Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Support Group
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) describes a sense of exhaustion and post-exertion malaise, even when you have gotten enough rest and sleep. The disease is characterized by six months of incapacitating fatigue experienced as profound exhaustion and extremely poor stamina, and problems with concentration and short-term memory. The cause is unknown, but it is a...
First, thanks to all for the best wishes before my SSDI hearing.
I got lucky, because I had a nice, patient judge who actually listened to my testimony. Received a "fully favorable" decision.
I'm writing to give some tips for the appeal hearing, which is the stage at which most people win. I used to be a f/t practicing attorney so I understand the administrative legal process.
SORRY for the length, but if you are fighting for SSDI you could print this out and use the info later.
As part of a favorable decision, the judge determines the "date of onset" of your disability. Then they add five months to that date. Once they do that, you get the date from which you get back benefits. That date is the same date the 24-month clock starts running on your Medicare waiting period. My case took so long that the Medicare waiting period was over when I got the decision. In fact, I had Medicare for 2 months (and they will charge me for it) without knowing I had it.
I admit that my age (54) made it easier. But my education and wide experience in the workplace made it more difficult.
Here are my tips:
1) Get the right lawyer!
You only get to choose once, so make it a good one. What is good? Someone who ONLY does SSDI cases! (Someone who litigates everything will NOT give your SSDI case personal attention and will not communicate with you.) Also, if possible, someone who is NOT part of a huge firm. A solo practitioner with experience, or part of a small firm. Someone local, if possible, who understands CFS and FM and can point you in the right direction in your area for the right MEDICAL EVIDENCE.
This is a LEGAL proceeding, not a medical one. So the judge is bound by regulations and statutes. The judge will issue a decision with "Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law."
The hearing is for determining the "facts." The judge gets the facts from you and your doctors, and the testimony of a vocational expert.
2) Get the right doctors for your SSDI record. You might love your doctor but if he/she isn't up to filling out answers to interrogatories or making detailed reports or dealing with an SSDI case then you need to switch and fast. You need a persuasive record.
3)
-- SS doesn't care about pain.
--SS doesn't care about lay witnesses, or journals.
--SS doesn't care about DIAGNOSES, lab results, etc.
--SS ONLY cares about LIMITATIONS.
4) Burden of Proof: YOU and your DOCTORS have to show why your limitations keep you from being about to do the most menial sedentary job. (The example they like to give is the job of sitting in a toll booth.)
YOUR TESTIMONY:
--be natural.
--don't overmedicate yourself. They don't like zombies.
--tell it like it is: what happens when you try to work.
--for instance, describe the "crashes" and how you "pay for it" whenever you do something.
--describe the "brain fog" and how you forget your own name sometimes or other incredibly simple things that elude you.
--etc. Describe whatever keeps YOU from SUSTAINING EMPLOYMENT.
WHY I WON:
--I emphasized that even when I manage to work for a week straight, I need 2 weeks in bed afterward. In other words, exhaustion prevents me from keeping up attendance at a job.
--I testified that when I get tired, my brain shuts down and I can't remember how to do the simplest things.
--the judge found my testimony credible and supported by the medical evidence.
--my medical evidence showed consistent reports of exhaustion, pain, inability to think, and flu-like symptoms whenever I exerted.
--in addition to medical doctors, I went to a neuropsychologist for cognitive testing. That doctor put me through a battery of tests that I couldn't even complete. The doctor reported that they couldn't finish the whole day due to my exhaustion. The doctor also reported that when I started out I could function but once the exhaustion hit, my IQ dropped 40 points.
--in other words, exhaustion = brain dead. The neuropsychologist used math, measurements, statistical analysis. These cognitive function tests can't be faked. (If you try to fake them it is obvious.) The doctor concluded that I suffer from significant cognitive impairment.
The judge found this report credible.
--the judge found the agency's doctor reports (both the ones who saw me and the ones who made conclusions based on my medical records) to be NOT be credible and gave them 'little weight.'
If you think that CREDIBILITY is the key, you are CORRECT. That's how judges make conclusions of fact.
PROCEDURES:
You will testify; your lawyer will be there to minimize any damage you might do. Trust your lawyer, follow his/her lead.
5) At the end, the burden of proof switches to SS to show there's a job in today's market that you CAN do.
