Disability Benefits for Digestive System Diseases

The digestive system can be the source of many medical conditions. The digestive tract breaks down the food we eat, extending from the mouth to the anus, and involves a series of long tube-like structures that connect various hollow organs. The gallbladder, pancreas, and liver provide juices that aid in the digestive process and are included as part of the digestive system.

Intense abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits, bloody stool, and unintended weight loss can all signal a digestive disease. There are many disorders that can affect the digestive tract, so it is important to seek a doctor's opinion if you experience these symptoms. Some common digestive disorders cause symptoms severe enough to be considered disabling by the Social Security Administration (SSA). If these symptoms significantly interfere with your ability to work on a consistent basis, you might consider applying for disability benefits.

Can You Go On Disability for Digestive Problems?

You may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) if you meet the preliminary eligibility criteria for either program and symptoms from your digestive disease are severe enough to keep you from working full-time for at least one year. SSDI eligibility depends on how many work credits you've earned during your past employment, while SSI is a needs-based program that requires you to have income and assets below a certain low threshold.

Once Social Security has determined that you're financially eligible to receive SSDI or SSI, the agency will then look to see if you're currently working at or above the level of substantial gainful activity. For 2024, this means earning $1,550 per month ($1,620 in 2025). If you're not making more than that amount, Social Security will then decide whether your digestive disease is "severe," meaning that it has "more than minimal interference with your activities of daily living" and is expected to last for twelve months or more. Severe digestive impairments can be potentially disabling.

What Types of Digestive Problems Can Qualify for Disability?

If your digestive problem is considered severe, the agency will then need to determine how severe it is. The most severe digestive problems might qualify you for disability automatically under the Listing of Impairments, while less severe disorders can still be disabling if they cause enough functional limitations to keep you from working at any job. Below are some common digestive disorders that may qualify for Social Security disability.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, is a chronic (ongoing) condition that affects the stomach and intestines. The exact cause of IBS isn't yet known, but may be the result of changes in gut microbes or a bacterial infection. Symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and diarrhea or constipation. Most people are able to manage their IBS symptoms successfully with dietary changes or medication, so it's unlikely that you'll qualify for disability based solely on IBS unless you have an unusually severe form of the condition.

Diverticulitis

Diverticulitis occurs when small, bulging pouches (called diverticula), develop in the colon, which is typically smooth. These pouches don't normally cause problems, but if they become inflamed, you may experience symptoms such as severe pain, fever, nausea, and constipation or diarrhea. When diverticulitis is mild, it's often treated with rest, changes in your diet, and occasionally antibiotics. More severe cases of diverticulitis may require surgery and are more likely to meet Social Security's definition of disability.

Gastroparesis

Gastroparesis is a problem where the muscles in your stomach aren't contracting properly, keeping food from moving through your digestive tract as it should. Gastroparesis can cause issues with malabsorption of nutrients, such as changes in your blood sugar levels. Nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain are common symptoms of gastroparesis. Some people experience no symptoms, but if complications from gastroparesis are so disruptive to your digestive process that you aren't able to work, you may qualify for SSDI or SSI.

Gastritis

Gastritis is the general medical term for an inflamed stomach lining. Gastritis can be acute, meaning it happens suddenly and goes away quickly, or chronic, meaning it comes on gradually and requires lengthy treatment. Gastritis may, in some cases, lead to ulcers and an increased risk of stomach cancer, but it's typically not serious and responds easily to treatment, making it an unlikely candidate for disability benefits.

Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes your body to respond negatively to the presence of gluten, a type of protein found in wheat and other grains. When people with the disorder eat food containing gluten, they can experience abdominal pain, diarrhea, and bloating. These symptoms are often managed by sticking to a gluten-free diet and are unlikely to be disabling. But according to the Mayo Clinic, over half of people diagnosed with celiac disease have symptoms unrelated to the digestive system, such as anemia, osteoporosis, or nerve damage. If you have these symptoms, you're more likely to qualify for disability.

Gallstones

Gallstones are hardened deposits that can form in your gallbladder, a small organ above your abdomen that secrete a digestive fluid (called bile) that helps break down food. Small gallstones may not cause any symptoms, while larger or multiple gallstones can block a bile duct and cause sudden, intense pain in your abdomen and chest. When these symptoms occur frequently enough to keep you from working full-time, you should be able to get disability.

Gallbladder Removal

Officially called a cholecystectomy (koe-luh-sis-TEK-tuh-me), gallbladder removal surgery may be performed to get rid of chronic gallstones that are causing pain and inflammation. Gallbladder removal is a common, low-risk surgery that's often performed on an outpatient basis, meaning you're able to go home from the hospital the same day. Because recovery from a cholecystectomy isn't expected to last for more than a few weeks, the procedure itself isn't enough to qualify for disability benefits. But if the operation is part of an ongoing treatment for digestive issues that keep you off work for at least a year, you may be able to get SSDI or SSI.

