My wife recently went on a trip of of the country and got vaccinations for Hepatitis A and some kind of fever.

Shortly after, she started getting blurred vision and vertigo. There is a history of MS in her family. We have to send her to a Neurosurgeon, but is concerned that we don't have disability insurance. Should we get that first before she go to the doctor? If it is MS, then she won't qualify?

HELP Please....and advise would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Roy and welcome to NeuroTalk! What country did you visit? We have some members here at NT who live in other countries!

I'm not sure about the disability insurance but I would think that you'd have to qualify...much like life insurance where they do a physical exam and/or ask questions.....but I'm not sure. Do you have health insurance?

I'm sure someone with more knowledge of this subject will come along shortly. I just wanted to welcome you to the group!

I hope you're sending her to a neurologist instead of a neurosurgeon...

If she doesnt have any insurance, or if she has insurance that might be inadequate, you might want to see if you can get her what you can now. BEFORE she can get diagnosed with MS if that's what she's got.

I tried to up my insurance before I got diagnosed, but I couldnt afford it...so now I'm probably stuck with what I've got, and I'm constantly terrified that they'll drop me for using it too much.

Up everything you can up as far as insurance goes. Think life, long term care, short and long term disability, etc. She does not have a diagnosis yet and as long as she doesn't, and hasn't been "treated" for MS, you can answer their questions honestly. Even if they challenge her if and when she ever needs the insurance, she is NOT a doctor and cannot diagnose herself, and that has been tried and decided already in court and the ruling was in favor of the insured.

More than likely she will not immediately need those insurances, and she may NEVER need them, but get them while you can.

Depends, everyone approaches their finances differently and have different tolerance for risk. I would base my decision on how close to retirment I am, what I can afford, how long I can support myself without some type of assistance.

My company offers LTD for up to 60% of my salary, I bought outside LTD supplement to make it 100% of my salary. I did this so that if I end up on LTD I will still be able to save for retirement as most LTD plans end at retirement age. As I get close to retirement I will probably drop the supplement and then later drop the LTD all together and if affordable/qualify try to pick up some type of post retirement care insurance.

Oops, my mistake...yes, neurologist. Thanks for all the advice. How do I find a good neurologist? Should I contact the MS Society?

One of the problems at this point in time is that there could already be documentation of some sort that something neurological is going on. When I filled out my forms, there were questions like, "when was the last time you were at the doctor, and for what purpose?", and "do you currently have any referrals to specialists?", etc.

There are probably ways to get around some of this, at this point in time. I guess it depends on if the MS is a direct relative (don't usually need to declare conditions that aunts and uncles, etc. had, but often do with parents/siblings). If you can play dumb, it's worth a shot . . . but also might not work.

See what I'm getting at?

Cherie

You can ask your regular doctor for a referral.

I never had to ask. My regular doctor had a buddy who was a neuro...altho I never did get to see that particular neuro, I ended up getting a different neuro in the same office. (the neuro that I see is probably older than Methuselah, but he's also probably one of the best in Omaha...so I'm cool with him)

Yes, what Cherie said about the forms. I had gotten disability insurance before I ever had a problem, but it would have been near impossible had I tried afterwards. Life insurance is another matter too. Ugh.... the insurance underwriters really look for stuff to deny you or up your rate.

Also, LTC insurance is a good thing to get too before any type of treatment--if you can afford it. You're far more likely to need long-term care with MS than without MS, so once there's a diagnosed problem (or a real suggestion of one) you might have problems getting that kind of insurance at a reasonable rate.

Look into your options, get the questionnaires, and see what they ask.

Best of luck!

Thanks for all the feedback, confirms my fears. Will get the insurance first.