Sopmehow I dont feel so lucky, today I had to call my pension fund and let them know I have to retire,, Iwill take a 30% cut inmy pension due to retiring early,, My STB will be cut to 500 a month,, I had to call my employer today and let them know that after 36 years,, I;m done,, it was so hard to do,, 36 years and its all over,, and today my symptoms are at a all time high,, I just cannot tolerate this,, the pain is overwhelming,, the temperature sensations are driving me nuts,, my anxiety is at a alltime high,, I just know theres something mroe going on,, something more sinister,, I hate it and I jsut cant imagine living life like this,, I got scrips for more MRIS,, I dont know if I can lay down that long,, it takes al i Have to just move around without pain,, sitting or laying makes it worse,, I jsut cant think of livingmy life like this for another 20 years,, or whatever life I have left in me,,, I really hate it,,,

Hi, David

I have CIPN and am waiting for SSA's response. I have been able to collect from a disability insurance plan I bought 25 years ago. I had to provide good documentation, but my company, MetLife, has been good about it. I wish you luck!

Bill

I applied for SS Disability for SFPN, 2004. I was granded it after the first try and without a lawyer. I can't do anything longer than 20 to 30 minutes with out being in tears. Taking a daily shower hurts. I have other health issues all dealing relating to pain. During the years I have had my ups and downs, but my faith in God has helped me the most. Also the love and support of my family. I in pain everyday. I had a hard time dealing with the fact that I wasn't going to be able to return to work, but with God's help, I'm I peace with it. I pray for everyone with peripheral neuropathy who can't work anymore get the SS Disability they should be getting.:grouphug

What about your rent, medical insurance, car payments, food, medications, and any other bills you have to pay while you're out of work waiting for your Social Security to kick in?

Sure, I'm in incredible pain every day. But I'm so afraid to lose my medical insurance and medication, I don't think I could survive without my meds. Without them, I couldn't walk! I couldn't get out of bed. I couldn't make it to the bathroom. I have run out before and I have literally laid in bed crying like a child.

As long as I don't have to do anything besides work at my computer for 8 hours, and sleep on Saturdays, I'm o.k.

I want to go on SSD, but I have a terrible fear of being without medication for any amount of time. How do I do it? Help!!!! I've become addicted to my meds!

I'm a slave to my job because I'm a slave to my meds because I'm terrified of the pain.

doesnt california have an up to one year disability insurance program? that could tide you over until you find out if you are going to approved on the initial ssdi appication or if you are denied and have to wait for an appeal to an alj.

I talked with Mike tonight to make sure he was still willing to help anyone who needs to apply for Social Security disability. He is available and he will help you. For years I have been advising folks to contact Mike to get help with this. Mike is a PNer himself and has been on PN disability for 18 years and has helped many PNers get their claims approved - often on the first try!!! He knows the disability application process inside and out and enjoys helping his fellow PNers with their application and has helped several on this and other PN sites. He doesn't do the actual application but guides you from start to finish and he does not charge for his expertise. *admin edit* His reward is knowing that he helped yet another PN patient who became disabled.

Mike advised me tonight there is a slight change from the past and that you should contact him first by email at: *please contact DanP for details* and to be sure and include your full telephone number and what time zone your in so he can call you back. This is now necessary because he is doing some parttime work and might not be available if you were to call him as I have advised in the past.

I have known Mike for several years and he is absolutely legitimate and dependable. *admin edit*

David,

FAR more difficult, and if approved by SSA they say their standards are lower and your approval for SSDI means nothing.

Almost 20 years ago I was approved for LT disability for a group policy. It was a nightmare and they make it so. Lost documentation that they suddenly find when you provide FedEx numbers, being a PITA to your physician, etc. They approved me 7 months after the policy said they had to respond. The state insurance agency was useless.

Short-term disability is not really that hard if injured. But you ABSOLUTELY MUST have your doctor showing hard testing as well as backing your application 100% to the point of his taking it as an insult if they question his diagnosis that you are unable to perform your job. Also, check your policy. It might read that after 2 years, any job you can do alleviates them from paying you for own-occupation. . You need a lawyer as you are to NEVER speak to them by phone or even allow a visit to you. They are in the business of paying you nothing. Sorry if this is all new to you, but I tried to help people for years and I am burnt out from hearing horror stories. I decided to respond to this as my good deed for the day.

They are all the same. Do a search term using "disability denial" with Hartford, Unum, Provident, Met-Life, they are all the same. They have a number of "in-house" doctors who will question your doctor's testing. If they can figure a way to deny you, they will. Since you have a group policy they have nothing to lose as ERISA does not pay any damages for bad-faith (extra financial award) court cases thanks to our lovely government and judges who take junkets interpreting the laws and setting precedent. An individual policy is usually a state contract law issue and you will have more rights and possible damages for messing around with you.

