[misterkatamari]

Hello, all. This is a rather long post, so I apologize. What I am looking for here is some opinions on what you believe my chances of being--eventually--awarded SSI benefits. I have an appointment at the SS office on the 26th, and I am trying to prepare myself for it. I have read the stickies and other sites, and they were of great help.

The reason I am applying for SSI is that in last December, I woke up in extreme pain. I lost my job due to it, and I also had to quit attending school (college). I haven't been able to work or attend school since then.

Apparently, the main pain causer is a herniated disc at L1-2. It is impinging the nerve root and causing severe pain and some numbness in the groin area. The pain is debilitating, and i haven't found a medical treatment that helped yet. (Did physical therapy, medication, and epidural injections.) Sitting, standing, walking, and stepping up all increase the pain. I have to change positions every 10-15 minutes to keep the pain level down.

My neurosurgeon said he can't recommend surgery because my scoliosis has progressed since I was a child and it is the reason my discs are herniating. Surgery on the disc would destabilize my spine and require massive reconstruction which due to my age (22), he is really hesitant to even consider. He is also not a deformity specialist so he wants me to see a deformity specialist who is a neurosurgeon to see if that doctor can determine if surgery is an option at all. He also wants him to monitor my scoliosis progression. I likely won't see him until next year as he is a very high profile doctor, apparently. In the mean time I have this pain/condition and have no income whatsoever. I have only worked for 2 years total as a waiter and was told that I—obviously--did not qualify for SSDI by the SS office. So I am here at the SSI.

This is what my Neurosurgeon put down for me to take to the specialist in deformity when I see him eventually. I was wondering if anyone could go over it and give me their opinion on if it sounds like something that I could eventually get SSI for. I realize it is lengthy so ANY input is greatly appreciated.

---From the Doctor--

Has had known idiopathic scoliosis. Over the past year he has developed some left leg pain felt to be due to L1-2 foraminal/extraforaminal disk herniation, as well as some other leg pain felt to be related to some other lower lumbar degenerative disk disease. He has failed physical therapy, as well as epidural injections. At this point, he considered surgical treatment. He is unable to work or attend school due to his pain. He has trouble sitting. He has no right leg pain. He has no weakness. He has intermittent numbness. It is not present at rest. Symptoms are aggravated by activity. Pain is most prominently on the left groin, left hip, anterior, and lateral thigh. It does not go below the knee on the left. He has no right leg symptoms.

He has negative straight leg raise bilaterally. Non tender hip range of motion. Has 5/5 strength in hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps, ankle dorisflexion, plantar flexion. He can heel-walk and toe-walk without difficulty. He has obvious scoliotic deformity with rotational deformity with prominent right-sided rib hump and left thoracolumbar hump. It is more apparent with forward bending. His coronal balance appears good when standing. The patient did have 2+ DTRs of patella and Achilles. No clonus.

X-rays demonstrate a thoracolumbar scoliosis. Could not measure, as we lack a device to do so, but appears to be fairly substantial. There is rotational deformity as well.

MRI is reviewed. He has a left L1-2 foraminal/extraforaminal disk herniation causing significant stenosis, as well as some degree of left L4-5 disk protrusion.

Diagnoses:
1. Idiopathic scoliosis.
2. Lumbar disk herniations.



--end

Oh, I am also under treatment for Depression/Anxiety and have been diagnosed with it since I was a kid. It prohibited me from attending school and led to me dropping out in 9th grade. I received state aid for the disabled due to it, and still qualify for disability insurance in the state. I still struggle with it, but it is really aggravated now due to the physical issues. I checked myself into an inpatient facility 2 years ago due to an elevated case of mania/depression. I take an anti-depressant, an anti anxiety medication, and sleep aid for those things. I have not yet spoken to my Psych doctor about possible SSI application yet, but I intend to.


Thanks, hope everyone is doing ok today.

[finz]

I would definitely talk to your psych doctor too. Even if he doesn't think your present levels of anxiety and depression would rate you as totally disabled now, combined with your pain issues, that may help your claim.

I would think that more info from the neurosurgeon would be helpful. How bad is your pain ? Why does it prevent you from working ? Are you on any pain meds ? If not, why not ?

I hope that doesn't sound like I'm trying to be mean. I'm on SSDI because of severe pain issues (TOS, RSD, DDD, FM, ON....the list goes on.....) I get why some of us can't work because of pain. You need your medical records to show why you can't work. Your doc says that you are unable to work, but doesn't say WHY. A lot of his exam info on you talks about full strength, etc. I think you should have more info in there about your levels of pain, why you need to change position and lay down frequently to manage the pain, how you have difficulty concentrating and functioning because of the pain, how you need surgery for the herniated disc but that is not possible at this time because of the scoliosis issues, etc. He should perform a functional capacity report on you. That gives the SSA a guide to see if you qualify for SSI.

