Re: Update

[illusion129]

Ok, so for those of you who didn't know about this - I've been after the SSA to give me Disability benefits since November 2005 (when I filed, with an onset date of April 8, 2005 - last day at work OR school.)

Well, I've been denied FOUR times now, at the ALJ level. I went to a hearing in nearby Lexington just over 2 months ago and just now received my answer. An UNFAVORABLE answer. What took 2 months?! I know they had to pull in ONE doctor's records (a new doctor), but still.

What ticks me off the most is this paragraph; I'm not a "shy" person so I'll type exactly what the judge says in her unfavorable notice letter...

****
"After considering the evidence of record, the ALJ finds the claimant's medically determinable impairments can reasonably be expected to produce the alleged symptoms, but the claimant's statements concerning the intensity, persistence and limiting effects of these symptoms are not credible. The claimant has had almost every diagnostic test imaginable to account for his complaints of pain and fatigue, but all objective tests have been normal or he has shown only very mild abnormalities. He has been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia or a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and 'shockingly' has been placed on Morphine for pain even though the source of his symptoms has been undetermined. His allegations of pain are not consistent with his other activities. In spite of pain of such severity to require Morphine, he is able to do his own laundry, cook for himself, use a computer frequently, walk on his farm, care for his personal needs, drive, and interact with friends online and in person. At the hearing, the claimant was a young, very robust and healthy looking individual who did not appear in the least bit of pain. He was very bright and articulate and had no difficulty giving very complete and detailed answers to questions put to him in spite of alleged memory problems. He said he is depressed but he has not sought or receieved any treatment other than medication from a family practitioner. His allegations of pain and other symptoms are not credible to the extent he is precluded from the limiting range of sedentary work described..."
****

Ok, so who on here doesn't do their own laundry? I maybe have 4-5 loads a week to do, mind you I live with my parents and I do ALL of the laundry. I usually don't do the folding and putting away unless they're my OWN clothes, but putting a load or two away to help out my mom isn't that big of a deal. I told the judge that I cooked one meal a week, not frequently. I think a lot of people could do that; I try to at least once a week to give my mom a break. When walking, it's no more than 200 yards at a time, WITH a cane; the judge stated that I SAID (which I didn't) that I could stand 6 out of 8 hours! NO frickin' way...I could maybe stand an hour TOTAL broken up over 8 hours maybe...MAYBE. And that's what I said! Yet right here it says that "I said" differently; thankfully they record those sessions! I'm going to definitely get a copy of it to show them that I did not state the things that this judge has said.

Ugh, so ticked off right now I just want to spit nails. I cannot stand...the thing I hate the worst in this world...is when someone looks at you and says, "Well you look healthy!" GD, I don't care if I LOOK healthy, it's my INSIDES that hurt, you can't see those!

Obviously I'm going to appeal the decision. I didn't have representation, but I don't think that hurt my case a bit; the judge said I presented myself very well and was an articulate advocate for myself. Thus another reason I think I was denied. But I had researched everything to death and made sure I knew what I was doing...I didn't want to have to give up any back-pay. Now that they're fighting unfairly, even though I've got 7 years of medical records to back me up, I think I will hire an attorney to shove this unfavorable notice straight up their @$$! ;)

Other than that, not much is up with me. Got my hair cut today and it looks nice; a little shorter than I wanted it but it grows fairly quickly.

[suede]

I'm really sorry to hear you have had all this hassle.
It took me four yrs to get mine approved.
I did hire an attorney and as sad as I am to say it, I believe that after you have been turned down at the first two levels it is the best way to go.
My ALJ hearing didn't last long at all and I only has to answer a few direct questions and my attorney did the rest.
I wish you the best of luck and can understand how angry your feeling right now, been there.
Linda

[Kathi49]

Illusion,

I can definitely understand your frustration. Do as Linda suggested and get a lawyer. I have; and one with spinal disorders. :) Anyway, don't give up now...just keep going. For some it takes years. And hey, I do my laundry, and I can drive at times...sometimes I can't. The thing is and you are right...it is things that can't be seen. So, you do pretty much have to rely on your docs and their reports. What galls me is that the definition of disability does NOT say you have to be bed ridden!!! What it implies is what can you do for 8 hours a day...work related! Geesh, everyone has to keep moving in one way or another; that doesn't mean they can work a full 8 hour day. Anyway, it is extremely common to get denied twice; maybe even more. I would just plug away at it and definitely get an attorney.

[Sunshine2]

i've been fighting 7 yrs.....cant keep up with my laundry....i was in an advocacy group (for awhile)...we met once every 1-2 months ...they used THAT against me.....i havn't worked for 4-5 yrs, cant keep up with chores......the judge didnt even get my age right in my last denial...

