Using a diary to help your case: a Florida Social disability attorney’s advice

As a Florida Social disability attorney, I usually ask my Florida Social disability clients to keep some sort of diary of their symptoms.

The sooner that you start a diary the better, and the following comments and suggestions from an experienced Florida Social disability attorney will help you begin.

Why use a diary?

Your Florida Social disability case depends in part on how accurately you can describe your disability and its symptoms, both to the judge and to your Florida Social disability attorney. Remembering all the details and knowing how to describe them can be very difficult.

Using a diary will:

  • Help you recall the details about your symptoms.
  • Help you recall the frequency of your symptoms.
  • Help you recall the details the treatments you have received from your doctor.

A diary will not only be helpful to your Florida Social disability attorney for your case, but it might also be helpful to your doctor because it will help the doctor see a complete and detailed history of your symptoms.

What do I say in the diary?

Your diary does not have to be a daily written record of your life like we think of with a traditional diary. The important part is to keep a record of your symptoms and treatment, and the way you do that can vary considerably.

For some things you might simply write notes on a wall calendar that show whether or not this was a good day or a bad day, and when you had your doctor appointments.

For other things it might be helpful to write out a description of how you feel at a particular time.

For some things you might come up with a chart or form that gives an easy check-off way to keep track of symptoms or events (see the sample headache diary provided here).

If you use a computer you might think of your diary as your blog. However, do not publish your blog on the web–keep it private between you and your Florida Social disability attorney.

Sample Headache Diary

This is a sample diary that you could use to keep track of your history of headaches. For each day of the month you simply show with checkmarks whether you had a headache, how severe it was, how long it lasted, and its symptoms.

Social Security disability headache diary

Some types of diaries that may be useful in your case

You don’t need all of these. In fact many times just one diary is sufficient. However, you might keep more than one diary to record different symptoms. Some possibilities for diaries include:

  • A fever diary. Some conditions produce fevers that are important signs of the disease process and interfere with work capacity (for example, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic colitis, regional enteritis, immune disorders, autoimmune disorders, HIV, systemic lupus erythematosus, and undifferentiated connective tissue disorders). You could use a chart as a monthly fever diary that lists the days of the month and provides space for you to note your temperature and the time of day.
  • A fatigue diary. Many conditions produce episodes of fatigue (for example, chemotherapy, drug side effects, HIV infection, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, limited cardiac output, chronic heart failure, ischemic heart disease, multiple sclerosis, immune system diseases, lupus, and systemic vasculitis). In a fatigue diary you could record how severe your fatigue is on a scale of 1 to 10 and how long you needed to lie down or rest.
  • A headache diary. Headaches are found in immune disorders including lupus and HIV, hypertension, and a history of brain and neck trauma, including acceleration/deceleration injuries such as “whiplash.” You could use the sample headache diary provided here, or modify it to show other things.
  • A sleep diary. Disturbed sleep may be a side effect of strong medications, and is also a condition of post-polio sequelae, sleep apnea, obesity, organic brain disorders, mental disorders including depression, digestive disorders, and chronic pain. A sleep diary or chart could show the nights that you have trouble sleeping, and record the amount of hours of sleep that you get.
  • An asthma diary. An asthma diary can keep track of the frequency and severity of your symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. It could also record what triggered your attack, and your treatment. If you are measuring your peak expiratory flow (PEF) with a flow meter, then record that also.
  • A nebulizer diary. There are various lung conditions that require inhalation therapy, including treatment with a nebulizer. You could maintain a nebulizer diary to record both scheduled and unscheduled treatments. Keep track of the time, duration, recovery time, and precipitating factors.

Call or email for help from a Florida Social disability attorney

I help Florida Social disability claimants understand the process and I can guide them through the hearing process.

If you want your claim to be evaluated by an experienced Florida Social disability attorney, fill out the evaluation form to the right, or email or call my office at:

Walter Carfora
Florida Social Disability Attorney
111 Second Avenue NE, Suite 917
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701