The judge will ask the vocational expert hypothetical questions.
My judge zeroed in on the right things: he asked, could a person whose exhaustion causes her to take sick leave every other week function in the workplace? Could someone whose cognitive abilities fail within a few hours function in the workplace? Is there any job in the marketplace that this person can do?
The vocational expert answered, No, No, and None.
The case was over at that point. The judge said that if the medical reports back up my testimony, then he would find me disabled. The medical reports backed me up.
The judge listed as my "severe impairments" Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. He concluded that the symptoms I described could reasonably be caused by these impairments.
More importantly, he concluded that the limitations that I and my doctors described could reasonably be caused by these impairments. He found that the evidence of record backed up my claim completely.
So this 3-year nightmare is finally over, although I'm still waiting to see the money, LOL.
At least I know I won't be homeless for a couple of years!
Please feel free to PM me with any questions. I understand this process better than most people because of my legal background.
I won't give you legal advice, that's for your attorney, and I was never a disability attorney, and I had a terrific disability attorney. But I can give you practical tips or explain the legal process.
And thanks again for your support.
I got lucky, because I had a nice, patient judge who actually listened to my testimony. Received a "fully favorable" decision.
I'm writing to give some tips for the appeal hearing, which is the stage at which most people win. I used to be a f/t practicing attorney so I understand the administrative legal process.
SORRY for the length, but if you are fighting for SSDI you could print this out and use the info later.
As part of a favorable decision, the judge determines the "date of onset" of your disability. Then they add five months to that date. Once they do that, you get the date from which you get back benefits. That date is the same date the 24-month clock starts running on your Medicare waiting period. My case took so long that the Medicare waiting period was over when I got the decision. In fact, I had Medicare for 2 months (and they will charge me for it) without knowing I had it.
I admit that my age (54) made it easier. But my education and wide experience in the workplace made it more difficult.
Here are my tips:
1) Get the right lawyer!
You only get to choose once, so make it a good one. What is good? Someone who ONLY does SSDI cases! (Someone who litigates everything will NOT give your SSDI case personal attention and will not communicate with you.) Also, if possible, someone who is NOT part of a huge firm. A solo practitioner with experience, or part of a small firm. Someone local, if possible, who understands CFS and FM and can point you in the right direction in your area for the right MEDICAL EVIDENCE.
This is a LEGAL proceeding, not a medical one. So the judge is bound by regulations and statutes. The judge will issue a decision with "Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law."
The hearing is for determining the "facts." The judge gets the facts from you and your doctors, and the testimony of a vocational expert.
2) Get the right doctors for your SSDI record. You might love your doctor but if he/she isn't up to filling out answers to interrogatories or making detailed reports or dealing with an SSDI case then you need to switch and fast. You need a persuasive record.
3)
-- SS doesn't care about pain.
--SS doesn't care about lay witnesses, or journals.
--SS doesn't care about DIAGNOSES, lab results, etc.
--SS ONLY cares about LIMITATIONS.
4) Burden of Proof: YOU and your DOCTORS have to show why your limitations keep you from being about to do the most menial sedentary job. (The example they like to give is the job of sitting in a toll booth.)
YOUR TESTIMONY:
--be natural.
--don't overmedicate yourself. They don't like zombies.
--tell it like it is: what happens when you try to work.
--for instance, describe the "crashes" and how you "pay for it" whenever you do something.
--describe the "brain fog" and how you forget your own name sometimes or other incredibly simple things that elude you.
--etc. Describe whatever keeps YOU from SUSTAINING EMPLOYMENT.
WHY I WON:
--I emphasized that even when I manage to work for a week straight, I need 2 weeks in bed afterward. In other words, exhaustion prevents me from keeping up attendance at a job.
--I testified that when I get tired, my brain shuts down and I can't remember how to do the simplest things.
--the judge found my testimony credible and supported by the medical evidence.
--my medical evidence showed consistent reports of exhaustion, pain, inability to think, and flu-like symptoms whenever I exerted.
--in addition to medical doctors, I went to a neuropsychologist for cognitive testing. That doctor put me through a battery of tests that I couldn't even complete. The doctor reported that they couldn't finish the whole day due to my exhaustion. The doctor also reported that when I started out I could function but once the exhaustion hit, my IQ dropped 40 points.