7 years ago I settled for 50% of my annuity. A TOP national law firm asked me questions and inside of 30 seconds told me I had no case to fight them. Why you might ask? They will request 10 years of all you finances down to the lint on your body AFTER they have a private investigator tail you and they get together to write why you can go back to work. They will find something they will claim is inconsistent with your claim and deny you if they wish to. If someone has a back problem, don;t carry those grocery bags to a car or you are finished. A balance problem? Don;t be seen 3 steps up on a ladder. One instance is all they need and they will say, "take us to court". A friend of mine was a trial lawyer for an insurance company for 8 years. He quit one day knowing full-well that half the cases he won were where people deserved benefits. He is in AA now as his drinking started to kill the pain for all he had done to people.

I wish I were making this up but I have lived it and they have very much ruined my life. I'm not that old a man and in 10 years I will be close to broke. People do not hire the disabled. I urge anyone who is thinking of going on disability to try your hardest not to as your benefits, unless you are visibly disabled and all your testing shows that you really are in bad shape, will not be there after age 60. I tried to work for 4 more months after my doctor told me I was at a health risk at work (I prefer to not divulge my malady) but I was making 3x my insurance and felt I could not stop.

The lawyer I spoke to said of the thousands and thousands of clients they won benefits for, very few had their benefits after age 60 unless they were close to being in an iron lung. Most policies are group policies and if you find a lawyer to take your case, he gets 35-40% and will probably urge you to settle for 60-65% prior to the case starting. So what are you left with? Very little.

I wish you the best of health and luck! I also hope you take what I said to heart. I have seen them ruin lives to the point of a few people in support groups over the years taking theirs. It is an adversarial position when you try to collect. They are never your friend and every word you say has meaning. A lawyer can say something and retract it stating he misunderstood you. Never represent yourself with an insurance claim. You are finished before you begin.

Mike

Dan,

This message is not meant to disparage anyone in any way, shape, or form, but rather to supply information as I lived this process for 2 years up to an administrative law judge hearing.

Your friend is NOT available from "start to finish" as he is not representing someone and appearing at a hearing or answering a question in writing from a judge prior to one. It is misleading to think anyone but a duly-appointed representative will be there until the end of ones claim.

When one applies for an SSDI the lawyer is possibly allowed to charge you ONLY for those small fees such as getting records. He MAY NOT charge you for advice, PERIOD! Nothing is costly unless you win and then it still isn't (explained below). As a general rule, they take as many cases as they can, throw them against the wall, and hope it sticks. One might be better with a Registered Representative allowed to sign the documentation. I think the search term would be NOSSCR

By law, the fee for representation on a social security disability or SSI disability case is 25% of your award amount up to $10,000 and currently there is a maximum of $6000. If you are denied you pay nothing.

Also, if your friend is helping with the paperwork (and I had a former claims rep in SSA help me as the lawyers do not spend a ton of time with you and your claim is FAR more a legal issue than a medical one, one learns) then who is appearing with the claimant in front of an ALJ (Administrative law Judge)?

They lawyers who do this know the judges. They know what one likes to hear, and they know what is deadly wrong to say at your case. I knew ahead of time I would be asked what prevented me from testing feather beds all day and I damn well better not have said nothing. The judge wanted to hear why my malady would not allow me to last a day. All judges have trick questions to find if you are - "Generally Credible" - They know the questions they ask and they prep you to hear them. If you apply with no lawyer your documentation had best be razor sharp to the point of his saying in 5 minutes that you are approved. Most people who are disabled are in no condition to provide all the right answers. ALSO, if you have no lawyer, the ALJ immediately thinks you have a poor case as no lawyer would take it and he will probably ask you why you did not retain one. You might draw a judge who denies anyone without representation as some of them are sympathetic, and some of them can be real bastards to the sick if you came to their court unprepared and wasted their time because your documentation was a disaster to read and he is ticked-off already.

*admin edit* When you represent someone in a SSA SSDI claim you sign documents as to their representing you. Just doing it alone, as your friend's name will not be on it, shows a pretty good ability to traverse the system that is NOT usually able to be done by a disabled individual. I'm not saying it is illegal, but why would someone have a silent partner like this?

You might be collecting disability for 20, 30, or 40 years. Winning itself is an achievement. Paying $6,000 out of benefits is nothing compared to winning a case. You find someone with a track record of winning and you start reading the SSA Code yourself to keep on top of your lawyer. While your friend might be too sick to be a non-lawyer claims rep, no one not appearing regularly before an ALJ will know when you are given his name exactly what he likes to see and what he doesn't. It is a legal issue. Unless one has practiced this area, I believe that helping might well be fine. But being your sole means of representation is a very bad move as you need representation at the hearing and most cases DO go to a hearing unless you are very sick indeed.

I hope this helped someone. I also hope I made it clear that I know what I'm talking about.

