In the last post, I introduced a brief migraine case study (involving 40-year-old Megan) and identified what I believed to be the winning elements of her case.  However, since the time of that post, a new issue has been brought to my attention, and that is the issue of whether to see a specialist if you are suffering from migraines and want to pursue a disability claim.

Do I need to see a specialist or is my general/family physician enough?

As we saw with Megan in the beginning of this article, she only consulted with her general physician.  Although the opinions and/or diagnosis of a family physician is credible and is in no way minimized or to be considered as such, the Social Security Administration often will not approve a disability claim on the finding of a general physician, family physician, chiropractor, or a DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) alone.

In considering whether to award an individual who suffers from migraine headaches disability benefits, significant weight is given by the SSA to those test results, opinions, and diagnoses of treating headache specialists, neurologists, and/or pain management specialists. So in essence, in order to strengthen your disability claim, it is always advisable to seek the opinion of a physician specializing in your chief complaint.