Different types of lung problems can keep you from working full-time. Lung problems include asthma, cystic fibrosis, pneumoconiosis, bronchiectasis, chronic lung infections, emphysema, pulmonary vascular hypertension, and sleep-related breathing disorders.
Whatever your diagnosis, lung problems can cause shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, excessive mucus production, bloody mucus, and chest pain. Our attorneys at Hoglund Law Offices encourage our clients to seek treatment from lung specialists, also known as pulmonologists. Specialists and others not only diagnose you, but they also do tests that objectively measure your pulmonary functions. Social Security uses these tests to evaluate whether you meet their set standards of disability.
Social Security needs to know if your lung problems will keep you from working for one year or more. As attorneys, our Hoglund Lawyers make legal argument based on your medical record. What do we look for? We need testing results, but we also need to know how you are functioning over time. Your doctor can talk with you about how important pulmonary functioning studies can be for your treatment. He or she can also talk with you about how often you should have these tests.
Sometimes Social Security cannot separate symptoms of your lung disease from habits such as smoking. Our attorneys can discuss with you how we address this issue with Social Security judges. In our legal experience, it is important to follow your doctor’s orders, but it is also important to tell your doctor when you can’t. As for smoking, your doctor may have different options to try to cut down or quit. Raise these concerns with your doctor.
