This article discusses how SSA will evaluate your claim about Social Security disability with short bowel syndrome. If you or the person you care about is unable to work due to short bowel syndrome, read on.
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What is short bowel syndrome (SBS)?
Short bowel syndrome is a situation where your body cannot absorb enough nutrients from food because you don’t have enough small intestine.
Although the small intestine is the main location of short intestine syndrome, the large intestine may also be affected (by NORD).
The small intestine is where most digestive occurs. According to Mayo Clinic, a portion of your small intestine may require surgical removal for a variety of reasons, including trauma, or you may have a damaged or missing gut at birth.
Small intestinal surgery can be a form of treatment for other digestive diseases, such as Crohn's disease. via WebMD.
If stenosis or perforation occurs in the small intestine due to inflammation of Crohn's disease, a small intestine must be excised to prevent obstruction and infection.
The resection of the short bowel can be a single large resection or multiple minor resections.
Depending on the individual, multiple smaller recycling can allow the intestine to adapt and retain more of the ability to absorb nutrients (via NIH).
Unfortunately, while resection can alleviate a problem, it can cause short bowel syndrome, according to the symptoms of the Crones Colitis Foundation.
symptom
Common symptoms include chronic diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, malnutrition, fatigue, abdominal pain, vomiting, bacterial infection, bloating and weakness (Crohn's Colitis Foundation).
The severity of symptoms is related to the number of small intestines that need to be cleared. For people who have undergone extensive resection (less than 60 cm of small intestine), the management and work of the above symptoms (NIH) will be more challenging.
X-rays (including barium swallows) or other imaging studies are used to diagnose small intestinal syndrome. Additionally, blood or feces tests can prove a reduced nutritional level.
treat
Short bowel syndrome cannot be cured, but medication, surgery and intestinal transplantation are treatment options through NIH.
Patients can use daily parenteral nutrition or feeding tubes to maintain proper nutrition.
Drugs that relieve symptoms are specified.
Some examples are imodium (for diarrhea), gattex (stimulating intestinal repair), and proton pump inhibitors (Prilosec is an example) to reduce acidity (via Clinic).
Social Security Disability Benefits
There are two types of benefits that Social Security provides for people with disabilities: Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits (SSDI) and Supplementary Safety Income (SSI).
SSDI
SSDI benefits are based on the work you have done throughout your life. Usually, over the past 10 years, you have to have 5 years to provide insurance for your disability.
SSDI is basically paid to you if you wait until your full retirement age to retire but pay you early due to disability.
SSI
SSI benefits are a needs-based program for those who don’t work long enough to qualify for SSDI.
Supplementary security income comes with revenue, asset and resource restrictions that do not exist with SSDI applications.
Five-step sequential evaluation
Before you are entitled to any benefits, you must find someone with disabilities in a five-step order assessment of Social Security:
- Step 1 – Are you working? The Social Security Bureau defines work as “substantive paid activities” (SGA). SGA is roughly defined as jobs with an average monthly income of more than $1,620 per month (as of 2025). If you can do a lot of paid activities, you will usually not be eligible for disability benefits.
- Step 2 – Is your condition “severe”? Severity is key when determining which meets the limitations of disability. The Social Security Bureau defines seriousness as: Your condition must interfere with basic work-related activities for you to consider.
- Step 3 – Are you on the Disable Condition List? These lists are often challenging and their interpretation is not always consistent with common reading methods. If you come across the list, you are very ill. The list is here.
- Step 4 – Can you do the work you did before? The Social Security Bureau will study your work history and determine whether it is sedentary, light, medium or heavy. They will also evaluate skill levels: unskilled, semi-skilled and proficient skills. For example, a lawyer will be a skilled job for sedentary work. The Dictionary of Career Titles is here.
- Step 5 – Can you do other types of work? If the Social Security Bureau determines that you can no longer perform your previous duties, they will evaluate whether you can still perform other tasks. This step is where the “grid” comes into play. Grids are medical communication guidelines. The grid is only used for fatigue barriers. The grid does not consider non-fulfillment barriers. If you have any other work, you will find that you will not be disabled. Read the grid and your Social Security Disability Cases.
Read more in Social Security Disability Lawyers.
Is short bowel syndrome a disability?
As with all claims about the benefits of social security disability, the severity of symptoms is more important than the name of the disease.
You must have medical documentation (the doctor's medical record) that your symptoms can seriously affect your ability to work (engage in a lot of profitable activities).
Listing 5.07
Social Security Bureau can evaluate short bowel syndrome on the list 5.07, intestinal failure.
Social Security requires a copy of the surgical report that includes details of the surgical outcome or postoperative imaging indicating the removal of the small intestine.
To meet this list, patients need to rely on daily parenteral nutrition through a central venous catheter for at least 12 months.
In my experience, most clients do not meet this list because it describes extreme situations.
The combination of damage
Even if you don't encounter Listing 5.07, you may still be found to be disabled based on the combination of damage. Short bowel syndrome often occurs in other diseases such as Crohn's disease, necrotizing enterocolitis, radioactive enteritis and vascular diseases.
If the underlying disease is severe enough to perform bowel movements, SSA should consider the symptoms of this disorder when determining whether it is disability.
According to my client’s report, the main symptom of short bowel syndrome is diarrhea, which is unpredictable and may be uncontrollable.
A frequent trip to the garbage room that is difficult to pass through a spasm and pain can exhaust you.
Work requires the ability to attend regularly and perform required responsibilities.
If you are unable to go to work or continue working due to symptoms of short bowel syndrome, you may find that you are a disabled person.
Also read about Social Security Disability Conditions to explore other conditions that affect your ability to work.
Do you need a Social Security Disability Attorney?
If you or someone you care about is unable to work, apply for a Social Security Disability with Short Bowel Syndrome as soon as possible and call the Bishop Law Firm.
Since 2009, our owner, Kimberly Bishop, has worked in Social Security Disability and is a North Carolina Board Certified Social Security Disability Specialist.
We won't be paid unless we win. We offer free case reviews via phone 919-615-3095, or you can start free case reviews online now.
