A Georgia disability lawyer explains the benefits of keeping a disability diary

As a Georgia disability lawyer, I would advise anyone seeking Georgia Social Security disability benefits to keep at least one diary.

What is a disability diary?

A disability diary is a means of keeping track of your medical condition and symptoms. The diary can take many forms. It may be as simple as a wall calendar on which you jot down your daily symptoms and activities, or it might take the form of a chart, which you can use to record specific, disability-related symptoms as they occur.

Examples of disability diaries include:

  • Pain diary. Many, if not most, Georgia Social Security disability claimants suffer from pain. A pain diary is a helpful means of keeping track of the details of your pain. Every day that you have pain, you can use the diary to note where the pain was localized and if it traveled to other parts of your body (e.g., localized in your back and traveled down your leg); the intensity of your pain (on scale of 1-10); the duration of the pain; the trigger for the pain; and when and how you obtained relief from the pain.

  • Headache diary. Whatever the cause of your headaches, a monthly headache diary can be used to note the date and time of each headache; where the pain is centered; the intensity of the pain; its duration; and any related symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light and sound.

  • Fatigue diary. Many conditions, treatments and medications leave a patient feeling fatigued. A daily fatigue diary can be useful in keeping track of how severe your fatigue is, what time of day you feel fatigued, how long this feeling lasted and how long you need to lie down or rest.

  • Sleep diary. Disrupted sleep, due to a sleep impairment or the side-effects of strong medication, is among the most common symptoms encountered in Social Security disability claims. A sleep diary could take the form of a chart, on which you list the days of the month in the left-hand column and the hours of the day in a row across the top. You could use one symbol to note the hours in which you slept easily; one symbol to note the hours in which you tried to sleep, but could not; and a third symbol to note the hours in which you slept, but did not want to sleep.

  • Hypoglycemia diary. If you have diabetes mellitus, hypoglycemia, or adrenogenital syndrome, you may experience hypoglycemic events, including trembling, sweating, extreme hunger, panic, inability to focus mentally, weakness and/or dizziness. A hypoglycemic event diary would allow you to record the “what, when and where” of each event, as well as the names of any witnesses and how the event was treated.

  • Asthma (and/or nebulizer) diary. An asthma diary lets you record the severity of your symptoms, the trigger for the attack, and how it was treated. You could also record your peak expiratory flow (PEF), if you are measuring it regularly with a flow meter. Similarly, a weekly nebulizer diary lets you record scheduled and unscheduled treatments. For each treatment you can list the time, duration, recovery time, and precipitating factors. This diary can be especially helpful, since many vocational experts will testify that employers will allow short breaks for “scheduled” treatments; close attention to your “unscheduled” treatments may help demonstrate that although you have “good days,” you have many days on which you could not go to work.

Why should I keep a disability diary?

The success of your Georgia Social Security disability benefits claim depends, in large part, on your testimony at your hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. As a practical matter, nationally and in Georgia, there is a long delay in most cases between the denial of a request for reconsideration and the hearing before a judge. Without a written record, like a diary, the quality and accuracy of your testimony will suffer. The best testimony is filled with details and anecdotes about how and when your symptoms affected your daily life. Even if you have a good memory for the limitations on your routine daily activities, your testimony will be stronger if you can present a detailed picture of the whole range of symptoms that impacted your life over a period of many months.

A disability diary also can play an important role in obtaining a treating source statement from your doctor. Your Georgia disability lawyer can send your diary to the doctor, and the doctor can then incorporate the signs and symptoms of your condition into relevant medical opinions.

How do I get started?

A Georgia disability lawyer can help you decide which diary (or diaries) would be best in your particular case, and what form that diary should take. If you would like me to review the facts of your case, please complete the free Claim Evaluation form to the right or contact me by e-mail. You may also reach me at my Colquitt, Georgia office, at 229-758-3943.

Danny C. Griffin
Georgia disability lawyer

E-mail me
Phone: 229-758-3943

173 South Cuthbert Street
Colquitt, Georgia 39837