Opinion ID: 575280
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Duration and Intensity of Pain

Text: 19 In considering Miller's descriptions of her pain, the ALJ chose to contrast Miller's claim that she experiences constant pain with her statements to Dr. Rooney, who stated that Miller described her pain as intermittent. Dr. Rooney also stated that Miller has also noted occasional radiation of pain into the right thumb and index finger and left little finger, again on an intermittent basis. I AR at 190. The ALJ concluded that Miller's allegation lacked credibility because  '[i]ntermittent' and 'occasional' are not the same as 'constant.'  II AR at 252. 20 However, when we read Dr. Rooney's letter to Dr. Jones, we see that Dr. Rooney stated that Miller had significant neck pains with intermittent exacerbation.  Later, Dr. Rooney described Miller's pain as chronic. 1 Also, Miller herself admitted that although she suffers some degree of pain constantly, she has good days and bad days and on good days she can go to the grocery store or perform small chores at home. I AR at 66-67. We fail to see inconsistency between Miller's description of her pain to the ALJ and the way she described her pain to Dr. Rooney and other physicians.