“New evidence is fine but if there was no mention of the impairment previously, then would you be amending your Alleged Onset Date? With an OTR it must be a Fully Favorable Decision, so they can't set a different Established Onset Date.

Similarly for the hearing you can add a new impairment but if there is no medical evidence previously, it might effect the EOD. The ALJ will first determine if the original impairments will allow an approval or not.”

Interesting….definitely something I should discuss with my lawyer before moving forward.

“Even approaching advanced age, education and skills are still a factor. Registered nurses or many with sedentary desk jobs, for example, struggle to be approved via the GRID even after age 55. Link: Sedentary Work Grid Rules | Maximum Capacity Sit Down Work “

All of my jobs have been in food and beverage. Cocktail server, bartender, cook, waitress and eventually restaurant management. All of these jobs you hit the ground running and don’t stop until your shift is over lol. So I’m not sure where that puts me on the Grid Rules. I’ve never had a sedentary job and its my understanding that SSD is more lenient, as far as retraining goes, with people of “advanced age.” I think what disqualifies me on the Grid is that I have transferable skills from being a restaurant manager, but I’m not sure.

“ I know you thought early on the Grid was a factor on your first denial, but you were denied because they claimed you could still perform the same type of work, which means they didn't proceed to factor the Grid. You may have understood this later, but I just wanted to clarify. “

Yes, you are right about the first denial. Do you think they used the Grid for reconsideration ? I really want to see the letter so I can know why I was denied.

“There are fine points to each strategy for approval, which there is plenty of time for you to learn, but I would not give up on trying to prove you meet the COPD listing which should maximize your benefits.”

A few weeks ago I had a PFT test done and submitted the results to DDS. My pulmonologist has scheduled more tests for me in the coming months so maybe that will help with my case with COPD .

Thanks for the info !