Federal courts send hundreds of Social Security disability cases back due to errors, wrong denials

Michael Sheldon of Cortez, Colo. suffered severe injuries after his road-paving truck flipped on the job in 2006, hurling him headfirst toward a mound of boulders. He waited 14 years for disability benefits. (Corey Robinson for The Washington Post/For The Washington Post)

The WP writes about the trend of Social Security denials, like that of Michael Sheldon, who suffered a severe accident and was left unable to work due to debilitating injuries. Despite multiple surgeries and significant medical evidence supporting his disability claim, the Social Security Administration repeatedly denied him full disability benefits for over a decade. Continue reading →

Yale Researchers: Stress Hormone Cortisol may Explain Long COVID

Public health officials are scrambling to understand long COVID, the condition in which patients report symptoms like fatigue, muscle weakness, and “brain fog” months after infection. A new study released last Wednesday shows one way doctors might diagnose who has the chronic condition and indicates a possible way to treat it.

Source: Stress hormone cortisol may explain long COVID—and how to treat it, Yale researchers say | Fortune

Vaccination Nation: The not-so-long odds of long COVID | 1A

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky answers is seen during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC.

“Many patients are coming back to the clinic a year and a half after having COVID-19 and some of them are developing onset diabetes and heart disease. We lump all of these experiences under long COVID but it’s unlikely to be just one thing,” – Dr. Ziyad Al-Aliy

We assemble a panel of experts to discuss long COVID and ask listeners to share their experiences.

Source: Vaccination Nation: The not-so-long odds of long COVID | 1A

Navigating Public and Private Disability Insurance with ME/CFS (Update)

On Saturday, December 4th, David from the ME/CFS Phone Support Group will be co-hosting a Disability talk with Social Security Disability attorney Moselle Leland and Long-Term Private Disability and ERISA Attorney Andrew Kantor

This call will focus primarily on Social Security Disability for individuals with ME/CFS, as well as those with Long Haul Covid.

Saturday, December 4th, 6:30 PM – 8 PM Eastern
3:30 PM – 5 PM Pacific

U.S. Dial-In: (609) 746-1155; Access Code: 915110#

NIH VideoCast – Beyond the Symptom: The Biology of Fatigue

In September 2021 the NIH hosted a virtual workshop entitled Beyond the Symptom: Biology of Fatigue to bring together individuals who do research on fatigue, health care providers who see patients with fatigue, and individuals who have fatigue and patient advocates. This workshop was a joint workshop of the NIH Blueprint Neuroscience Research Program and the Sleep Research Society.

The entirety of the workshop can be streamed on the links below:

NIH VideoCast – Beyond the Symptom: The Biology of Fatigue (Day 1)

NIH VideoCast – Beyond the Symptom: The Biology of Fatigue (Day 2)