Myasthenia Gravis Support Group

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatiguability. The hallmark of myasthenia gravis is muscle weakness that increases during periods of activity and improves after periods of rest. Although myasthenia gravis may affect any voluntary muscle, muscles that control eye and eyelid movement, facial expression, and...

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Muscles & Bones
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disability

ray2me
ray2me
Is anyone on short term disability and if so was it hard to get on it
ahpotts72
ahpotts72
I know that it can be difficult to get a doctor to sign off on disability forms. Usually your PCP will defer to your specialist for such things. In my experience (with 20 years in the medical field) that no doctor really WANTS to sign off on these forms. Not because they don't think that it's valid but because of the risk doing it too soon. I'm sure that many doctors wonder about false claims for disability or that a patient is "faking it" for some reason. I don't think that they are the majority but they are certainly out there. They are usually the docs that have been jaded by those that came before you. I hope that you don't get discouraged though. If your condition is well documented and you are following the orders of your specialist, he/she should have no reason to deny you their signature on these forms.

You should be keeping insanely meticulous records yourself about your daily struggles. One of the major things that need to be proven is that you are either unable to perform "activities of daily living" (ADLs) or that your require assistance to perform these skills. Also, you should have a true job description from your employer to show what specific job duties you are unable to perform. The other things is whether your employer is unable to accommodate you by adapting your job to meet your specific needs, as outlined by the ADA.
Having said that, I know that you are a truck driver and there isn't much that can be done to modify your job to fit your needs. If you can't see, you can't drive. If you don't have the strength to get into your truck, then you can't drive. If you are weak or fatigue easily, you can't drive. So my question to you would be; Is there another job (desk job) that would allow you to continue to work but in a different capacity. I ask this because this is what your doctors are going to ask and it will be incumbent upon you to prove or disprove your case in this regard. I don't agree with this practice but it is typically how this type of thing goes.

I hope that you get some help in this area. I hate to see someone who needs this so much but can't get it done because of this type of thing. Good luck to you my friend. Please keep us posted.

Aloha,
Angie