Your records need to show how your condition is worse than someone else with the same issues who does work. For example....my sister has scoliosis (no longer severe since she wore a brace for years as a preteen/teen), but she had 3 kids and workd FT, no probleams. My dad is 74 , a colon cancer survivor, had a L2 laminectomy a few years ago and bike rides 25 miles every day....could easily still work if he had to. I get that, for you,it's the combination and severity of issues that is causing the problem, but SSA isn't going to 'get it' unless you prove it to them. You have to prove to them that your capabilities are less than some others with the same condition(s). Does that make sense ?

I'm glad that you found this board. There are lots of helpful people here. For many of us, it's a long bumpy ride til we get to approval.

How are you managing now ? Are you still living with your parents ? Cases like your's, when disability strikes so young, make me sad. I'm sorry for what you are going through. I hope that having some new friends here, who understand some of your frustration or can offer helpful advice, will make your fight for SSI a little easier.

To pain free days.....

[LIT LOVE]

Is there a reason you didn't apply as a child on one of your parent's work records? Please research to see if you can still qualify for SSD on one of their work records since you have both severe physical and mental disabilities that began prior to your 22 bday. It wouldn't hurt to seek the help of a disability advocate and/or attorney as well...

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10026.html#older-children

It can be harder to qualify the younger you are, but your docs seems supportive and the combo of disabilities will be hard for them to ignore. Some states having matching funds for SSI recipients, as well. If you haven't applied for Medicaid and food stamps yet, please check into those benefits as well.

[LIT LOVE]

Originally Posted by misterkatamari

[LEFT]

---From the Doctor--

He is unable to work or attend school due to his pain.

After reading Finz's post I wanted to add a few last things, documenting functional limitations is very important as well. I also addressed Functional Capacity testing in one of the stickies last week, with links too, so please check my post out if your research predated my addition.

Also, I was unsure if your doc was stating that it was his opinion that "you're unable to work or attend school" or that he is simply relating what've you've told him. Stating that in his opinion you're unable to attend school or work due to pain and this is consistent with other patients in similar health, yada yada yada, would show he is in support of your decision. If you're going to hire an attorney, I would do that first before asking for anything specific from your doc, since your attorney might have a different strategy on how to address these issues.

[misterkatamari]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the input.

To Finz, I'm not offended at all. I wasn't super descriptive about how I feel on here because I actually post frequently on another website for chronic pain, so I kind of get in the habit of assuming that people kind of know the back story. lol!

I sort of went light on the details because I hate feeling like I am whining to people on forums. (And in person to an extent, but I am realizing that I have to be my own advocate.) So I kind of hate to explain how I feel sometimes, because I feel guilty due to the fact that so many other people hurt and are in worse shape than I am.

Anyhow, my basic 'problem' is that I am in constant, chronic pain. I always had chronic pain, but it was very mild in comparison and due to my scoliosis. It was muscle pain and aching, something akin to arthritis at times. This pain is very different. It is like a drilling, digging, in my lower left back and hip. It radiates down my leg in a sharp way...but not 'stabbing'. It is more like my upper thigh is constantly throbbing with the 'digging' sensation. It generally doesn't go below my knee, but sometimes walking or going up stairs causes a sort of sharp jolt of pain through the entire leg. I sort of walk with a limp now, not because my leg is unable to move properly--but because it hurts to walk normally.

It is like waves of pain, like my entire left side is in a vice grip. It is worse than anything I have felt before, even when my 'old back pain' was as its absolute worse. I thought maybe I would get used to this, or it would ease off, but it hasn't. It's as bad now as it was in December. I have right sided lower back pain too, but it is generally not as severe.

It's just sort of maddening in a way, and takes a lot to stop from focusing on it. The pain increases the lower I sit or stand. When I sit I change positions constantly, and I typically recline when I am at home. Sitting up straight, for whatever reason, seems to aggravate the pain immediately and it is completely unbearable. Lying down helps to an extent, but I obviously can't lie in bed all day. Standing is the same as sitting. Walking is ok for short periods of time, although I have to walk sorta slow and 'funny'. I typically have to take breaks whenever I go places like a store, because I just can't stand the increase in pain from being up so long.

It also affects my sleep, because I think I must also aggravate the pain while sleeping by staying in one position too long. So I typically wake up in the middle of the night. I have other symptoms too, like stiffness and problems bending and twisting now. The main issues, however is just the pain itself.

Also, I had no idea--and the office never told me, due to my lack of knowledge, I guess--that I could have applied for SSDI based upon disability as a child. Thanks for the information, even if I am not eligible it is good to no when going in. I'll have to talk to my doctors, including my psychiatric doctor.

