[onetay]

Hi everyone,
It has been awhile and I had to take some time off of posting. I have been so tired that I have not been able to very much at all. I wish it was another reason like I was having a good time but it's not the case here.

I seem the social security shrink today. It was ok but I don't think I made any points with him today. I was so tired when I went in there and the first thing he asked was what makes you think that you can't work and are disabled? So I looked at him and said I don't that is for you to deside I guess and if you had all that I have wrong with my body I bet you would think you are disabled. Ok, maybe not the best comment to say but I do have to say that it was not a good day for me.

He started writing on his pad and asking questions to which I tried very hard to not mess up yet again. I finally had to say I am sorry I am not having a good day my back it killing me, my knees are hurting, I am itching like I have been in poison ivy, my mouth is so dry, my mind feels like it has had a muscle relaxer, and I am doing my best not to be mean as I have to right to work and do an 8 hour shift right after this, with no rest. He said that he understood and said he just had a couple more question if I could just hang in there. He asked why I was on depression meds? To which I replied my gp thinks I am depressed and I think I am frustrated, so what do you think? He did say that I am clinicially depressed (puzzled look on my face) and that meds are not the answer exercise is. I looked at him as said you are kidding me right?

The girl before me was lucky to weigh 100 lbs. wet and he told her that rest was the answer. Ok I have it figured out now. Before I knew it my mouth was loose again. You think because I am heavy that I don't exercise well you could not be more wrong come to work with me today when we get done and we will see if you still think I need exercise. I think that I did not do well, what do you all think? I just Lost it not sure why, I think the claim is a bust. He did not hand me crazy papers.

I have just been so not myself the past couple of weeks now. My eyes just want to see my eyelids all the time now. I know listen to my body it needs rest. When I am resting the littlest thing wakes me up now and then it takes 30 mins. to get back to sleep again. I have left the lupus world for the zombie world. It can't possiblly get any worse can it?

I gave the shrink the list of conditions I have and the meds and the doctors and the symptoms. He looked at it for about two seconds and gave it back. Said it did not matter. I told him that it took me a week to put together and it does not matter. I asked that it all be put with the paper he had and be forwarded to the SS office with his report of my bad temper.

Well that is what happened today and I should be worried but I am not all I can think about it is getting home and going to bed right now. I hope I can make it home. Well I hope that you are all doing ok and feeling ok. This is the what not to do at the Psyc evaluation. It's hard to believe I am a people person isn't it?

 

[KarolH]

Tammy,

First of all I am sorry your not feeling well and it is good to see you post.

When I had my evaluation with the Psychiatrist for Social Security I also left the office with the feeling that he felt there was nothing wrong with me and that I was just some babbling idiot coming into his office at a very young age trying to steal blind from a system that is meant to help people who are really disabled. I could not have been more wrong about this man.

In fact in his report he wrote all of the things that were for me, not against me and it was all true and legitimate things that were happening to me then and I still deal with almost daily. I was shocked because like your appointment, my appointment was filled with ridiculous questions that led me to fly off the handle and give this man a piece of my mind. It almost borderlined bizarre to be honest.

Also, in the USA our SS system does not base its sole decision on what some Psychiatrist puts down in his report. Like lupus there are criteria you must meet in order to be approved and the Psych appointment is just one of those criteria............make sense? Most people get turned down, hire a attorney, appeal and get approved.

Are you still working right now while trying to get SSD? If so I can almost guarantee you that this will go against you more then anything. If your not working but instead for example collecting short term disability then that is beneficial for you. Also you should go get a Psych evaluation from your own doctor too as it is good to have doctors who are on your side from the get go.

The last thing I would like to add here that I learned is that if you do NOT have a college degree then SSD looks at you as NON-MARKETABLE. In their minds there is not one employer who would entertain the thought of hiring you. It is the only time in ones life that it is GREAT not to be educated past a high school diploma.

I wish you luck moving forward with this. If I can answer any questions for you or help you in any way let me know. Consider this another bump in life and know that eventually you will get over this one too and come out on top.:wink2::wink2::wink2:

 

[Katharine]

Hello Tammy,

I have had a very similar experience recently and I have to agree that Karol is right. You need to fight this with detailed reports from your docs and another psych report from someone on your side. That at least gives you something to start an appeal with.

Just let me reassure you that I said all the wrong things too (she wasn't a psych but a doc deciding if I could stay on health benefits). It all came out wrong and I did get rather frustrated and annoyed which of course she picked up on. I was basically told that I could go back to work in September because one of my rheumy's reports mentioned the word "stable". The fact that another mentioned emergency IV pred, that I couldn't walk or drive for a while... was completely irrelevant to her. When I mentioned my neuro symptoms (which stop me translating) she had never heard of any cognitive problems with lupus In my case this doc had been supportive before but I really got a sense of a different attitude as soon as I walked in and I especially think that she's afraid of getting her knuckles rapped if she lets another person through and keep on claiming.

