The endocrine system is involved with so many important glands in our body (pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, pancreas) that any disorder has the ability to affect numerous important aspects of our health, not least of which are our blood sugar levels and metabolic health. These disorders (for example, diabetes, osteoporosis, pancreatitis, hyper- or hypothyroidism, Addison’s disease) often affect multiple aspects of our health, frequently resulting in profound fatigue, severe anxiety or depression, irregular heartbeat, difficulty focusing, dramatic weight loss or weight gain, kidney failure, muscle spasms, vision impairment, or loss of bone density resulting in spontaneous fracturing of the long bones of the body. And, as most people know, the treatments for cancer (chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery) can be very invasive and disabling in and of themselves.

Most of the time, endocrine and metabolic impairments not affect a person the same way every day; it is very typical for a person with this kind of medical condition to have “good days and bad days,” although the impact of something like a surgery can be permanent. It is also typical that many of the worst symptoms do not occur as long as someone is getting frequent rest throughout the day. Either way, it is not unusual for such a person to have days where functioning does not seem very affected at all, but other days where it’s a struggle to even do basic daily activities.

A disabling condition does not need to be disabling every day to support a finding that a person is unable to work, because being able to work means being able to do it day after day, week after week, on a regular and continuous basis.