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 (56) 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.