you have to have a doc or several rhymy & family doc & always a phycitirst to back you up! & say you can't work @all If they think you can work part time= you will be turned down
hope someone on here can give you better info maybe pm "PEACE" i think has has info!

I have no ins. How do I afford all those doctors and pay bills? I've applied for medicaid but they said I made to much. Do I quit my job? An do I reapply for medicaid? All of this is new for me.

Hey, TW!

I: have a suggestion about getting on Social Security Disability. Hope you don't mind my jumping in and filling up your mailbox.

They automatically deny everyone on the first go at it. Even if you have a fatal disease.

Way back 17 years ago, when this disease suffered a lot more cynicism among doctors than it does today, it was nearly impossible to be put on disability for Fibro.

What I did worked back then and it also caused them to cancel a 5-year evaluation 4 years ago. That's unheard of.

What I did was:

Write all my symptoms down the left hand side of a piece of graph paper. Across the bottom I wrote the days of the month 1 thru 31. Then I xeroxed the form so I would have more blanks for future months.

Next I rated each symptom on a scale of one to ten for every day of the month. It just takes a few minutes every night to fill out.

On a separate sheet of graph paper I started at the bottom left going upward with zero, 5, 10. 15 and so on until I ran out of space at the top. Across the bottom from left to right I wrote the days of the month (again xerox it so you'll have more blanks for the following months).

Add each day's symptoms up and divide that number by the number of symptoms you had that day. Then put the number you get on the graph by putting a dot above that day of the month on sheet number two. Do the same for every day of the month. Then draw a line connecting the dots. That will show your flares. You can make a note of what caused the flare at the top of sheet two wherever it happened. For instance, on day one of the month you went to the grocery. Days two, three and four will show high numbers and spikes on your graph resulting from it. You can write, "went to grocery" & put an arrow to day one. Then write " sick from grocery trip" with arrows to days two, three and four. Your graph will show spikes very clearly and get your doctor's attention. It will also surprise Social Security that anyone would go to so much trouble to get their point across. Nothing they like better than paperwork!

Hope this makes sense and helps you.

Mizroze

Hope this makes sense to you. What it does is put your disease in the format doctors love- scientific data. It is also good to take to your doctor's appointments. You don't have to do it forever, but for about six months or so to show how your disease affects you.

I just applied for SSD, and was told the same thing. I asked them how I was to survive during the time it gets to get approved, and they said to go to social services. Because my main problems is from a concussion I had in 2009, I can't drive to their office and get dizzy and disoriented when I'm in places with people walking aroung, likes stores, etc., and they said they don't send workers to people's houses, so I don't know how I'm going to work this out.

I love the idea of the chart for each day-I think I'm going to make myself one-it will be interesting to see when flares happen and why.

If you find some way to survive during the wait for SSD, let us know. I bet there are a lot of people wondering the same thing. Good luck and God Bless. Kathy

you have to get on state assistance. that way you can see doctors, get food stamps, go to local food banks, etc.
i know it sounds horrible, but for now you need to take care of YOU.

I got approved 1 year later and i feel like i went through hell just trying to survive. do whatever you can do take care your self.

I've wondered myself if I should go down this road. I've heard you have to not work for 9 months to be eligible. Just not sure what to do.
You should be able to go on a medical leave of absence from your job. I am on that right now. There's no pay (unless your company offers short term disability insurance) but you would then be eligible for medicaid and food stamps, possibly even other types of assitance. Then if some miracle happens and you can go back to work by being on MLA (medical leave of absence) your job is still there. It's a federal law, however if you work for a small company it might not apply. check into it.

When this fog clears and I figure it out, I'll tell you.

That is what I had to do. My job was overwhelming me and my family. It was not a "healthy" relationship with both. I have since gone to Social Services and was approved for food stamps, cash assistance and Medcaire. I feel embarrased sometimes but I think, "that's what it is there for and thru out the years I have paid more than enough into it, and I will not be on this forever! It is just so I can get by and function for now. I am in the process of being diagnosed for MS, and that is stalling the Social Security Disability application until the end of September. (hopefully)
Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do in order to survive! Think positive and try to do it with a smile!