I have been to pain management, and received 3 epidural injections. None of them really helped. The doctor also put me on Vicodin, but I honestly felt little relief from it and the euphoric side effect really didn't do anything for enduring the pain. The pain doctor has me on Tramadol now, along with Naproxen. I was on Naproxen before, but I get awful indigestion from it, so my doctor prescribed me an anti-acid type medication. The Naproxen doesn't really seem to help, however, and I am sort of worried about its side effects and potential problems from it--so I may talk to my doctor about stopping it. The Tramadol does help a little, which is more than I can say than with the Vicodin. The Tramadol lasts longer and sort of takes a little of the edge off for a couple of hours. It's still obviously bad, but at this point I will take anything that helps at all!

I am living with my father, and I haven't ever lived alone. Due to my mental issues growing up I wasn't able to attend school regularly, and I skipped basically an entire year of school. I was sent to a diagnostic and treatment center that double as a partial hospitalization school. I went there for a couple of years. I was first diagnosed with bi-polar, but was later diagnosed with the Depression and Anxiety. Right now that is what I am being treated for. I sometimes have really bad anxiety when in a social situation, and I also sometimes have panic/anxiety attacks without any actual conscious reasoning. I take Xanax for those acute attacks.

My depression is, I guess obviously, rather bad right now. It was managed somewhat well for a few years when I was around 17 or so. Then I started to have a more major issue with it again after my mother died in 2007. Since then I have had some fits of self harming and suicidal thoughts, but those have now been controlled. I am on Prozac for the depression. The self harming issues have not occurred again, instead it is the depression itself that is the big issue. I just am always tired, never want to do anything, I feel like my brain is in a fog and I can't concentrate, and I have fits of self-hatred where I slip into dwelling on myself. With the Prozac those problems were more manageable, and I was able to work for almost 2 years without major mental problems. When this started with my pain, however, I am always stuck at home and I am alone at times. I deal with the depression constantly now, and the social anxiety is worse if only because I am not exposed to the situations as often anymore.

I take Restoril to sleep at night because I also have really bad insomnia issues. The Restoril was helping with that, but recently I haven't been able to sleep very much and it just adds to how tired I feel during the day.

Sorry for it being so long, but I felt it necessary since I needed to give more information.

[don1956]

"litLove" and "finz"are right on the mark.i just got approved 2months ago.but what i learned is kind of what these 2 said.when i went in for my exam.they also xrayed me and wanted to see my meds and what my doctors said(reports)they took all that into consideration.i have 4 bad dics and fibro in my neck and shoulders.so i could not return to my construction job.also another big factor that plays in all this is one's age.just remember the judge is guided by what the law dictates to him to follow to make his decision.

[misterkatamari]

Also, I was told to apply as soon as possible, so that is why I made the appointment for the 26th.

I'm actually supposed to see a specialist in scoliosis deformity, and I think that is why the other neurosurgeon didn't state anything too definite. His hope is that if the deformity surgeon finds it possible, that I get surgery and maybe improve pain wise. Because of that, I was hesitant to apply at first but was told that I should maybe go ahead with it because it has almost been a year since this started.

Does it make sense to pursue the application right now, or is this something I should wait for until I hear the other specialist's opinion? I have just gotten in the 'habit' of putting this off by saying 'well, I have another appointment, maybe I should wait to see what s/he says,' and it leads to another appointment and more hesitation.

I guess what I am asking is basically, should I get more definite records of my doctors saying 'yes he is disabled and this is why' first...or is that something I can consult them about now while I am in the process of applying?

[misterkatamari]

So my disability appointment with Social Security is tomorrow. The only thing I am sorta hesitant about is that I wasn't able to get copies of all my x-rays/mris in paper form. I may be able to print out a report, though. I know having stuff like that will probably will be helpful.

I haven't been able to work since December of last year, so I am finally attempting to start a disability claim. I got in touch with an attorney, and they advised me to go ahead and apply for SSDI as well as SSI (I was only going to apply for SSI before.) They said it's better to apply for the SSDI and just be told I am ineligible, rather than not try at all.

I really doubt I will get very far right now, because some of my doctors really don't want to have to 'see' me as permanently disabled unless I really have no more treatment options. I won't know if I have any other treatment options until I see a second neurosurgeon who specializes in deformity.

Basically, my disability is caused by chronic pain. If they can 'fix' the herniated disk, I might feel better. But they may not be able to get to my disk, due to my scoliosis. I won't know a better prognosis till I see this other doctor..but I may not see him until, say, January or so. So I was advised to go ahead and apply now, and if I suddenly feel better I can always withdraw my application.

So does that sorta sound like a decent enough plan? It was just really hard for me to finally get up the 'courage' to admit I needed this and it has almost been a year since I haven't been able to work. I figure it is better to get this going, so that if I do eventually have definite prognosis of being disabled for life or what not, that I will have had this application in sooner rather than later.

