Disability For Addison’s Disease

What is Addison’s Disease?

Located on top of your kidneys, the adrenal glands produce various hormones required for normal metabolic functions. Addison’s disease is a rare disorder that occurs when the adrenal glands do not produce sufficient levels of hormones like aldosterone and cortisol. Also described as adrenal insufficiency, it affects both men and women and all age groups. As the endocrine system disorder progresses, the disease can cause debilitating symptoms that limit your ability to work and cause life-threatening complications. 

Adrenal insufficiency occurs when the glands are damaged to the extent that the organs no longer produce the needed levels of hormones. This situation can negatively affect your body’s ability to control inflammation and maintain blood pressure as well as other cardiovascular functions. The most common cause of the disease is an autoimmune disorder that targets the adrenal glands. Other potential risk factors include cancer and tumors as well as the prolonged use of certain medications such as blood thinners and glucocorticoids. Less common causes are disorders that affect your pituitary gland or hypothalamus. If you are thinking about Addison’s Disease and Disability, then reading the listings of “Blue Book” will be helpful to see if you can qualify for disability benefits. 

Addison’s Disease Symptoms

Symptoms of Addison’s disease do not happen right away. They occur gradually and can sometimes go unnoticed. Symptoms may include muscle weakness, chronic fatigue and a darkening of the skin as well as sores in the mouth, low blood sugar and cravings for salt. Sufferers may also experience weight loss, low blood sugar and fainting spells. If left untreated, the disorder can cause an Addisonian crisis, which is a life-threatening medical emergency that is characterized by a change in mental state, high fever and loss of consciousness along with sudden pain in the legs or lower back.

Addison’s Disease Diagnosis

Your doctor will diagnose the disorder by reviewing your medical history and the symptoms that you have been experiencing. In addition to a physical examination, certain lab and imaging tests may be ordered to measure hormone levels and evaluate the condition of your adrenal glands.

What tests are used to diagnose Addison’s disease?

Lab tests to diagnose this disease may include:

• Blood testing that can determine whether a patient has an adrenal insufficiency and/or autoimmune disease.
• A test that stimulates the adrenocorticotropic hormone to measure the level of cortisol that is in the patient’s blood. This test involves injecting an artificial version of the hormone into the bloodstream so that doctors can determine whether cortisol is produced in response to the hormone.
• Diagnosing this disease with the symptoms alone is difficult to do since the symptoms are like those of other disorders.

Addison’s Disease Causes and Treatment

The most common cause of the disease is an autoimmune disorder that targets the adrenal glands. Other potential risk factors include cancer and tumors as well as the prolonged use of certain medications like blood thinners and glucocorticoids. Less common causes are disorders that affect the pituitary gland or hypothalamus. Treatment for Addison’s disease usually includes replacement hormone supplements. This typically involves oral or injectable corticosteroids. These medications are designed to ease the symptoms of the disease by providing the hormones that the adrenal glands normally produce. Addison’s Disease Disability benefits can be issued only when one is facing disability issues for more than 12 months due to this disease and they are not expected to get better in future.

Currently, there isn’t a cure for this autoimmune disease. However, individuals with this disease require treatment for the rest of their lives.

The prognosis for Addison’s disease is fairly good as long as the patient follows the medical treatment plan their doctor prescribes. Unfortunately, the patient will most likely have to be on medication for the rest of their life in order to balance the affected hormones and manage the symptoms.

How long can a person live with Addison’s Disease?

If a doctor has diagnosed a patient with this disease, the patient can live a long life under medical treatment. The threat lies when symptoms have gone undiagnosed and an Addisonian Crisis happens. If this happens, the person experiencing the symptoms must rush to the emergency room for treatment as the symptoms worsen quickly. However, if the disease is already diagnosed, the patient’s life can be long.

Adrenal Insufficiency vs Addison’s Disease

Addison’s disease is actually a type of adrenal insufficiency and is known as primary adrenal insufficiency. However, there is a second type of adrenal insufficiency that is similar to primary adrenal insufficiency, but is caused by the pituitary gland. This secondary adrenal insufficiency occurs when the pituitary gland doesn’t produce enough adrenocorticotropin. This hormone is responsible for boosting the adrenal glands to produce cortisol. Secondary adrenal insufficiency is the more common condition of the two. The symptoms of the two conditions are very similar, but secondary adrenal insufficiency doesn’t present low blood pressure or muscle spasms because aldosterone hormone is still present.

Addison’s Disease vs Cushing’s Disease

While Addison’s disease doesn’t produce enough cortisol, Cushing’s disease produces an excess of cortisol due to a pituitary tumor. This leads to weight gain and the production of fatty tissue throughout the body, stretch marks that are pink or purple in color, acne, and skin that bruises easily and takes a long time to heal. The most definitive way to diagnose Cushing’s disease is through an MRI to confirm the presence of a pituitary tumor. If a pituitary tumor is absent and there are still high levels of cortisol present, the individual may have Cushing’s syndrome. The most effective treatment for Cushing’s disease is removing the pituitary tumor and managing the cortisol levels with medication.

Is Addison’s Disease Considered A Disability?

Getting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for Addison’s Disease can be tough if you don’t have enough information about the disease. Several adrenal gland disorders, including Addison’s disease, are listed in the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) impairment manual, which is commonly known as the Blue Book. In the section that discusses the endocrine system, the SSA outlines the criteria required to qualify for disability. 

Whether you qualify is based upon the complications that the disease causes in other areas, such as osteoporosis and musculoskeletal problems or cardiovascular complications that can lead to heart failure. Depending upon the severity of the symptoms caused by an adrenal insufficiency, you may meet the disability requirements under one or more category listings. This disease may be the result of a long-term infection like tuberculosis. If you meet this criterion, you may also qualify under that category.

The SSA will assess your physical and mental abilities to determine the level of work that you can perform. Individuals suffering from an adrenal insufficiency often have multiple physical and mental impairments. You should ensure that all your health challenges, including the inability to focus, lift heavy objects or difficulty in standing for prolonged periods, are documented in your medical history. 

It is essential that your records, test results and statements from attending physicians support an Addison’s disease diagnosis. Social Security Disability for Addison’s Disease will also depend upon your age and work history as well as the mental and physical requirements of any jobs that you are qualified to perform.

To discuss SSDI and SSI claims or appeals, please call us at (215) 464-7200 or contact us online using the form below. The initial consultation is free, and we never charge a fee until we win your case.