BradGunnerSGT

My wife has a condition that is covered by SSDI, but it is a disease that can take years to diagnose. In her case, she had to stop working because she would pass out or get out of breath doing even the simplest of tasks. She spent several years going from specialist to specialist. She finally got a diagnosis about a year after the period expired that the SSA gives you between your last job and getting a official diagnosis.

She’s working with a law firm that specializes in SSDI claims, but what is the likelihood of actually getting a waiver?

The initial claim was denied because of the last insured date and the diagnosis date. That was when we started talking to the lawyers.

It’s so frustrating because this is a disease that sometimes takes 5 or more years to finally get a diagnosis because doctors test for all sorts of other things because of the symptoms and the definitive test is pretty invasive (right heart catheterization) so most cardios or pulmonologists won’t do it until it is too late. A lot of people (mostly middle aged women) die from heart failure when more research shows that it might have been undiagnosed PAH.