Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Support Group

I found a paralegal through the local CFIDS support group, this was back in 1996. She was familiar with the disease and knew exactly what to do -- she did all of the paperwork and contacted my Dr. for me. I got denied twice and she came with me to testify before a judge. I won.

Since then I've been reviewed and both times I've paid her $200 to help me with that too.

I would definitely find out if there is a local support group in your area who can refer a lawyer or paralegal. If not, call around and ask any lawyer you might hire how many cases they have handled and won.

Good luck! Having a Dr. on your side is very promising!!

hi,
my natme is kimmie an i have ms,fibro,rls ibs,ra,scolosis born with it. i file in 4-06 turned down thwe 1st time got lawyer www.alsup.com i won 5=09, it is a long process.butm if ur doctor will write a letter stating that u are not able 2 work. if u go through alsup tell them that i sent u. hope everything works out. take care.

remember

"God grant me the Serenitty to accept the things that i cannot change.
The Courage to change the things that i can change.
The Wisdom to know the differene,.

i say this everymorning before i get up. it helps me get through the day.
y mom told this when my dad died when i was 8 an i am 45 now.

take care
love ya

Yeah, I'm on my 4th try. I didn't appeal the first two decisions. I had a lawyer for the 3rd and 4th. It's pretty demoralizing when they haul you into a hearing and call you and all your doctors liars, dismissing all diagnostic tests as "invalid.". We've got a real winner of an administrative law judge in my area. I got the same guy both times.

Here where I live in Ma. I was told not to hire an attorney until I was shot down the first time on my own. The second time did it.
I didn`t even have to go to court the day of the hearing. The day before the hearing the judge was reading over my file and contacted my attorney and told him to call me, she told him it wasn`t neccessary for me to come all the way in since she could see by my records I was ill. She awarded me benefits from that day forward and it was retroactive as well. I still freak out a tad when I get a notice of review, which has only happened onc so far.
Good luck, things like this are never easy and every state is different I`am sure.

Hi bremcac, I'm from KS and I just hired a disability lawyer last Thursday so all this stuff is fresh in my mind. It can be difficult to prove that CFS is disabling, thus the disability lawyer to help me out (and I don't have to pay them unless I win). I haven't been able to earn income for over a year and a half and my doctors are supporting me in this disability claim even though they keep telling me that my CFS is temporary. Filing for disability seems the wise thing to do right now.

Besides hiring a disability lawyer and having doctor support, the most important things I've learned through this are what I've learned from my legal help and the CFIDS Association of America. I got all the free brochures and info that the CFIDS Association of America would mail to me free of charge by asking them for it on their website (www.cfids.org). The most helpful brochure I got from them was called "Social Security Disability and CFIDS". It sights a Social Security Administration ruling (SSR99-2p) which states that CFIDS can be disabling and it provides an outline that CFIDS patients and doctors can use when developing their disability cases. So my lawyer found the ruling online and printed it out for me. (http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OP_Home/rulings/di/01/SSR99-02-di-01.html) The most helpful part was the establishing the existence of a Medically Determinable Impairment and where it gives examples of medical signs, lab findings, etc.

I also now keep a daily journal of my symptoms, problems, successes, and things I notice. (This includes physical, mental and emotional). The journal will be helpful not only for your visits with your doctors, but also for your lawyer and could very well be evidence or come into play for the claim.

Hope this helps. Wishing you the best of luck.

I was able to get retirement disability through my work (elemetary School) The thing is I was being treated for fibro at the time and it went right thru. Actually easier than I ever thought. In three months time I was already getting my first check, Now I have lately been thinking of appling for SSI but I think that is going to ba an up hill battle. I suffer CFS from Lyme Disease that was never caught. Alot of places still hasn't accepted Lyme Disease as something that can disable you.
There is a lawyer in my state that has just recently started running an add that hefights for disability and one of the reasons was from Lyme. So I think I am going to go ahead and give him a call and see what he thinks. I just don't seem to respond to any of the meds I have been given and have been fighting this for 15 years. I have had it all of my life though and I really do not think I will ever rid it from my system. I believe in God and know he is a miracle worker so I definately put it inot his hands.

I'm from Oregon and would recommend an attorney. As for me, even *with* an attorney, I am still fighting. I filed in August of 2007. The first filing was denied. The appeal was denied. I went before a judge in July of 2009 and will not get the ruling until February of 2010. If she denies it, I will appeal again, as she made some procedural errors that would open up the case for a subsequent appeal. Hopefully it'll be easier for you, but don't do it by yourself. Get a laywer.