Lyme Disease and Social Security Law
Lyme disease is a bacterial illness caused by a bacterium called a “spirochete. Lyme disease is a disorder that can involve a number of different body systems (musculoskeletal, neurological, and cardiovascular). The site where the tick bites the body is where the bacteria enter through the skin. As the bacteria spread in the skin away from the initial tick bite, the infection causes an expanding reddish rash that is often associated with “flu-like” symptoms. Later, it can produce abnormalities in the joints, heart, and nervous system.
Lyme disease is medically described in three phases as: (1) early localized disease with skin inflammation; (2) early disseminated disease with heart and nervous system involvement, including palsies and meningitis; and (3) late disease featuring motor and sensory nerve damage and brain inflammation as well as arthritis.
Surprisingly researchers have also found that anxiety and depression occur with an increased rate in people with Lyme disease.
Most cases of Lyme disease are curable with antibiotics. More aggressive intravenous antibiotic therapy using cefotaxime or ceftriaxone are recommended in cases with severe heart or neurological involvement. For the relief of symptoms, pain-relieving medicines might be added. Swollen joints can be reduced by the doctor removing fluid from them. Rarely, even with appropriate antibiotics, the arthritis continues. It has been suggested by researchers that sometimes joint inflammation can persist even after eradication of the Lyme bacteria. This has been explained as an ongoing autoimmune response causing inflammation of the joint that was initially stimulated by the original bacterial infection.
It is very important for your doctor to keep very descriptive medical records if you suffer from lyme disease. If a lyme disease patient is suffering neurological deficits that result in a loss of coordination or balance, this needs to be noted. If a patient is experiencing a decrease in grip strength in addition to an overall loss of muscle strength, this should be noted. Certainly, if a lyme disease patient is experiencing mental deficits that lead to memory lapses and disorientation, this should be noted.
Why is having well documented records so important? Simply because too many doctors keep progress notes that are “nondescriptive”, or, sometimes, even useless. In fact, it is not uncommon for a disability claimant, or the claimant’s lawyer, to request a doctor’s medical records and find that the doctor has recorded very little information from each office visit, and hardly any information that iss useful from the standpoint of successfully winning your case.
If your disability claim has been denied and you are not able to work, it’s a safe bet that the claim has not been evaluated properly. Contact our office to make sure your case is handled correctly, contact an experienced attorney, contact Allan W. Ben P.C. at 248-540-0677 or info@allanwbenpc.com. Our office travels all over Michigan including Macomb County, Oakland County, Wayne County, Flint, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Southfield, Pontiac, Warren, Detroit to represent our clients.
