Originally Posted by Hopeless

Dear D,

I believe you said the abbreviated wording is from a friend that is a physician if I read that correctly.

****** Yes. A shrink friend of mine.

Physicians are taught to keep brief notes and not to write extensive and superfluous information. While I like the writings of your friend, I think your words draw a better picture for SSDI.

********* I see your point. How about if I combine the two but that I provide just ONE (2 max) example per task? My law firm did not like my ramblings. They reminded that the examiner will be looking at about a dozen cases a day . . . that this person does not want to read 'War and Peace'. Grin. Again, trying to find that 'happy medium'.

Social Security Disability looks at things a bit differently in my opinion. They want details of what your day is really like each day. I think it should be as if you were trying to tell a friend of what your life is like and how it has changed and how you struggle to do the everyday routine things and how it has affected your ability to do your former job or your ability to do ANY job.

******* I do not see how I can do any job when at least once every three hours I have to lay down on my pain for an hour to get relief for PN pain. And, when PN pain is allowed to flair up -- all of my cognitive functions/abilities get severe.

From the perspective of a stranger, (which SSDI is to you), I found your detailed information much more insightful of what your life is like than the abbreviated format used by your physician friend.

**** OK. Thanks. I see your point. Again though, what do you think of the happy medium I make mention of in my first paragraph to this post?

I think as long as your details are accurate and not inflated, truthful and honest, you will not be "hanging" yourself with any responses. It also appears that you seem to have medical documentation to back up your responses which is vital.

***** Nothing is inflated. Everything is truthful and honest. My 'new life' with PN S*CKS! And, yes - I have a ton of good medical records and many dx's and many FAILED treatment plans.

In my opinion, which may be worthless and not necessarily good advice, if you think about what you put in your responses as a way of telling YOUR life as it currently is, to a complete stranger so that they can understand what you can do and unable to do on your best and worst days.

*******To be truthful, I so rarely have a 'good day' (which isn't really any good at all) that I am just going to go with ALL of my days being equally the same. Because 95% of the time that is the way it really is. To be truthful, I have been trending downwards over the last month and I am glad that I see my neurologist Wednesday and hope he has the 'magic pill' to put in the pot so as to improve the quality of my life.


Don't think of it as "responding" to their list, but more as telling your story as if to a stranger. Make your words draw a picture of your life as it is each day.

**** Again, but again - just one or two examples max per task. How does that sound? If they want more, they can ask. They have not been shy to call me. Having done so three times in the last 6 weeks.

Be careful not to embellish or dismiss anything. I read somewhere to avoid the word "can't", but to explain why something is not within your realm of abilities. For example: Don't say you "can't" walk, if you are capable of walking. However, if walking causes you such extreme pain, that it makes it unbearable to do so, then state that it is the pain that prevents you from walking, not that you "can't" walk.

******* Good point. Thanks.


Personally, I like YOUR responses better as they draw a better picture than the brief and clinical manner in which your friend has expressed the same thoughts. Just my opinion.

***** And thank you for sharing it. And as you state below, I hope others will get involved in this discussion.

There are several people that I hope will respond that have great insight and understanding of the SSDI rules and how to complete the function report, far better than I can suggest.

Please seek more than my opinion. I can only tell you what I thought as a person, not as someone that has insight into the way SSDI would receive it.

********* I have. And, as one law clerk (for the firm I hired) suggested - 'you are getting too much 'advice' from too many places, sources . . . just write truthfully (which I have been doing) from the heart . . . but make it more concise." She probably has a good point. Info overload - which causes my anxiety to go through the roof.

The first line of your friend's note to you is very true. They want to know how you are limited. I believe your friend's editing and brevity are great for some areas of the function report, but other areas need the extensive details that you call ramblings.

******* OK. Thanks. Like I said, I will make it a combo of our two thought-streams. My details on some tasks. His concise manner on other tasks. Does that sound like a good idea?

If I recall, there is a place for how much you can lift, how far you can walk, etc. This area can be brief but when other sections ask for details, give them details.

*********** I do not think I have seen that yet. Again, info over-load. Maybe that is a form coming next or one that I have already filled out. I do not remember doing it for my Function Report and I am not going to check right now because with my cognition problems, me getting ready for my KC trip is like a first grader getting ready . . . It takes me 'forever' now to get ready for this little trips due to cognition problems and it takes me a long time to get to my destination due to the need for frequent stops to walk a bit to help with the PN pain of sitting in a car for 30-60 minutes at a time.

About meds and how they affect you. Even if you do not know for sure that any particular symptoms that you may experience are a direct relationship to a particular med, you might want to say what the symptoms are and that you feel that the med "may" be a factor in certain symptoms.

****** I respectfully disagree. Let us hear what others think please. I am not a doctor . . . And . . . I don't want them thinking, 'OK. Get him off Gambapenten and see how he responds to OTHER meds. With OTHER meds he might be able to work a bit . . . " I think a bit of the KISS method needs to be employed in how I feel out this function report. As the clerk from my law firm stated, "Quit trying to answer every question as if you are a doctor. Answer them as a lay-person." Your thoughts?



For instance, if you take a drug that has a known side-effect of dizziness and you experience dizziness, you might want to say that you get dizzy and think it might be related to drug X but you do not know for sure that the medicine is the cause of the symptom.

****** I don't know. Again, I think I will stick with the 'less is more' idea on the topic of POTENTIAL side effects of my meds for now. Thoughts you others? Thank you!

Good luck to you. Hope someone that knows a lot more will give their input. Don't go by my comments. I am just giving you MY opinion, not advice.