Also, I probably should have asked them before setting it up, but how is the application process exactly? Does anybody have experience with going into the actual office to apply for SSI/SSDI? I'm just wondering because of, well my physical problems with sitting and standing in one place for very long. I am just hoping they take that into consideration, that maybe it will take a while because I can't sit still for very long without changing positions.

[LinaV]

Hi, I'm around your age and I just got approved for SSI, first time. I said I was disabled since last December, my most recent hospitalization, although I didn't start my application till April. There was no reason for me to wait, nor is there for you. I think I too didn't want to see myself as "disabled," especially for ZOMGTHERESTOFMYLIFE. But the truth is, I can't work right now. I plan on working in the future, though, once I am more stable. Although my condition is different from yours (I have bipolar), I think that you too have a hope of treatment that will eventually allow you to work. In the meantime though, please try to look on disability benefits as a help in time of need and not a source of shame. I struggled with that too, but I find that my current attitude of "this will help me through until I am well enough to not need this" is much healthier. And no matter what the doctors may say now, we are far too young and the future is far too unpredictable to say that anything is "for life". Perhaps I'm just wearing my rosy shades, but I think the next 10-15 years will be huge in medical discoveries the likes of which were only discussed in sci-fi books. I mean, they are actually creating nanobots that can carry out a specific function at a cellular level, which combined with genome research, means that ZOMG a little nanomachine could change the genes in my DNA that make me so bipolary. They are actually trying to grow specific organs from your own body tissue!...But I'm getting off topic....

Anyway, on to the practical questions you asked:

So does that sorta sound like a decent enough plan? It was just really hard for me to finally get up the 'courage' to admit I needed this and it has almost been a year since I haven't been able to work. I figure it is better to get this going, so that if I do eventually have definite prognosis of being disabled for life or what not, that I will have had this application in sooner rather than later.

You sound like you have a more than decent plan. Please believe in your case so that SSA can too! I struggled with this before applying, but once I did apply, I went all in. I see that you're waffling on the "disabled" question, but you have to remember that disability benefits are not only for people who are permanently disabled. You must be expected to be disabled for a minimum of one year. Since you have already been unable to work for a year, I think your case is strong in that regard. The doctors don't need to say you are "permanently" disabled--my psychiatrist certainly did not say that. However, if you are expected to be disabled for a considerable length of time, e.g. not just for a few months because of a broken arm, then by all means, you are a candidate for benefits and should apply. If for any reason you don't need the benefits anymore because you can work, then as you said, you can always withdraw your application or stop the benefits.

Also, I probably should have asked them before setting it up, but how is the application process exactly? Does anybody have experience with going into the actual office to apply for SSI/SSDI? I'm just wondering because of, well my physical problems with sitting and standing in one place for very long. I am just hoping they take that into consideration, that maybe it will take a while because I can't sit still for very long without changing positions.

I applied in person at my local office and I went in only planning to apply for SSI. However, the guy also automatically considered me for SSDI even though I knew I wouldn't qualify (I didn't), so I think that is standard process to apply for both. I had to wait in the waiting room for quite a bit, maybe 30-40 minutes, even though I had an appointment. Once I was called in, I sat across the table from the aforementioned guy and answered some questions about my work history and my current available income/resources. I also told him about my diagnoses and whatever medication I was taking. I don't know why they bother asking all these questions at the interview because I had to answer them all over again when I got the written forms a couple weeks later. In fact, I was kind of worried that the guy wasn't writing down my work history correctly. This all took another 40-50 minutes. I think it will be helpful if you write down in advance the dates and businesses you worked at, and the positions you held. Also, having a list of all the doctors/hospitals/medications over the years will be really helpful. I didn't have much by way of medical records, and what I did have, the guy said was too old because he only wanted records from the last two years. Later however, I found out that they wanted any and all records from the last 5-6 years, so just bring everything you have. It's really helpful, but not necessary at this stage because they will formally request records.

In total, I'd say budget at least two hours that you will have to sit. You should not have to stand unless they don't have chairs in the waiting room, but times are not that tough. Whoever is going to interview you should be accommodating if you need to change positions. You should probably let them know early on. Also, it might be helpful to have someone go with you and wait in the waiting room, but if you must go by yourself, I would even let someone know while I wait that I have pain which necessitates changing positions, etc. They all seemed to be nice folk, if a little harried.

Good luck! I was a little nervous about it, but it was no big deal.

[misterkatamari]

Thanks so much, LinaV!

I'm getting ready for my appointment this afternoon. I was diagnosed with bi-polar as a child, but now I am really only treated for depression/anxiety. Even so, my mental stuff sometimes makes me see things in a negative view and I have to step back and pause to get focused in.

I'm going to take your advice and look at it more as something I need at least for now because of my inability to work. Not that I definitely am going to be stuck to my living room couch for the rest of my life. :P