Have you been treated for COVID-19? More than once? Are you STILL feeling the after effects of the disease? If so, you are likely considered a “long-hauler”, one of the estimated 10-30% of patients experiencing symptoms 12 weeks or longer from diagnosis.
Frequently, “long-haulers” continue to experience fast heart rate, fainting or dizziness on standing, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, and cognitive issues or “brain fog”. Proving you had COVID-19 in the first place may be difficult for those who may have contracted it in the early part of the pandemic, when testing was not widely available.
To be considered disabling, COVID-19 symptoms must have kept a person from working for at least 12 months, just as with any other condition. Social Security has not provided detailed guidance on how to clearly approach “long-hauler” cases. It has, however, said that if the condition has caused a NEW condition for someone, like COPD or kidney disease or chronic fatigue syndrome, for example, the limitations from those conditions will be considered part of the “long-hauler” issue.
Keeping good communication with your primary doctor about your ongoing symptoms will be necessary to prove that COVID-19 continues to limit you and how. Getting referrals to specialists may also be especially useful in these cases, to determine how COVID-19 has created or worsened existing conditions.
Midwest Disability is here to help you….for the “long haul”.
