When Social Security Disability Could Offer Financial Relief
Migraines can qualify for Social Security Disability benefits when they happen frequently, cause serious symptoms and make it impossible for you to maintain regular work.
You know migraines are more than a bad headache. You may experience severe or pulsating pain, nausea, vomiting, visual disturbances, confusion and extreme sensitivity to light or sound. An attack can force you to stop what you are doing.
You have to lie down and isolate yourself in a dark, quiet room.
Migraines can last for hours or even days, and you may continue feeling exhausted or mentally foggy even after the worst symptoms have passed. Some even require emergency room treatment.
The challenge in a disability benefits application is showing Social Security exactly how often this happens and why it prevents you from keeping a normal work schedule.
A diagnosis alone will not be enough. Many people suffer from migraines, manage them and continue working. You must prove your case is one that doesn’t allow work.
The Slepian Ellexson disability lawyers have helped people in Phoenix, Tucson and across Arizona pursue their Social Security Disability benefits since 1978.
Our disability lawyers have more than 50 years of combined experience, and they provide direct, individual attention for your case.
You only pay an attorney fee when you win benefits.
Do Migraines Qualify for Disability? How Social Security Evaluates Them in Arizona
Social Security doesn’t have a separate entry specifically for migraines in its listing of impairments for disability benefits. That doesn’t mean migraines cannot qualify for disability.
Social Security has issued special instructions for evaluating primary headache disorders, including migraines, in deciding whether to award disability benefits.
First, your medical records must establish that you have a medically determinable primary headache disorder. This requires evidence from a medical provider, not only your own description of your pain.
Your records could include any of the following:
- A migraine diagnosis from a qualified medical provider
- Descriptions of typical attacks and associated symptoms
- Neurological examinations and testing to rule out other causes
- Records of treatment attempts and their effectiveness
- Emergency room, urgent care or specialist visit reports
- Medication side effects such as fatigue, confusion or difficulty concentrating
Because migraines don’t have their own disability benefits listing, Social Security may compare a severe migraine disorder to its epilepsy requirements.
This doesn’t mean Social Security thinks migraines and seizures are the same condition. It means it uses the epilepsy listing as the closest comparison when deciding whether migraine attacks occur with similar frequency and cause a similar level of disruption.
Social Security will consider the frequency and duration of your migraines, your response to prescribed treatment and what you must do during an attack.
Your records could show, for example, that you need to lie down without moving, avoid light and noise or sleep for several hours before you can function again.
Even when your migraines don’t equal a Social Security listing, you may qualify based on another factor called your “residual functional capacity.” Called RFC for short, this is Social Security’s assessment of what routine activities you can still do despite your condition.
Migraines could affect your ability to:
- Maintain attention and concentration
- Work around bright lights, computer screens, noise or strong odors
- Remain at your workstation throughout the day
- Complete tasks at an acceptable pace
- Follow a predictable schedule
- Avoid unscheduled breaks and excessive absences
- Work safely during an aura or episode of dizziness or confusion
The issue is not simply whether you can perform a task on a good day, or how little you can complete on a bad day. Social Security considers whether you can perform full-time work dependably, for full workdays and week after week.
The Arizona disability lawyers at Slepian Ellexson can help connect the information in your medical records with the demands of your past work. We can identify missing evidence and help present a clear explanation of why your migraines prevent reliable employment.
Start with a FREE migraine disability claim case review.
What Strengthens My Migraine Disability Claim?
Migraines can be difficult to prove because Social Security cannot see your pain on an X-ray or observe an attack.
Your medical history and the consistency of your evidence become especially important.
Regular treatment can help establish a pattern. Tell your medical providers how often your migraines happen, how long they last and what you experience before, during and after them.
Don’t report only your pain level. Explain whether you experience nausea, visual changes, dizziness, confusion, difficulty speaking, sensitivity to light and sound or lingering exhaustion.
A migraine journal may provide useful supporting information. You can record:
- The date and duration of each migraine
- Warning signs or aura symptoms
- Pain and associated symptoms
- Suspected triggers
- Medications taken
- Whether the medication helped
- How long you had to lie down or rest
- Activities, appointments or workdays you missed
A journal cannot replace medical evidence from a qualified provider, but it may help confirm the frequency and impact of your symptoms. It doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective.
A journal may also give your doctors more specific information to include in their treatment notes. If you keep a migraine journal, you should show it to your doctors frequently so they can adjust your treatment if necessary.
Statements from former supervisors, coworkers, friends or family members may further support your claim. They may have witnessed you leaving work early, missing important activities, retreating to a dark room or struggling to communicate and concentrate during an attack.
Your work history matters, too.
A job involving bright lights, using computers, loud machinery, driving, customer interaction or strict attendance requirements may become impossible when migraines are frequent and unpredictable.
Social Security needs to understand why adjusting your duties or moving to a supposedly easier job would not solve the problem.
Slepian Ellexson can help you build that complete picture. Our Arizona Social Security Disability attorneys can:
- Review your treatment and work history
- Identify evidence Social Security may be missing
- Gather and organize supporting medical records
- Help explain your symptoms and daily limitations
- Prepare your initial disability application
- Appeal a denied claim
- Prepare you to testify before a disability judge
- Continue representing you through advanced appeals when necessary
Slepian Ellexson has helped thousands of people navigate this system.
We understand your migraine symptoms may already be sapping most of your energy. You should not have to manage a complicated disability claim alone.
Make it easier on yourself by getting a Phoenix disability lawyer from Slepian Ellexson. We can help you settle your financial situation so you can focus on managing your health and living a fuller life.
