Principal Attorney
To qualify for Social Security disability benefits, your disability must be expected to last for at least a year and prevent you from working for that period of time. If you’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease, this may not be an easy standard to meet. Following a strict gluten-free diet should resolve your symptoms and make it possible for you to work again. This will prevent you from receiving disability benefits. However, you may be able to apply for retroactive disability benefits if you could not work for a year or more before being diagnosed.
About Celiac Disease
People with celiac disease cannot eat foods containing gluten without suffering damage to their small intestine. Following a strict gluten-free diet can resolve the damaging effects of celiac disease. According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, 70% of people who have celiac disease do not know it.
Symptoms of celiac disease include:
- Abdominal pain
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Anemia
- Nausea
These symptoms can be severe enough to make work impossible. However, once you’re diagnosed with celiac disease and start following a gluten-free diet, the symptoms should clear up. According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, you can’t collect disability benefits once your symptoms resolve. However, you may be able to collect retroactive disability benefits for the time before your diagnosis. You must have missed at least one year of work due to celiac disease to qualify.
Does Celiac Disease Qualify for Disability Benefits?
Celiac disease does not appear in the Social Security Administration’s listing of impairments. According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, you may still be able to qualify for disability based on celiac disease if you suffer from:
- Weight loss due to any digestive disorder. You must have a body mass index under 17.5 for two months or more to meet this requirement. You must be in treatment at the time.
- Inflammatory bowel disease. To meet this requirement, you must have severe stomach cramps, weight loss, and anemia.
If you don’t qualify for disability under these headings, the SSA will assess your residual functional capacity (RFC). If you cannot perform sedentary work or can only perform sedentary or light work and are over age 50, the SSA may approve disability benefits.
Applying for Disability Benefits
If you follow a gluten-free diet, your celiac disease symptoms should resolve, and you should no longer be disabled. However, you can apply for retroactive SSDI benefits to cover the time when you were out of work before your symptoms cleared up.
The SSA will calculate when you became disabled. This is called the established onset date. Benefits start five months after your established onset date. You can receive retroactive benefits for the period between this waiting period and your application.
You may also qualify for California’s state disability insurance benefits for up to 52 weeks.
Contact a Social Security Disability Lawyer Today
The fact that celiac disease is not one of the SSA’s listed impairments can make it harder to qualify for Social Security disability. The fact that celiac symptoms usually clear up once you go on the gluten-free diet presents another difficulty. However, an experienced Social Security disability lawyer can help you overcome these difficulties and collect the benefits you need.
The Disability Advocates Group is a law firm serving Tarzana, California. We help people like you apply for disability benefits and avoid common mistakes that can delay the process or result in a denial. If the SSA denies your application, we can help you with your appeal and represent you at hearings with the SSA. If your celiac symptoms have made it impossible for you to work, contact the Disability Advocates Group today.
