hope, I have not been through this process so I cannot comment directly. You might get more responses on the main board if you take it there. Do you have something you can take for your anxiety? xo

One thing I made a point to do was to take with me any records I could obtain from my other doctors. This gives their doctor a more complete picture without which they may try to minimize your condition. They may not note these records in their report, but with other professionals diagnosis in front of them, it should help.

I would even reschedule the appt. if you have to in order to get these records. Don't let your doctor's secretary tell you you can't have them. They may have you sign a release. Or if they don't want to send them directly to you, have them sent to this other doctor and make sure he has them before you go.

That's what I would do.

This has helped me a lot in the past when dealing with auto insurance company doctors.

Good luck! And yes, mention the suicidal thoughts. If they lock you up, all the better. Just kidding....maybe...

Wow, I am kinda going through this right now, but they told me I have to have already been seeing a psychiatrist (I've just been seeing my family doctor.) But I don't really have the money to do that. Who are you going through?

Who told you you had to have already been seeing a psychiatrist. Granted, it does help to have had ongoing treatment history of your condition, but if you don't , it does not mean you won't get your disability. It only means they send you to their doctor for an evaluation.

If you cannot afford psychiatric treatment, try to get on SSI and get medicaid and/or find a hospital near you that has a charitable care type program and start getting treatment immediately.

Have your family doctor write you a note of support if you can. Anything you can get going for you is good.

Never mind about SSI. One does not need to be on SSI to get Medicaid. If you make under a certain amount of money, you can probably get Medicaid and start building a treatment history.

Getting a disability claim approved (or denied) takes so damn long anymore that by the time they deny you once, which they almost always do to everyone, and by the time they deal with your appeal, you can have more records that they can send for down the line.

Whatever either of you do, keep up with treatment! There are many places that have community treatment support for mental illness. Call NAMI and see if they can help you find a place if you need.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or message me. I have been through all of this stuff and have gained a good deal of knowledge in the process.

Hey everyone thank you for replying to my post. To answer one of your questions, yes I have a psychologist, psychiatrist and an M.D. or a P.A. (Physician's Assistant). With everything that has happened with me I have had no choice but to seek help with psycho-pharmicology. With the help of many, expensive, drugs i have been able to somewhat stabilize, but I never feel good... SSI will help me pay the bill and concentrate on my health which seems to keep depleting. I sure hope the comments keep coming, so we can all keep up on the topic.

Hi, try reading through the link below

http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Bipolar_Disorder/advice/4670987-ssdi-doctor-evaluation

I was told that if the disability office sends you to see one of their doctors it usually means they are going to approve your disability claim. I had to go to their doctor and I was approved within about 6 months from the time I applied.

I don't think it means that at all. They routinely send people to their own doctor's at first and sometimes the result is the opposite.

They sent me at first and I did not get approved. But with the support of my own doctors, I did in the end. It all depends.

feel free to message me also, as I am in Colorado and I am going through the same process....although a bit further along than you are at this point. I have my hearing on the 17th of this month. Finally after all this time I get to see the judge!! But dont worry to much about the SSA doctor, as even if he gives you an okay, it doesn't mean yay or nay. The one I saw told me that he would tell them that I shouldn't work AT ALL, but 1 and a half years later and they haven't listened to him yet.

They sure do drag these things out. I am sure your lawyer knows this, but if he argues for you, make sure he keeps referring to that doctor who says you can't work. I did not have to go to the whole hearing stage, thank God. I got it on the appeal.

Did this doctor write a good report for you? I would get it if you can. I got my report from the SSA doc who did my eval and he got my pain condition totally wrong due to he was uninformed and did not listen to me.

The SSA doctor is the one who they sent me to at first...the one who said I shouldn't be working. But they didn't think his opinion was good enough, so here I am, about to go and see the judge. But all my doctor and therapists say the same thing, so I don't think they will be able to ignore EVERYONE....I guess they can.....we shall see