We ended up going through bankruptcy because of the credit cards we had to use to live through the wait. I highly don't recommend this. by the way.

I didn't use any credit cards during the wait. i do remember always counting pennies in my coin jar so i could put gas in my car or make sure i had enough to buy food (after paying rent and bills). I did have a compassionate land lord who reduced my rent for me when i told him what happened. he didn't want to lose me as a tenant or see me go homeless. in Hawaii because cost of living is so high, homelessness is huge problem here.

but getting SSDI was darn well worth it. i don't know where i'd be today if I didn't have it!

I Cheated..I got married...to a man who did not want me to work...my problem was Immediately Solved.

Ahem.


That makes me look Poorly don't it...to SAY it that way..Be sure I LOVE My Man..It is like god threw me a Bone (Ohh, NOT the way I Intended to Say THAT either)...Ahem..anyway...I Struggled...Daily, had SEVERE Neuropathy in my legs..I was shoving Money away as Much as I could...doing without Anything Extra..Then Dean Walked into my Life.

I had this Very SAME Fear..How was I gonna get thru it ?

I didn't have to Find out..I don't know how they expect one to get thru it...'cept to go on State assistance til you can get approved..

Good Luck .. My Prayers are With You..

Financially, it is very hard. Does your job offer disability even if it is without pay. This would allow you to keep your insurance. Your doctor would have to put you on disability. This is what my doctor did. I was one of the fortunate ones. My disability was approved the first time around without any appeals or lawyer. I applied in January of this year and was approved in May. Please don't let anyone you that you can't get approved the first time around. It rare but does happen. It depends on your situation. I was able to keep my work insurance through April then it expired. The problem with disability is the insurance (Medicare) part does not kick in until 2 years from the date they approve you. You do have the option of applying for Medicaid for medical benefits only. Hope this helps.

Everyone I know who made the system do what it's supposed to had to use a lawyer. Binder & Binder that advertise on TV really are disability specialists.They can tell you what you need to do to get what you need and are eligible to receive. You may find local lawyers who specialize as well, but I've heard testimonials to B&B.
START with a lawyer, don't wait to contact one as a last resort when everything else has failed. Wasted time and stress.

I forgot to mention one more thing (imagine that- bad memory)! One thing I did was after I initially filed for disability I waited until they assigned someone to my claim, adjudicator. They will notify you who your adjudicator is and how to contact him/her. Once I had that information I contacted my Representative in the House in Washington, D.C. I have a good Representative in my district. I truly believe he had alot to do with me getting approved so quickly. He followed up with my adjudicator every single month and sent me a letter with the status on the Congressional letterhead. I kept every letter and will always be grateful to him. He was a blessing in disguise. Sorry for being so long winded. My prayers and with you.

omg LPete that was awsome, My sister who since past away at the age of 42, filed for disability and got it 2 months later and I have more wrong than she did, we both have fibro and lupus but I have a kidney diorder and I am still fighting for mine and filed for the first in 2007, I have an attorney also. I should ne hearing something soon. My sister lived in Houston and had one of her doctors help her fill her paper work out and wrote a good letter for her and she had her other doctor write a letter. The doctor that helped her fill it out knew how to get around and get her patients approved.Now though since I have filled the first time I have had my thyroid removed and they found 2 spots of cancer on my thyroid also was diagnosed with hoshimotos of the thyroid. So I have more added to the list. I had this before when I filled out at the beginning DDD, and myofacial pain, cervical spondylosis. I am a nurse, I could make so much more working. Why would I or any of us for that matter want to live like this? Good luck to everyone and it is has been hard for us with the medical bills we are use to two incomes and its hard. I would get on assistance if I had to do it myself. Prayers goes out to all of you. Hugs wynow