H. Pylori

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a type of bacteria that can cause sores (ulcers) and inflammation in your stomach lining or small intestine. Over half of the world's population is estimated to have H. pylori, and it's often asymptomatic. An infection of H. pylori is usually successfully treated with antibiotics, and won't normally be the basis for a disability claim unless you have other conditions that prevent you from working.

Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI)

EPI, or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, occurs when your pancreas—an organ that makes digestive enzymes and helps regulate your blood sugar—doesn't produce enough of the enzymes you need to get enough nutrients from your food. Symptoms can include bloating, fatty stools, abdominal pain, and unintended weight loss. These symptoms may be managed with enzyme replacement therapy and dietary adjustments, but may be disabling if uncontrolled.

Getting Disability by Meeting a Digestive Disorder Listing

Social Security's "Blue Book" contains a list of medical conditions that the agency considers especially disabling. If you can provide documentation of specific lab results from blood tests that indicate very poor digestive system functioning, you can qualify for disability benefits automatically. Digestive disorders are covered in Section 5.00 of the Blue Book, and include the following conditions:

• Gastrointestinal hemorrhaging from any cause severe enough to require three blood transfusions of at least two units each within a one-year period (listing 5.02).
• Inflammatory bowel disease that requires multiple hospitalizations or supplemental daily nutrition, causes repeated complications, or is documented with evidence of greatly decreased levels of certain blood proteins (listing 5.06).
• Intestinal failure that requires use of a central venous catheter for nutrition for at least one year (listing 5.07).
• Weight loss from any digestive disorder that causes you to be extremely underweight—as calculated by body mass index—on at least two separate occasions, 60 days apart, during a one-year period (listing 5.08).
• Small intestine transplantation (listing 5.11).
• Pancreas transplantation (listing 5.12).

Keep in mind that (with the exception of an organ transplant simply receiving a diagnosis of one of the above diseases isn't enough to qualify automatically for disability. Each of these listings has complex medical requirements that must be proven by acceptable medical evidence. If you think you might meet a listed impairment, it could help to go over these requirements with your doctor to get a medical opinion as to whether you qualify for disability under a listing.

What if My Digestive Disease Doesn't Meet the Listing Requirements?

Even if your digestive disease doesn't meet a listing, you may still be too sick to work. Social Security will review your medical records and daily activities for evidence of limitations that reduce your residual functional capacity (RFC). Your RFC is a set of restrictions on the types of activities, physical and mental, you can do in a full-time work environment.

For example, if you're unable to sit for longer than 30 minutes at a time due to pain in your lower abdomen, Social Security may find that you have an RFC that rules out even sedentary (sit-down) jobs. Or if you have a combination of multiple disorders that cause you to miss too many days of work, the agency can find that your RFC is "incompatible with competitive employment" and award you disability benefits.

Social Security will compare your current RFC with the physical and mental demands of your past work to see if you could do those jobs today. If you can't, the agency will take into consideration additional factors such as your age, education, and skills to determine whether other jobs exist that you can still do despite the limitations in your RFC. For most people under the age of 50, this means being able to show that you can't do even the simplest sit-down jobs, while people 50 years of age and older may have an easier time getting disability benefits using the medical-vocational grid rules.

Medical Evidence You'll Need for a Digestive System Disability Claim

Social Security can't find that you meet a listing or that your RFC rules out all work if the medical evidence doesn't support that finding. Make sure that you let the agency know the names, contact information, and treatment dates of all the medical providers you've seen for your digestive issues. With your permission, Social Security will obtain those medical records (up to a point). Ideally, these records should contain the following information:

• clinical notes from your primary care physician and gastroenterologist
• admission and discharge notes from any hospitalization or surgery
• a list of all medications you've been prescribed and any side effects they've caused
• X-rays, MRIs, or other imaging that shows abnormalities in your digestive organs, and
• lab results and blood tests that show an imbalance in digestive proteins or enzymes.

You should also ask your doctor or doctors if they'd be willing to complete a medical source statement for your disability claim. If they agree, make sure the statement indicates whether you need to take extra breaks throughout the day or position yourself in a special way (such as lying down or reclining) in order to relieve digestive discomfort. As long as the records support your doctor's opinion, Social Security should include these limitations in your RFC—and they almost always rule out all jobs.

Because the disability determination process can take several years, it's important that you continue to get medical treatment while you wait. Inform Social Security if you begin seeing another doctor so that the agency can get the appropriate medical records. It's also important that you see a gastroenterologist, a doctor who focuses on diseases of the digestive tract—Social Security often values the opinions of specialists more than general practitioners, and visiting a gastroenterologist is a signal that your digestive problems are serious enough to warrant expert attention.

Do I Need a Lawyer to File My Disability Claim?

You aren't required to have a lawyer at any stage of the disability process, but it's generally a smart thing to do. An experienced disability attorney can help you collect the medical evidence you'll need to support your claim, handle communications with the Social Security Administration, and represent you in front of an administrative law judge. Most disability lawyers work on contingency—meaning they aren't paid unless you win—and offer free consultations, so you can ask around to find out who's a good fit for you.