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Ankylosing Spondylitis and Social Security Disability

If you are diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis you may be eligible for disability. What has your experience been like applying for disability?

  1. I spied in June for SSI and I was accepted before the 5 month wait period was finished. My biggest problem is Medicare does covet hunira and I has to switch to methotrexate Injections weekly which make me very sick.


    1. I hired a disability lawyer in December, I was denied ssdi due to not enough "work" credits. So now I'm in the process of getting ssi. I was told it could take up to 2 years for a response. Make sure your ss agent listens & hears you when you get your phone interview. Mine was very rude & made mistakes that I had to call & get fixed. It's frustrating waiting. I am 44, diagnosed with AS fused on left sacroiliac joint in 2020. Good luck to all who apply.

      1. @gma202 2 years? That is absolutely crazy, and I am so sorry you've had such a bad experience. It shouldn't be so difficult and it's a shame so many have to struggle without assistance when dealing with this level of pain. I hope everything works out for you, sooner rather than later! ❤️ -Katie, Team member

    2. I have AS with fused neck. I was denied twice and finally on appeal was granted SSD—- it took until I was financially ruined though. About 2 year process. I was on SSD for 10 years until at age 65 It converted to regular SS.
      Good luck.

      1. Thanks for posting this question, Anthony.

        I've been working through AS for about 20 years and these days I'm feeling nearly debilitated and I'm considering applying for disability insurance.

        I'd love to see/read some responses on this before I hire a DI attorney (which was highly recommended to me by another attorney in an unrelated field). Their commentary centered around the difficulty in getting DI and how typical it is to be denied when you first apply.

        Apparently having an attorney go to bat for you with the DOL greatly increases your chances of approval.

        Hoping to hear about some real life stories on this from this community (and hoping to hear about successful outcomes).

        Cheers,

        Steve

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