[Mark N]

Sorry to hear of the troubles but I wouldn't go into the hearing without representation. First I couldn't focus well enough to pull all my stuff together and my attorney did a great job contacting my doctors for the needed reports and copies of my records. Since our disability is an invisible one it is difficult to have some one look at us and see our pain.

Russel doing a good job representing yourself actually works against you because the hearing is to determine whether you can work at any job in the US and representing yourself tells the judge you can do some work. What it leaves out is how long it took you, how long you could work on it at a time, etc.

I wish all of you the best but recommend you don't try this on your own.

[Boxerlover]

Yeah, Russel I agree. I got an attorney as soon as I was denied and he got all of the medical reports and did the paper work. Now differently from what other people said, my lawyer barely spoke at all, the judge asked me questions and me and my husband did all the talking. But my attorney already knew that was going to happen as he waned me the judge like to ask the questions and let me talk. So I was pre-warned before we went into the hearing. I'm so sorry you were turned down, but hire a lawyer and keep trying.

Take care
Melissa

[Mark N]

Melissa, during my hearing I did all the talking and from what I have heard that is the way the hearings are. The disadvantage I see if you represent yourself is the judge sees all the prep that went into the hearing, collecting reports, doctor's assessments, etc and says that if you can do that on your own you can find a job that you can do. All I know is there is no way I could do all the work myself because I am in a fog too much of the time.

[BrokenBladder]

Russell,

I have to agree with what everyone is telling you, get a lawyer. I was denied twice and my attorney did a great job at getting everything ready for the hearing. He even pulled up backgrounds on my doctors to show the judge that their creditials were high. There are alot of doctors who apparently will say you should apply for disability, but they also have a record for not being the best doctors. My attorney told me there are doctors who actually get paid part of the proceeds from a claimant if they win. So it turns out to be a scam which is so sad to all of us who are in desperate need of SSDI.
Don't give up as it certainly does take time to win our cases.
As Mark said I did most of the talking in the hearing, but it was obvious that my attorney had done all of the hard leg work.

[Diandra]

Get a lawyer or SSDI legal advocate(someone who is knowledgable about SSDI but, it does not have to be a lawyer) and get a mental health assessment. You are doing all the leg work yourself and presenting everything yourself and doing a good job of it.....to all who see you, if you did that kind of work for yourself, you can do a job....that is the plain and simple truth. I know it is frustrating.

At my hearing, I was advised to speak as little as possible and answer the questions posed with brevity and facts only and not to elaborate.

You need help from someone who knows the system. Best of luck.

Diandra

[illusion129]

You know, I don't believe it even came to me ONE TIME that it would hurt my case to represent myself. UGH! (Homer Simpson, "Doh!") How could I have been so blind as to see that? Oh well, a lawyer this round! I'm actually tired of trying to keep up with it myself, it 'has' become too much work for me.

Last time, for the ALJ hearing, I just BARELY got all the stuff together for it. Actually I must say that I didn't have it all ready, since the judge actually had to "order" one doctor's reports, but that was a fairly new doctor I saw recently.

I've found several errors in her notice letter. I've never had 2 lumbar MRIs even though she states I had 2 normal ones. I HAVE had 2 brain MRIs to rule out MS though. She also states that I had a normal X-ray of my knees, when the doctor (and I) could clearly see that my kneecaps pull outwards instead of being parallel to the bone (and the doctor stated this in his reports, I saw it). Enough b!tch!ng. I'll let the lawyer sort all this crap out, it's their job now.

I wanted to say thanks to all of you who have replied. Basically I just needed to get that off my chest yesterday, a vent as you call it. I can usually handle stuff very well, I've learned to do so being a CP patient, but that was just a little over the top for me. I guess I'm a lucky one: I'm at stage 4 all within two years whereas there are others out there who have waited 5+ years, as has been said. That's just ridiculous, but the state systems are backed up to no end; I didn't get the notice of my "date of hearing" for about a year!

Hope everyone has a great day! :)

[Smiling Angel]

Russell, and all....Now don't start throwing things at me, but I am a disability claims adjudicator. I went into a pretty thorough explanation of how the initial process works, which actually carries into all the other levels, it's just that the process is a hearing instead of just a medical review on paper. Look at my reply here: http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/showthread.php?t=22577

I don't know how old you are, but, as I said in the above thread, age plays a VERY important part in making a determination. Some people apply and apply and, they finally are approved, and sometimes it's because they aged and made it into another age bracket.

I know it may seem unfair, but as the baby boomers get to the right age, the number of folks that apply for disability has really expanded quite a bit. However, the way a claim is determined hasn't changed.

Good luck to you in the next round!

