ROBERT L. MILLER, Jr., District Judge.
Tonya Vanover seeks judicial review of the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying her applications for disability insurance benefits and Supplemental Security Income under the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 423 and 1381. The court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c)(3). For the reasons that follow, the court affirms the Commissioner's decision.
Mrs. Vanover asserted disability on or before November 30, 1998 due to various physical and mental impairments. In 2012, an administrative hearing was held, at which Mrs. Vanover was represented by counsel. Administrative Law Judge Warnecke Miller entered an unfavorable decision, and Mrs. Vanover challenged that decision by filing a timely request for Review of Hearing Decision. The Appeals Council denied her request for review on September 9, 2013.
In evaluating Mrs. Vanover's disability claim, the ALJ considered the documentary evidence, together with testimony from Mrs. Vanover, her husband, and vocational expert Pamela Witham. Applying the agency's standard five-step analysis, 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520, the ALJ found that Mrs. Vanover:
The ALJ concluded that Mrs. Vanover wasn't disabled within the meaning of the Act. When the Appeals Council denied her request for review, the ALJ's decision became the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security.
The issue before the court isn't whether Mrs. Vanover is disabled, but whether substantial evidence supports the ALJ's decision that she is not.
Mrs. Vanover challenges the ALJ's decision in two respects: she claims the ALJ improperly overemphasized her daily activities and the ALJ failed to incorporate her limitations that result from her asthma.
Mrs. Vanover says the ALJ ignored the fact that her conditions of interstitial cystis, irritable bowel syndrome, and poor mental health are ones that "flare up," so that she can perform activities on a good day "does not mean that [she] can engage in regular and continuous employment." Pltf. Memo., at 20.
An ALJ can consider a claimant's daily activities in deciding whether an individual is disabled, 20 C.F.R. § 404.1529(c), recognizing that "a person's ability to perform daily activities, especially if that can be done only with significant limitations, does not necessarily translate into an ability to work full-time." Roddy v. Astrue, 705 F.3d 631, 639 (7th Cir. 2013).
The ALJ's decision contains a review of Mrs. Vanover's daily activities and an in-depth overview of Mrs. Vanover's medical records, credibility, testimony, and behavior at trial. In reviewing the evidence, the ALJ first noted that the state agency psychologists determined that Mrs. Vanover was "only mildly limited in her abilities to engage in activities of daily living," Rec., at 24, based on her report to Robert Walsh, Ph.D. at a March 2010 evaluation that she "did chores such as cooking, cleaning and laundry, but not `like she should'," and her report to Dr. Sayed Wahezi at a consultative examination in May 2010 that she "swept, shopped, mopped, vacuumed, did dishes and cooked." Rec., at 24. The ALJ concluded that the state agency's psychologists' determinations were entitled to significant weight. See Rec., at 35 ("[T]he state agency psychologists' determinations are consistent with the medical evidence, which reflects sporadic treatment and few functional limitations.").
The ALJ reviewed in detail the medical evidence relating to Mrs. Vanover's diagnoses of interstitial cystitis and irritable bowel syndrome, Rec., at 28-33, and concluded that that evidence was (i) "notable for physical examinations that generally did not show [Mrs. Vanover] to be in acute distress, [showed] relatively few abnormalities, and especially non-persistent abnormalities;" (ii) "notable in that the diagnostic tests have not shown significant abnormalities that would generally be present for a patient who had the debilitating pain and extreme functional limitations that [she] alleges;" and (iii) supports Mrs. Vanover's testimony "that her irritable bowel symptoms are under control when she is not under stress, eats right, and takes her medications." Rec., at 33. The ALJ stated that she was including residual functional capacity limitations to help reduce the amount of stress Mrs. Vanover would need to deal with, afford flexibility in the timing of "off task" time, and accommodate bathroom breaks she might need. Rec., at 33.
The ALJ also found that Mrs. Vanover's testimony that pain and depression limit her daily activities wasn't "fully credible" based on Mrs. Vanover's additional testimony that she reads, plays X-box, watches television, frequently sews, washes dishes, makes supper, does laundry, and is able to handle money. Rec., 24, 28. Moreover, the ALJ found that Mrs. Vanover's report of daily activities at the hearing wasn't supported by her behavior as she appeared to be in no physical pain during the hearing, sat comfortably for nearly an hour, and only once took a short two minute restroom break. In addressing Mrs. Vanover's mental health condition, the ALJ considered testimony from Mrs. Vanover and her husband about her daily activities, her medical history and treatment records, and the conclusions of state psychologists that her mental impairments didn't reach the level complained of by Mrs. Vanover.
Mrs. Vanover points to no specific places in the record where the ALJ overemphasized her daily activities, and the court has found none. Mrs. Vanover isn't entitled to a remand based on her claim in this regard.
Mrs. Vanover further contends the ALJ erred by failing to incorporate any limitations relating to her asthmatic condition into the combined impact of all her impairments. She claims the ALJ's "failure to recognize asthma as an impairment, and its corresponding limitations, requires remand." Pltf. Memo., at 21.
This is the evidence Mrs. Vanover cites in support of her statement that she suffers from asthma and has been treated over the years with Flovent, Singulair, and Allegra:
Mrs. Vanover claims the ALJ "ignored the entire line of evidence concerning asthma," but she hasn't cited any medical records detailing any treatment(s) she received for asthma, no medical records documenting the disabling effects of her asthma alone or in combination with any other condition, or any evidence that would support a finding that she is disabled or would be unable to work because of an asthmatic condition. Mrs. Vanover made no mention of her asthma or a disabling asthmatic condition while testifying at the March 2012 hearing, and her attorney didn't question her or her husband about that condition.
Mrs. Vanover hasn't presented any argument about how her asthma qualifies as an impairment or how her asthma would affect her ability to work. "A written evaluation of every piece of testimony and submitted evidence is not required,"
Mrs. Vanover suffers from more than her share of physical problems, but that isn't the issue this court decides. Based on a review of the record, the court concludes that the ALJ properly weighed Mrs. Vanover's daily activities when making a determination that she was not disabled. Additionally, Mrs. Vanover hasn't pointed to any evidence in the record that the ALJ ignored or that would support a finding that asthma impaired her ability to work. Because the ALJ's review of the hearing testimony and medical evidence in the record includes the ALJ's consideration of the evidence that supports, as well as detracts from, her decision, the court AFFIRMS the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security.
SO ORDERED.