I've found it doesn't help to tell the judge which diseases you suffer from. Claimants often want to say, "I have osteoarthritis," or "My doctor diagnosed me with migraine headaches."
It's much more helpful to describe the effects or symptoms of the disease, then describe how these symptoms limit your ability to perform work-like activities. Let me share a couple of examples:
"My osteoarthritis causes constant pain in my lower back, hips and legs. This causes prevents me from standing more than about 20 minutes at a time, sitting more than 1 hour at a time or bending repeatedly."
In the case of migraine headaches, it's best to describe how many migraines you have per week (on average) and how they affect your day. Do you lie down when a headache occurs? For how long? Do the headaches otherwise interfere with your daily activities?
Judges simply do not award benefits based on a diagnosis. There are thousands of people who work every day with migraine headaches or arthritis pain. You need to explain why you are not one of those people who can work in spite of the pain.
Function, or limitation of function, is the key to a Social Security disability claim.
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