[Mark N]

I can say that I was denied until I hit the 50 years old mark which seems to be the magic number so I know what you are saying smiling angel.

[Kathi49]

I agree Mark. I am soon to be 51...maybe it will be a good year. :)

[Kira]

That is such bullshit about age... I'm 28... and NO, I can't do my laundry... and I can't really cook... and work is a joke... maybe I'll be in a new age bracket when I'm 30. (?)

Anyway, I haven't tried to apply yet. But that is because I am being stubborn. I know it is time, and that it was probably time a while ago.

Russell, I'm sorry things went badly and I HATE when they pull that "but you look so good" crap. If I hadn't had this muscle biopsy that I had to travel across the country for, most of my tests would probably look "normal" too (except my CPK goes way up with rhabdo flares, and sometimes my electrolytes are funky). When I first got sick, they were looking for the wrong diseases (MS and Lyme) and so the tests were coming back negative because they were the WRONG TESTS. Because it looked like nothing was wrong based on some docs not figuring it out and ordering the wrong tests, the docs said that it must all be from "stress" or that it was "all in my head." But now we know otherwise and I have concrete proof that it is mito (biopsy results showing very low enzyme activity in complex I, low levels of complexes I, III, and IV, and elevated levels of various acylcarnitines in my fibroblast culture).

I'm sorry they aren't helping you out with disability, your doctors, and anyone else who suggests it's all in your head... but I really think that SOMEDAY they will figure out what's going on with you, for whatever that's worth. Sometimes it is a matter of the disease progressing enough to fit a recognizable patter, or progressing enough to show recognizable lab abnormalities. Sometimes it is a matter of seeing the right doc at the right time and having them happen to think of the right thing to test for. Sometimes it is just plan persistence.

Hang in there and hopefully things will make sense one of these days (or else they will magically get better and you won't NEED to make sense of them) :)

[Mark N]

Kira, of course it is BS about the age but it doesn't change the facts. Younger people do receive approval for SSDI but you really need the documentation to qualify. I know you are struggling with the decision; I just want to say that I worked for at least five years too long and now I don't have much of a quality of life as a result. I would have been much better off going on disability earlier and having a better life at least for a few years.

[Boxerlover]

Kira, I know you haven't made your decision yet, but from what you have said, I don't think it will be too difficult for you to get ssdi. I was 32 when I applied and 34 when I received it. I was worried that age might be an issue, but fortunately it wasn't.

Melissa

[Kathi49]

Kira,

I wouldn't think it would be tough for you either based on the severity of your condition. But Mark has a point....documentation!!! I know you haven't made the decision yet. And if you haven't started reading up on it, I would. The process can take a long time let alone the paperwork you have to fill out; enough to choke a horse. And that is just the beginning. So, I would definitely go to the SSA Website and read up.

[debhun]

Melissa is ssdi just the Ins part? I am trying to get disability Medicaid. I don't have all the credits for disability.

[Kathi49]

:eek:

After reading all of these posts I decided to check on the status of my own claim with my attorney. Evidently, a request for hearing was actually posted with the SSA on April 12th of this year. The secretary said it could take up to 24 months...which is actually okay with me since I do have a pension coming in. She did say to call her every 3 months to check on the status. What I did ask is if I should gather up MORE records for them (changes since that time) and she said no. She said the attorney will get ALL the records from ALL the docs once they are notified of a hearing. And I will also then either MEET with or TALK with the attorney to go over the whole thing. In the meantime I am still keeping my own records. :) This is what I mean...it can take awhile.

[aggscott]

I am so sorry for all that your going through, this adds alot of stress that you just don't need.
One of the statements in the Judges' letter really made me angry though-that you are "shockingly" on Morphine-what is that suppose to mean? That you don't deserve pain meds for your pain? I just had to say something, I don't like that statement at all.
It scares me that they really believe we don't need meds to help with daily life and how many other people in these jobs feel the same way?

Aggie

[illusion129]

I really think that this judge is uneducated about chronic pain. She used the words Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Sydrome, AND Chronic Pain Syndrome interchangeably! :eek:

Plus, as I stated, I've caught quite a few mistakes in her findings. She basically stated that ALL the medical tests I have had in the past came back "normal", whereas I've had a sacroiliac joint X-Ray, knee X-ray, and cervical MRI to report otherwise (joint damage). Obviously she did not interpret my doctor's notes correctly, and how could she? She isn't a doctor herself.

Granted only one of my doctors has noted that I "need" to quit work, but all of my doctors do agree that going back to work indeed would cause me to be in a great deal more pain and that in turn would cause my mood to go "ka-put" (I get insanely irritable when my pain flares up).