--in other words, exhaustion = brain dead. The neuropsychologist used math, measurements, statistical analysis. These cognitive function tests can't be faked. (If you try to fake them it is obvious.) The doctor concluded that I suffer from significant cognitive impairment.
The judge found this report credible.
--the judge found the agency's doctor reports (both the ones who saw me and the ones who made conclusions based on my medical records) to be NOT be credible and gave them 'little weight.'
If you think that CREDIBILITY is the key, you are CORRECT. That's how judges make conclusions of fact.
PROCEDURES:
You will testify; your lawyer will be there to minimize any damage you might do. Trust your lawyer, follow his/her lead.
5) At the end, the burden of proof switches to SS to show there's a job in today's market that you CAN do.
The judge will ask the vocational expert hypothetical questions.
My judge zeroed in on the right things: he asked, could a person whose exhaustion causes her to take sick leave every other week function in the workplace? Could someone whose cognitive abilities fail within a few hours function in the workplace? Is there any job in the marketplace that this person can do?
The vocational expert answered, No, No, and None.
The case was over at that point. The judge said that if the medical reports back up my testimony, then he would find me disabled. The medical reports backed me up.
The judge listed as my "severe impairments" Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. He concluded that the symptoms I described could reasonably be caused by these impairments.
More importantly, he concluded that the limitations that I and my doctors described could reasonably be caused by these impairments. He found that the evidence of record backed up my claim completely.
So this 3-year nightmare is finally over, although I'm still waiting to see the money, LOL.
At least I know I won't be homeless for a couple of years!
Please feel free to PM me with any questions. I understand this process better than most people because of my legal background.
I won't give you legal advice, that's for your attorney, and I was never a disability attorney, and I had a terrific disability attorney. But I can give you practical tips or explain the legal process.
And thanks again for your support.
Very informative. I'm trying one last shot at working (substitute teaching) before applying for SSI if I need to. I was able to work two weeks, but then got sick and have only worked one day in the last two weeks. I had previously met with an SSI advocate, but decided to wait to see how this goes.
Interesting thought about seeing a neuropsychologist.
Thanks!
Weebs
It took me 5 years to get mine, but when I finally did get my turn before the judge I did just what you did. although my docs would not say I could not work I still won my case because I told the judge just how it was to live day to day with Fibromyalgia, Neuropathy and all the other sympthoms that go with it.
When he asked me if I could walk, sit and stand I told him I never said I could not do those things, but that I could not do them for long and that I would get tired and the brain fog would confuse me.
I think my age "49" and what I use to do help a bit.
There was a part that he actually laughed when he asked if I could type and I said do you mean "do I know how or can I peck at the keys"
I also told my lawyer and the judge that if they would not mind that from time to time depending on how long it was going to take that I needed to stand a bit instead of sitting it that hard chair the whole time, whitch was true....and I did.
The judge and I kind of just had a one on one chat and really did not get into my medical records all that much...I think he wanted to hear from me what I could and could not do on a daily bases and what led to my problems.
In my case it was the chemo drugs that I was given for breast cancer that left me with the Fibromyalgia and Neuropathy. And so I told the judge that I did not apply for SSD because I had had breast cancer, it was because of the damage the drugs had caused and the NEW diseases I deal with constantly and that if I could work I would because by not working I am missing out on alot of social life which I miss more than anything and that is soooo true.
Thanks again for your posting.
In addition to all the wonderful advise you gave, I just wanted to mention, that when I got SSD it was with the diagnosis of CFIDS only. That diagnosis stood with the court. It is a known illness, and now recongized as being debilitating. I was really led to believe that CFIDS was not going to be sufficient in a court to determine an outcome in my favor. That information was wrong. I am on SSD with a diagnosis of CFIDS.
There is hope friends. Just apply, with a good lawyer who knows about our illness, and a doctor that's willing to sit and take the time to do the paperwork, and you can get SSD! Absolutely!!!
I'd give it back in a second to be rid of this hideous illness. In a second!
Thanks all of you for your comments.
And it was really nice of you to post all this detailed information for others who are going through this ordeal. You are the best, Wolfie.
Now all you have to do is figure out how to live on peanut butter sandwiches.