Having a significant gastrointestinal impairment can result in major disruption of daily life; needing to plan around these difficulties can make something as routine as going to the mall very complicated. Pain, profound fatigue, weight loss/weight gain, and the sudden need to use the bathroom (sometimes multiple times per day, for long periods each time) are just a few of the typical complications. Most people with this condition must rest frequently throughout the day for various reasons. Also, gastrointestinal impairments (such as chronic liver and kidney disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, gastroparesis, diverticulitis and colitis, Wilson’s disease, and hepatitis (to name a few)) frequently have complicated treatment plans that include several medications, a special diet, and/or appliances such as an ileostomy or protective undergarments. Sometimes, these treatments cause additional side effects that further limit a person’s ability to function.

Most gastrointestinal disorders do 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,” days where functioning does not seem very affected at all but other days where it’s a struggle to 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 doing it daily, week after week, on a regular and continuous basis.