Anyway, all that just to say that you're not alone and to keep fighting the fight.

hugs :hug:
Katharine

 

[sam101360]

Tammy:

First off don't spend too much energy on this appointment. I went through this when I applied.

My SS Psych actually had lupus...I was floored, here she is working and I am trying to get disability...I thought I was a gonner.

Her report detailed the clinical depression caused by lupus...but she told me point blank that the report she writes is only to support or deny the mental impact of the illness you are claiming. Clinical depression is supposed to be "good" on a diability claim...if it is not the only reason for the claim.

I believe that by law in the US you must NOT be working when filing a disability claim, they don't care if you are homeless, untreated, and starving...you can't possibly be disabled if you are working.

The actual real challenge is the SS medical doctor review...that carries more weight and they are not really into approving people...he wrote that I had absolutely no visible diabilities, and although I could not hold my arms at shoulder height, squat without toppling, had swollen hands and feet, couldn't bend over, or sit for long periods of time, had rashes, fever and cognitive issues...I could work a sedentary job part time.

You WILL be denied on your first filing no matter what, you most probably will be denied on your appeal. You will need to request a hearing, you should have a lawyer (they can only get 5200 or 10% of your initial payment which ever is higher, they get nothing if you are denied - and no other money...NO UPFRONT FEES EITHER). Your lawyer then should ask for a judicial review prior to the court date being set.

I got total and permanent disability approved by the judge prior to my hearing and got my money withing 15days of the letter of approval. I was paid back 2 years and automatically granted Medicare because I met the waiting period requirements of 24 months.

If yu can get a letter frojm your Dr stating that you are unable to work, due to your medical condition, you yould have an easier row to hoe on this. If you have this letter - BINDER & BINDER are the experts in the USA. However any lawyer is goinf to want to wait until your beneif nets them the max of the 5,200 so this is going to be a slow process unless you are already not working. I had stopped working 3 years before I finally broke down and filed...it still took almost 3 more years to get approval.

Best of luck with this. Any questions, please feel free to ask!

There is alot of information in the US SSDI thread on this site that should help you in this process.

http://www.thelupussite.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=50

Stephanie

 

[onetay]

Thank you all for not yelling what were you thinking. I thought the same thing about not working but the lady that I filed with said there is a program that you can file for that allows you to work a number of hours and make a set amount of money and she did say that I fall into that program. She said with all the doctors notes of the limited hours and no set release to return to full time that is just one thing that would qualify me for it.

I am really trying not to think abou that darn appointment any more as many of you have said it is a waiste of energy. The lady that I filed my case with told me to keep filing the appeals I do qualify and at some point will get it. She told me that the doctor report from my gp said that in time my hours would have to be decreased and then would be to a point when I would be unable to work at all. She said the road he was talking about has started and that report she moved to the top of the pile of reports. She was not suppose to tell me all this she said but that she feels I do qualify and wanted to help me as much as she could.

Again Thank you so much for sharing your stories that don't make me think I am crazy for acting the way I did. It is really not like me to flip out like that. I did have a question for all of you that posted a reply. The doctor followed me out to my car and asked why I have a handicap parking plate? To which I replied between the lupus and arthritis my gp and rhuemy thought it would be a wise thing for me to have. Is he suppose to do this? I thought when he said good bye that was it.

 

[florie]

Onetay,
I hope you will see better days of health and be qualified for your condition.
I understand your frustration and now your mind is going round and round on that visit. Try to do the best you can for now and i pray that it will work out for you. Try to eat well,and take your meds. I am praying good things will happen for you real, real soon.
Hugs, florie


ixiedust:

 

[sam101360]

Onetay:

Any Dr can provide authorization for a handicapped placcard, so there is no issue there at all. I have one, I didn't ask for it until I got the SSDI, but my dermy said I could have gotten just for the sun exposure risk when I was fist DX.

The programme you are talking about is a "ticket to work" it allows part time, limited work. It will not affect you medical benefits but may impact the amount of pay you recieve. I was advised by my lawyer, that regardless of what the Dr sais about your ability to work or limited hours, a judge may remove you from disability if you get good reports on your workskills and habits from your employer...so unless the money is an absolute requirement...you should reconsider. You can show overweening need for the additional income you can appeal any impact working may have on your disability eligibility.

I am sorry I cannot offer any more, I don't work anymore and cannot see a day in the future when I could consider it on any regular schedule.

Stephanie