Kira - I read into the symptoms and such of mitochondrial disease and I don't really think that my symptoms fit any of them. I mean, I could have researched it more but I only went to the one website you listed. I'm not all that sure about having a muscle biopsy! :eek: ;) But if it's recommended one day then I will have it checked out.

One thing to note, and I don't know how much it means, is that my white blood count ALWAYS runs low. Leukopenia my doctor noted it as. It used to run incredibly high all the time before I had my tonsillectomy but that was because I was always sick with tonsilitis/sinusitus. Now that I have had my tonsils removed I've not even had a cold since...and that's been a little over 2 years! :) Yeah, I've been tested for Leukemia, a common cause for low white blood cells, but obviously that came back negative.

A few of my doctors think that when I was younger, thanks to my immune system running all the time because of my tonsils and sinuses, that it could have caused nerve damage; that along with the cervical and lumbar issues might be causing all my problems? A few have suggested that. I try to look for the bigger picture, but maybe there isn't one. It's strange though that you'd have all these neurological symptoms, gastro symptoms, as well as joint symptoms yet not have a "bigger" problem such as Rheumatoid, Crohns, or Multiple Scerlosis...or perhaps a MS-like disease that's yet to be diagnosed! Woo hoo, I'm a mystery man! I recall most of my doctors calling me that in the past at one point or another.

And to note - I'm not really trying to get disability benefits for the money part of it. Granted, the extra income would be greatly appreciated because I basically have to live off of my parents; they're not strapped for money in the least bit but all of my medical sh!t gets expensive throughout the year! I definitely COULD use the insurance benefits of SSDI, the main reason I applied. My parents are self-employed and have to pay their own insurance; for 3 of us it's almost $1000 a month, and the insurance doesn't start paying until we hit $2500 out of pocket. That's really expensive on its own, not to add if I need a new MRI or some other expensive test/procedure.

It is very stressful to deal with all of this and knowing that you truly cannot work without dealing with 7-8 level pain (spiking to 10) yet no one believes you (no one that matters, except maybe the doctor). My family knows that I cannot do certain things yet they do get testy at times. But it is sh!tty knowing that you're 21 and can't do "normal" things. I know all of you guys that are under even 70 know what I'm talking about. You should be enjoying life or retirement, not suffering through it! Especially not having to deal with the stupid, backed-up SSA.

OK, just thought I'd stop by and update. I have had a little burst of energy this morning so that helps out a bit. Usually I'm just too tired to log on! Hope you guys have a great day! :)

P.S. - Kira, if you feel it is time to get off your feet and quit work then it's usually a really true sign. Especially if all your doctors agree. You might as well do it now and take it easy from now on or else you might end up with your body punishing you for years on for staying at work. I know that as soon as I realized what was going on with my body while working that I quit. It might not have been the best idea to do at the time but I do feel it has helped me to slow progression of disability. I only worked for 1 year and within that year I went downhill fast, faster than I ever have in a years time. Good luck with the decision! :D

[Smiling Angel]

Kira - don't let what I said discourage you. I don't know all your medical facts, and don't presume to judge ANYBODY. It IS possible for younger people to be approved. Believe it or not, my daughter applied last year due to Psychiatric problems. She's been seeing her Psychiatrist for ten years now, and his report made all the difference! It was so complete that she didn't even have to see a disability consultant (doctor, I mean) - we call them CEs. She was in serious shape, though, and had attempted suicide twice, very serious overdoses. She was approved in two months, and, of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that I work here!

Good luck to all of you who are applying or have applied. You are all right DOCUMENTATION is the key!! ;)

[Purplebill]

While I agree with the other posters that you should retain an attorney for your appeal there is one other thing that you can do at this time. You can and should file a new claim asap. Once you have been denied by an ALJ you can file a new claim while appealing the prior decision; as long as you can honestly allege either a new condition not included in the original claim, or a worsening of any of your existing conditions.

[Kathi49]

Smiling Angel,

I, for one, appreciate any advice or tips you may have...just wanted you to know that. :) I worked for the Fed Govt all my life so I KNOW the "red tape" even though I wasn't working in the same field you are. But you are right...in IT we even had personnel in jobs called "Documentation Specialists". So, my point is...oh, yeah, documentation is key! :) Oh, there is one suggestion I have, maybe you can make. When I originally applied through the SSA Website and completed the original paperwork to take to my local SSA, I noticed I couldn't print the whole kit and ********. Or, at least when I did it, I had to print page by page by page. It may have changed now I haven't taken a look-see. But at the time I was wishing there was a way you could just print the whole thing at once. :)

Purplebill,

You are right and I had forgotten about "additional" items or conditions or even worsening. As time went on, I definitely had more to add as more things were found.