Out of my doctor's mouth today (GP not the neuro... I'm not sure the neuro would say 'mild' with MS).

I have mixed feelings about this statement from my GP. While in 1 sense I'm relieved to hear what I already surmised about my MS at this stage, there's the flip side.

I live in pain daily, and I take expensive medications. My quality of life is worse as a result of having to 1. be in pain constantly 2. take costly medications to try and help this pain.

On top of this, GP refused to fill out a government disability form for a tax break that 1. a tax expert said I was eligible for, even though I work full time, as I have an incurable disease at the end of the day 2. my coworker who's much like myself, working full time and not in chronic pain with MS (she has optic neuritis if in relapse, otherwise she's not as affected on a day to day basis with her symptoms) took this same document to her GP, who said yes, as a person with MS, you're eligible even if you're working full time. Just having the diagnosis qualifies you.



Ok, I'm mad because she got a lot of money back, I still pay out the yang for medications and nearly paid in this year to taxes (go go retirement savings). And I still feel crummy daily!

I wish there was consistency.

I'm not so lucky because I'm mild, after all. Am I?

Sorry to rant. Just shaking my head at this. I'll take the stuff to the neuro in July and see what's up then. Maybe he'll be glad to fill it out.

Hey Laura,

It's really unfair that some people claim the disability tax credit when they shouldn't. It just means their doctor was willing to lie for them. The federal disability tax credit is based on personal care, not ability to work. You have to be unable to perform the acts of daily living like dressing, feeding, walking for example. If you are unable to walk very far, even with assistance, you would qualify. They don't take into consideration the type of illness; just severity and duration. It all hinges on how the doctor fills out the form.

It's really easy to get it if you qualify. My mom qualified, because even with a walker, she can barely walk. My MIL qualified because of severe COPD which restricts her walking distance although she can walk perfectly well. My SIL is on dialysis, which is an automatic qualification even though she, in theory, could still work if she didn't have other issues.

If you go cra.gc.ca and type in disability tax credit on the search bar, you can download the form which details the criteria you have to meet.

Although it does sucks that you can't get a break and you work with someone who is clearly cheating the system, I don't think you'd want to truly qualify as that would suck even more! On the brighter side, you have an ethical GP!

C

Carol, are you saying that Laura doesn't qualify for this, even though the Gov says she does?

I think her Chronic nerve pain and the fact that she has MS, alone qualify her.

Laura, I wouldn't wait until July. See if you may drop off the papers for your Neuro, the one who DXed you with MS, to fill out and send in for you.

I'm so sorry for your pain.

Both Carol and Sally raise fantastic points.

I actually refuted this originally, when the tax individual told me I'd be eligible for it. I said, "But I'm able to work". The working v not working with MS determines the amount you're refunded, from what I understood.

Kinda like the air conditioner tax benefit, in a way I guess. Even though heat actually benefits me in many ways with my symptoms, I'd still be able to claim an air conditioner come tax time if I purchased one, because I have MS.

We could be speaking about completely different deductions etc. The tax individual printed mine out, my coworker photocopied the ones I had in hand, and her neuro submitted them.

My medications don't cost any less than the same medication another individual with MS has. Everyone with this crummy disease has crazy expenses, working or not working. The fact that I am working could be exacerbating my symptoms (pain). I know it gets much worse the more I get stressed. Pain's a tricky one though... think of how many neuros you hear saying pain isn't a symptom of MS.

Anyways, good discussion here on all sides.

It's really up to the doctor who fills out the form as that's what the gov't goes by. The gov't sets out the criteria and the doctor reports on your status by answering a lot of very specific questions.

The tax credit that I'm familiar with is the federal one - I don't know if NB has anything different from BC on a provincial level. The credit is $7196.00, which means that you can earn that much more without paying federal tax. I can't remember if there is a provincial equivalent.

According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) you have to be markedly restricted for a continuous period of at least 12 months in one or more of the following: speaking, hearing, walking, bladder/bowel elimination, feeding, dressing or mental functioning. Blindness is also listed so maybe your co-worker got in on that one if her ON was severe but it doesn't sound like it was continuous so that shouldn't count.

Whether you work or not doesn't matter to CRA, it's all about personal care. If you qualify, they will back date the claim as far back as the doctor says you have had the condition . My mom got 5 years in back taxes when she applied.

C

I don't have any answers for you L, but I truly feel for you.
My doc, whom I truly respect and appreciate, said those very same words to me a few months ago. I was speechless. I truly couldn't believe that those words came out of his mouth. I was almost in a daze, I was so angry. I culdn't concentrate on what was said after that and left still in shock.

When I saw him for my next appointment, I opened with a very frank discussion of what I was like before I saw him, what my MRIs looked like prior to and after Tysabri and what signs and symptoms I had prior to and after Tysabri. He apologized and agreed with me, and said that it had been so long since I had any problems that he had forgotten what was going on when I first saw him.

Regardless of what a doctor sees daily in their MS patients, this disease is devastating to every one of us who is diagnosed. We all lose something, we all deal with stuff that we never had to deal with before we were ill, and it's no freaking walk in the park, and they need to remember that while looking down from their lofty perch.

AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

OOPS, I don't know nuttin about Canadian Laws. Sorry I stuck my nose in. I wish we had a law like that..