You sound like a knowledegable person, but, I know for a fact that Mike has helped many people get approval on claims for social security disability. Mike tells you where to get the forms and exactly what to say AND WHAT NOT TO SAY on the application and almost everyone he has worked with got approval on the first try. The man knows what he is doing (he has LOTS of experience) and if I were applying I would seek him out immediately. He knows what it takes to get SSDI so don't contact him if your trying to "beat" the system. If your genuinely disabled then provide him with the info if you want to be approved. Mike will tell you up front if he can't help you through the system. Just contact him - you got nothing to lose. That's Mike F. at *contact DanP via PM for details* He lives in the Eastern Time Zone so consider that when you call. Also, the best time to reach him is between 10PM & Midnight EST.

I am not at all implying that he is anything but what you say he is.

What is the "Listed Impairment" they are being approved for? There are about 10 I think. I ask because having this symptom and that symptom is usually not going to be approved at initial filing. Only 25-30% of Initial Filings are voiced favorably after reviewing the individual's ability to work, where "Listed Impairments" has some pretty strict guidelines that can allow for the first, and the lowest, review to approve. One is usually pretty clearly disabled with no need of examination to support a claim. Many are also older and close to SS benefits. That initial review by a case worker has to substantiate why he gave approval as his/her job is to deny you and less than half of people file further when denied. They are there to pretty much weed out the cases that have no chance.

From what you have said I would agree to speak with someone knowledgeable as most lawyers plan on an Initial Filing denial and fill the forms out like crap. Mine surely did. But once you have been denied and have to apply for an ALJ hearing, while your friend might well be quite helpful, there is no question at all that you need formal, and legal, representation just as a matter of protocol. What you are not telling people, and I think they deserve to know, is what does your friend say to do if they are denied on initial filing? I hope he is giving them the names of a few lawyers and offering his own off-the-record assistance along the way. He is probably far more helpful than the lawyer, but they still need representation and there is no cost if they are declined benefits at a hearing.

My lawyer was a complete boob. I don't want to label them all as such, but the guys I saw waiting for hearings didn't look like Madison Avenue material. That is where, and possibly like your friend, a person who worked once in the Illinois state system (SSA subcontracted out to the state to do the initial reviews at the time I filed) as well as a husband and wife NOSSCR team (where the wife was retired from the SSA and had taught ALJs the SSA Code) were tremendously useful to me. My filing was reviewed by both and later used as a model by the team as how to go about obtaining benefits with a similar condition. But my condition was far too complicated to be approved at the Initial filing. The problem I have is quite rare and varies greatly. As I keep saying, so readers will understand, there is a strict code and it is a legal matter. I have an issue with my eyes. My lawyer pulled that related letter out and when I asked what he did that for he said an optometrist wasn't allowed to comment and it would aggravate the ALJ. I pointed out to him that the law had changed two years prior to allow it to be included. That's what I mean when I say you need to do this yourself, or with help, as there is so little money in it for the lawyers that they are not necessarily all that competent nor do they spend that many hours with you. $6000 and 40 hours work means $150 an hour IF you win your case. Ergo, don't expect more than 20 hours and 5 of those will be prepping and going to the hearing.

NOTE: One's lawyer can really ****-off your physician so INSIST on seeing any correspondence going to your doctor and you can just tell the lawyer that the doctor said he had no time for this so he would appreciate a concise request that you review first. You can tell the lawyer if any correspondence goes directly to the doctor you will find another representative. They work for YOU! My lawyer, without my knowledge, wrote to an ENT I had seen, where my balance testing was a variant of normal, and said that if he would say he believes I suffer from Multiple Sclerosis, I might be approved right away. An ENT cannot voice on MS!!!! My doctor was ******-off at me also that such a letter wasted his time and insulted him. So be careful that a lawyer looking to get you approved on a Listed Impairment does not take liberties that he shouldn't. Yes, I know this sounds a bit confusing to some, but if you are truly disabled you have a part-time job and it's making sure things are done properly AND that your doctor does not drop you as a patient due to a lawyer.

I was asked about three questions by the ALJ and told that he didn't want me waiting for a letter and told me he was approving me as my file was perfectly crafted for him to see what my condition was and what it caused. I had added supplements to it the night before the hearing at the SSA office as my lawyer refused to add additional information, telling me it was to late. It is never too late. You can also call them the day before and ask for a 2 month extension as you are procuring more evidence. It's no sweat off the ALJ's nose as he hears so many cases.

Had I relied on my lawyer I believe I would have been denied benefits. Yet he did know what the ALJ I drew was going to ask me and did brief me on every question that could be asked and I asked how to answer other questions. One must be "credible" in their entire case. It a word they use in the writing again and again.

If I had to do it again I would go with a NOSSCR individual. IMO, they want the job and study for it.