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Is dysautonomia disabling?

Yes, dysautomia can be disabling. If you are dealing with dysautonomia and struggling with dizziness, fatigue, or difficulty remaining upright, the issue is usually not just the diagnosis 鈥� it is whether your symptoms prevent you from working consistently on a full-time basis.

Dysautonomia claims are often challenging because symptoms can fluctuate, are not always visible, and may not be fully captured through standard testing. Insurers frequently argue that a claimant can perform sedentary work, without accounting for the difficulty of maintaining posture, concentration, or reliability throughout the day.

This page explains when dysautonomia can qualify for long term disability benefits, what evidence matters most, and why these claims are often denied.

On July 26, 2021, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services issued new guidance categorizing long COVID as a qualifying disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (鈥淎DA鈥�).

Below, we discuss the impact this guidance will have on long term disability benefits for COVID long haulers.

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (known as 鈥淐PET鈥�) can be useful for substantiating long term disability insurance claims.  The CPET is particularly recommended for conditions that cause fatigue as a major symptom.

Fatigue is commonly self-reported by claimants rather than objectively tested by their doctors.  Consequently, your insurance company may consider your reported fatigue as 鈥渟ubjective鈥�.  Disability claims with subjective symptoms are more highly scrutinized and at higher risk of denial.

The CPET can provide evidence of your exertional limitations.  These objective results can help prove your disability to your insurance company.

Read below to learn more about the CPET and how it may help your disability claim.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (鈥淐FS鈥�), also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (鈥淢E鈥�) or Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease (鈥淪EID鈥�), is a debilitating, often misunderstood disease.  It is generally characterized by severe, overwhelming fatigue that does not improve with rest, and post-exertional malaise 鈥� or the inability to recover normally from even minimal physical or cognitive exertion. Individuals with CFS/ME also experience general weakness, cognitive problems, un-refreshing sleep, muscle or joint pain and flu-like symptoms. Unfortunately, there is no known treatment to cure this disease.