday, I spent most of it in the bathroom at work and at home, I was sure wishing I could claim disability!

[sistercyster]

No, PCOS won't qualify you for SSI/Disability. Although I'm not sure about sleep apnea?
Qualifying for that requires you have a disability that pretty much renders you incapable of earning any kind of livable wage, which PCOS in itself does not.
I have panic attacks & agoraphobia & I still don't qualify (well, I probably would if I really fought) I did apply when the illness first stuck & was unmanageable but since then I've found I can work someplaces. But while applying I asked about PCOS & got a big fat NO. Anyway enough about me.


Why would people call is a disease if the word syndrome was right there in the name? PCOS= Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

[LookingForHope16]

I wanted to chime in and let you know that most people don't qualify (well no one that I know that has it does) for SSI due to sleep apnea. It only happens when you are asleep and doesn't affect you when you are awake.

I don't see a reason why sleep apnea would qualify you.

[omcv]

I am on SSI and PCOS is apart of my dx, though I have other deplitating dx's. They took everything into consideration. If you have specific questions, please do not hesitate to PM me.

[liasmith]

I think that it should qualify if it is properly documented. Disability qualifies as any health or mental condition that contributes to loss of job function or function as a job-abled person. I would look on the government website for disibility in your state. I am on disability and recieve SSI, but I have depression in addition to PCOS. PCOS does cause mood disorders because the hormones in your body are not regulated and that creates many problems including sleep apnea due to weight as well. The worst that can happen is that you're denied, and you can always appeal the decision. If you have any other health problems, physical or mental, even in the past, I would list them. There's a book called "It's my ovaries stupid" I can't remember the name of the author, but it goes into detail about how your hormones are out of whack from this condition. Good Luck, hope you feel better.

[omcv]

So there are two of us with SSI that dx's included PCOS. When I had my interview ... they asked if my PCOS interefered with my daily routine. Meaning does it stop me from doing what I did before. I answered yes and my doctor agreed. In addition to my PCOS I have Bipolar, PTSD (raped/assaulted twice, stocked & harassed), PPD, OCDP, Anxiety Disorder and Agrophobia. It is normal for them to deny you the first time, they want to see you appeal it. They need to see that you really need the SSI.

There are cases where they approve it the first time, as they did in my case. When I stopped working I could never go back. I did not apply for SSI until three or four years later, though I wish I had applied a bit sooner. They did retro it back to the original date of disablity.

I was honest with them and told them I just needed some time to get things together. That I did not know how long that would be, but I am working at getting things managed.

You can apply right on the web. They tell you what you need exactly to do so. Later they will send you releases for your dr's records and a more indepth written interview.

Later they will schedule you to have an independant doctor to do an evaluation. All of this takes six to eight months. You have to be your own advocate and don't be afraid of them thinking your crazy. I would call of the time to see the status of my claim. My worker and I became buddies .. ha ha .. if you could call it that. I let her know how badly I needed the money.

In fact the independant doctor asked me what bothered me the most, I said not having money and people in general. I guess it was the right answer because a month later my SSI was approved (though I am sure that wasn't the only reason).

Side note - sleep apnea can be apart of the dx, because it does effect everyday life. If you are not getting your REM sleep and nothing the doctor has given you works. Then it will effect your life and your job.

[Fuzzy Bear]

This is my
My DH has sleep apnea, and they said in the pamphlet that he was given at a sleep clinic, that people with sleep apnea often exhibit a form of narcolepsy so it can affect your day-to-day functioning. Plus I find he still has to sleep in the day even with his CPAC on all night. {a CPAC is a machine that regulates his breathing during the night/when he sleeps. }
They also removed his license and that lost him his trucking life, {he'd already had a stroke that affected the memory area which lost him his computer technician job.}
If your sleep apnea is bad enough or you can't handle a CPAC, I can see some being bad off enough to be put on disability. It's really hard to handle having the mask on all night, and it's even given DH nightmares. I'm sure some people give up if they have claustrophobia.
I don't know if it would be accepted but it can affect you, so I guess it depends on how much and how you would be able to prove it, unless you fell asleep at work, and was fired for it ~ maybe more than one job?
I agree about disability rarely being given on the initial application. In Ontario, a couple of years ago they had such a high rate of applications they ended up being approx. 9 months behind getting them all processed. My DH was told to apply because of back/shoulder problems caused by an auto accident 13 years ago and he applied Feb. 2005 we got a letter of refusal in August, and he appealed it, which just means another person from the same job has to re review it, and we heard back from that in October 2005. He went through the process again to appeal it at a meeting of the tribunal, which they set for July 23, 2006! We went w/o a lawyer (told it wasn't necessary) and the lady at the tribunal adjudicated (I think that's the word hehe) his case so he could get a lawyer. He got a lawyer the next day and he's done all the work at gathering info. and when he got it all done, he asked when we can ask for the meeting with the tribunal, to be told that the tribunal will contact us 75 days before the scheduled meeting. So far it's been almost 2 years, and we haven't heard yet, so it will likely be 2 1/2 years of waiting. He's actually worse off now than he was when he applied. Part of that is severe depression from the anxiety of waiting!
Don't go to disability if you aren't able to wait a long long time to be told if you are on it. It's not easy at all when our income barely feeds us for a month without his input.
If you do go to disability, the one thing they pointed out was that the doctors reports have to really describe the disability very clearly including how it will affect your ability to work at what you do. Apparently a lot of the time when people who really do need disability apply, it's refused because of how the doctors filled out the forms. And take a lawyer whether you are told it is necessary or not. This is from the lady at the tribunal who told us she recognized how much pain my DH was in. He wasn't able to take his meds because they can make him disoriented.
The onus appears to be more on how the forms are filled out than how badly off you are. Well, we figure that if you are already in a wheelchair you might be approved first time around... maybe.
Hope something I said helped!
Fuzzy Bear

[omcv]

If you do go to disability, the one thing they pointed out was that the doctors reports have to really describe the disability very clearly including how it will affect your ability to work at what you do. Apparently a lot of the time when people who really do need disability apply, it's refused because of how the doctors filled out the forms. And take a lawyer whether you are told it is necessary or not. This is from the lady at the tribunal who told us she recognized how much pain my DH was in. He wasn't able to take his meds because they can make him disoriented.

I agree in reagrds to how the forms are filled out. If you can't understand the forms get some one to help you. They (the person helping you, your DH or another firend or family member) can even sign the forms for you, as your advocate. In the States you are required to have a family member or close friend fill out a portion of the application. Basically what they observe of your daily routine, what you used to be able to do and what you can do now.

Another thing they take into consideration is whether or not the meds you are taking for you dx's are effecting your concentration. I.E. do they make you confused, disoriented, loss of memory, etc tothe point whether you can not perform you normal routine. In my case the meds though they make life livable, do not allow me to work. As they effect my concentration by being (most of the time - especially when I am out of the house and have to deal with other people) confused, disoriented and loss of memory (they worst part).