A condition where the adrenal glands do not produce enough cortisol and aldosterone hormones.
Medical records that document the number of crises or episodes you have had in the past year are the most direct evidence for this condition. Emergency room and hospital records are especially useful because they can show the hallmarks of a crisis — acute hypotension, shock, and the other findings listed in the regulation — or the less severe findings of an episode such as orthostatic hypotension, hypoglycemia, vomiting, or dehydration without vascular collapse.
Outpatient records showing ongoing corticosteroid prescriptions and the clinical reasoning behind them can support a 20% rating even when crises and episodes are infrequent. Lab results documenting low cortisol, electrolyte abnormalities, or blood glucose problems help confirm the severity of individual events.
Your own written statements, and statements from people who have witnessed your crises or episodes, can help establish how often these events occur and how they affect your ability to work and manage daily activities. Statements describing how weakness and fatigability limit your functioning are also relevant at the 20% level.
Conditions that are often caused or made worse by this one. If you have any of these, they may be claimable as secondary service connection.
