Can you be approved for Disablity because of an Ileostomy?

I work for UPS or did until 2 years ago when I began this adventure to the ileostomy zone.  I don't know whether I can go back to work or if I will be able to get on Soc Sec Disablity. 

Does anyone know the percentage of people who do work after surgery.

An Ostomy itself is not usually a cause for disability as for the most part, people are more 'abled' than before surgery once they've healed... however, the reason behind the surgery might be if you're still suffering despite surgery.

have you had the surgery?

I would think that even if you cannot do the job you were doing before because of doctor restrictions, you'd be able to find something else with them...it wouldn't hurt to ask! But, finding a new job wouldn't be impeded by an ileo...vetteguy just posted that he's been hired recently...and you might find something that you like better:) Personally, I worked for a major retailer and was able to lift/stand on my feet/drive equipment without a problem, but it is an individual thing.

Hopefully, it you've had the surgery already, you are feeling better:)

It's also very possible that you would be offered job re-training. There are plenty of jobs you could do with an ostomy; an ostomy itself isn't reason enough for permanent disability.

Sue

Actually suebear an ostomy can be a reason for disability. Retraining, or otherwise known as Vocational Rehabilitation is handled at the State level. Social Security/Disability is handled at the Federal level. Each program is a separate entity and in no way collaborates with the other. SS/Disability does not determine your status based on whether or not you can be retrained, it is based on whether you can return to any employment you have had within the last 10 or so years. If you are found to meet those standards you are granted SS/Disability based on that, not on what you may possibly be able to do in the future.

An example of an ostomy being a disability by itself comes to play in my situation. After the initial surgery, prior to all of my hernia problems, which has intensified my situation, it was deemed by the surgeon that I shouldn't lift over 25 lbs. My job as an over the road truck driver required me to take a DOT physical (Federally mandated) that one of the requirements is to be able to lift 75 lbs. from the ground to chest level. Also in the job description there is a requirement to be able to unload a truckload of freight by hand that could weigh up to 45,000 total pounds. This would have been enough to make me a candidate except in my job history there was a period when I was first diagnosed with UC that my employer moved me from driving to a position that was classified as a "dispatch" position. In the normal sense a dispatch job would be able to be done with an ostomy but this position doesn't fit the Government's definition of dispatcher. The only dispatch work I did was to make a weekly schedule of what driver went where then on days that I wasn't having major UC symptoms I would drive and was required to be able to fit the requirements of a truck driver. If it wasn't for my hernia issues that are still unresolved I would still have a case for disability base on the surgeons recommendations and the lifting requirements of the job that I preformed for the last fifteen years.

Vocational Rehab is a nice program but it doesn't pay the bills the two plus years I would be going to school. Some people who have ostomy surgery seem to have no problems and return to work within a few weeks after the surgery but then there are those of us who have had problems or work histories that don't coincide with an ostomy.

John

I work for a major freight company and I'm required to lift 70 lbs and push a hand cart that can weigh 100's of lbs. Please let me know what happen in your situation because I'm on the fence about trying to return to work with those duties after the Loop Stoma Reversal .. My surgery was in May and I'm still hurting when I overdo simple housework ... I'm leaning towards applying for SS Disability but I feel I won't have my surgeon's support .. I have had 3 hernia's already when I was a boy and I'm very afraid of another ... Any help ??

I am applying for SS Disability this week. Perm nerve damage in large intestine, I had a temp colostomy in late May 2013.... pain & a parastomal hernia developing by Oct! Underwent emerg surgery in Jan 2014 to replace temp (that was pulling back into the abdomen) with permanent colostomy....and I still have pain & constipation, which is controlled by daily medication.

I really tried hanging on to my secretarial job for those 7 1/2 months, but had a lot of absences & a few ER visits. It was horrible since I had no energy from the pain! My family Dr agreed that I should be on disability. If it affects your quality of life, you're dealing with a lot of pain, even after surgery, I'd go for it- apply for the disability!

Good luck, I hope you are one of the many that can go back to work, healed and without pain.

