Julie Rehmeyer has an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times discussing the hostility of doctors to the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome diagnosis. She discusses comments by physicians to the Institute of Medicine report, discussed in this blog here, demonstrating this hostility. She states that until there are effective treatments of CFS and a definitive diagnostic tests, some doctors will never accept the reality of the diagnosis. The best existing test, the two-day exercise-to-exhaustion challenge, can make CFS much worse for an extended period. She discusses some good developments, like treatment with Rituximabe. She calls for more federal support to find both better diagnostic tests, and more effective treatment.
If some doctors are doubtful about CFS, you can imagine how doubtful insurance companies are about the reality of the condition, and the impairments resulting from it. You must focus on the impairments you suffer from, and specifically how it affects your ability to work. See my blog post on focusing on the impairment, and not the diagnosis.
With conditions like CFS, were diagnosis is not based on something definitive like a blood test, and quantifying how a condition like fatigue or cognitive issues is difficult it can be useful to have a long-term disability lawyer to assist with an appeal or an initial claim.. Connecticut has many excellent physicians experienced with CFS, and a Connecticut long term disability attorney can help in securing the cooperation of the physicians that is crucial to a successful appeal of a denial of LTD benefits. Working together with your doctors and you, we can do much to overcome the hostility of doctors, and disability insurance companies, to the condition.
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