This is a topic I've been thinking very hard about lately. I had UC for 20 years but had been doing very well without any meds. I had my routine colonoscopy in December of 2012. Within a couple of days I was sicker than I thought was humanly possible. The doctor who performed the colonoscopy continuously told me that I was having a flair-up and treated me with many different meds. Nothing worked, in fact I kept getting sicker. After 20 years of UC I know my body very well. I NEVER felt like this before. Then after 5 weeks and losing 10 pounds a week, I was tested for C. diff. Positive. It took 3 months to finally get rid of the C. diff. By then, I had gone from 220 lbs. to 150 lbs. and could hardly get out of bed. I ended up going to the Mayo Clinic and was told I had to have immediate ileostomy to save my life. The C. diff did so much damage. I had my surgery in April of 2013 and in June of 2013 I received a letter from my employer of 12 years that I have been terminated (desk job). Since then, I have applied for 144 jobs, gotten 8 responses, 5 of which were rejections, and 1 interview. I am plagued by hernias which become very painful at times. My stoma site bulges like a tennis ball cut in half. I have a lifelong lifting restriction of 45 lbs. Simple things I used to do cause me great pain at times. I am not ready to go under the knife again.

I have just begun researching whether or not I would qualify for permanent disability when I ran across this site. So what I have read from other posters above, it looks like my chances are very slim of qualifying for SS disability. Does anyone have any other experience with this? Any info would be GREATLY appreciated.
Doug

Post Edited (GraphX12) : 7/31/2014 8:19:00 AM (GMT-6)

trey123:
Thank you for your response and please keep me updated on your attempt at SSD.
I am convinced the C. diff (if anybody is not familiar with C. diff, just google it - it is becoming an epidemic) was introduced to me through unclean utensils during my colonoscopy. I was talking with a neighbor who is aware of what happened to me and low and behold the EXACT same thing happened to his best friend who had a routine colonoscopy at the EXACT same clinic by the EXACT same doctor. Luckily, they were able to diagnose/catch it in time to where he only had to have part of his large intestine removed.
I had never heard of C. diff before my experience but everybody PLEASE be aware of this bacteria. I came VERY close to dying - and not from the UC.

Post Edited (GraphX12) : 7/31/2014 8:23:35 AM (GMT-6)

I know that Crohn's Disease (most likely Colitis too, assuming the ostomy didn't "cure" the colitis- then you would have to prove that the ostomy is itself the disability) is on the list of recognized disabilities for the SSA. I looked at my options a few months ago and decided that if I could hang out for a few more years the retirement supplement from my current job would be better and make life on my disability better for my hubs and I. That said, if you don't have IBD, I think the process is more difficult. If you visit the SSA website, there is a lot of useful info, including an estimate of your monthly take home based on your work hx. Good luck to you!

Laurenne:
I no longer have problems with UC. My problems are with the ileostomy - my doctor is keeping a close watch on my hernia. He said it is very easy to rip it open quite large which is a mess to try to fix. He actually had a patient tear his entire side. I have pain daily, some days not as bad, others pretty bad. A few weeks ago I had a respiratory infection and I thought I would rip myself in two with all the coughing I did. I think it actually made the hernia worse. I still have to hold my abdomen when I cough or laugh.

I'm in a tight spot with my ileostomy and trying to work. First of all, my situation is slightly different. I had a liver transplant in 2013. I was out of work from 2011 due to the liver disease. I worked doing custom upholstery for 14 years, which involved heavy lifting. When I was able to return in 2014, the small company that I worked for claimed there was not enough work to take me back. Fortunately, I was still getting SS disability. I was looking for work, but without any luck. In 2015, I was diagnosed with UC and ended up needing to have a proctocolectomy. The surgery was in June. I was now dealing with my body being in bad shape from the liver disease for years, the transplant recovery itself and now this. Not to mention a history of hernia repairs. 5 months later, SS informed me that they felt I was no longer disabled and could work. They stopped my benefits this past April. I have applied for countless jobs, I've had a few interviews and one actual attempt at a job that hired me, but my body could not physically do it. So, I have to stop after just 2 days. I am still jobless and not making any money. I do not have experience for desk jobs or office work...I've applied to many without response. And, I cannot handle physically demanding work. I'm stuck. I did appeal, never got a response and that was in May. At times, I feel SS really needs to take a better look at who really needs help and who is taking advantage of the system. I know people getting disability who really can work, and others are getting nothing and need it. It's sad. It's a broken system.

I personally don't think the risk of a leak or "bag explosion", is reason to get SSD. Many of us have lived with IBD and the risk of a leak or accident was much larger with IBD, than the risk of those things happening with an ostomy. If you worked a job where you lifted heavy items, it may be best to look for alternative employment, but I don't think you're unable to work. An ostomy isn't a disability on its own. If the problem was something in addition to the ostomy, pain, or illness, that might give reason for SSD - I personally was more capable of working with my Ostomy than I was with my UC, that's for sure.