SSDI is not your friend
 

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disabi...le%20sclerosis

I got SSDI on the second try (5 years now, with no questions or contact), and here are some things I believe.

1, SSDI is not your friend. Think they are a slug like system, not helpful, slow, heavy, etc. You need persistence and knowledge on your side.

2. I already have SSD but went into their site and found it overwhelming, NOT user-friendly, hard to maneuver in but found what I wanted finally.


http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disabi...le%20sclerosis

Their Blue Book which states their definition of MS and what they consider disabling. I worked for the State and know of Government Employee's love of rules in making hard decisions so used their own words in describing my problems. I did not get SSDI on first try (While usually not a believer in Conspiracy Theory, I do believe SSDI turns down all 1st requests hoping you will get go quietly away) Used their words in my second attempt when I described my life and MS, NOT sugarcoating reality ,which is my tendency to do, and got SSDI on second try. Had I been rejected , had a lawyer's name ready for 3rd try.

3. Don't forget, children under 18 or 18 in High School also get benefits. No one told me, but I got $$$ enough (back pay) to get braces for both, The $600 a/month now goes into college savings. Kids are expensive

4. Do not be emotional or angry. This can raise hackles and defensiveness. Lawyers and advocates are unemotional and neutral, just stating facts, think this is why they are effective.

5. No one ever told me there is a work SS time factor. There is. Be aware, Work if you have to awhile if you haven't, BEFORE you apply.. Research it!!!

6. Have your medical (Neuro and PCP) doctors on board with you on your efforts.
__________________
Kicker
PPMS, DXed 2002

Link doesn't work I'd be curious to see what they say. Thanks for the advice though, one of these days....

Guess everyone at the SSD office must have been in a good mood when I applied years back, as I got it on my first try. The thing I remember most is answering page after page of questions and had my "interview" over the telephone. After all that, it was nowhere near enough to live on anyway.

Now I'm at that "retirement" age so now it's switched to regular SS -- still not enough to live on. Good luck everyone!

Was there an office party? Were they all drunk??

I've had a good experience with the SS office, too. I was approved on my first try and had my interview over the phone. The lady was very nice and professional. Although I'm sure there are cases where people have had negative experiences I'd hate for someone to get the impression that everyone has a bad one. While I agree that it's not enough to live on I'm thankful for the amount I get. :)

Kicker -- They didn't sound drunk, but then you never know!! My small town is an equal distance between two cities in different counties. One county is known for it's toughness and the employees aren't very friendly or helpful. Thankfully, because of the county where I reside, I drew the other one and I'm sure it made a difference in the way my claim was addressed! A break for once!!! Yay!! :)

A 19 month fight for me to get SSDI, I didn`t file for 10 months after I stopped working because I wanted and thought I would be able to return to some sort of work.

Two denials and then an ALJ hearing where I was approved back to the last day I had worked. The judge couldn`t understand Social Security`s logic in the delays and denials, possibly because I was visibly disabled? Because medical records indicated I was even though I didn`t have a clear dx until right before the ALJ hearing?

I did use a lawyer after the first denial, they get a fixed amount or a maximum fee from your award.

Yes your earnings figure into it, like an insurance policy, a percentage of your pay and matching by your employer funds SS and SSDI. You can`t expect to insure a yugo and get a cadillac when it`s stolen. You pay more in? you get more out.

Yes your children can get a benefit from it, it is split equally among the children until they are out of high school, my son turned 19 in Feb of 2008 but wasn`t out of high school yet, held back a year because of A.D.D. , he continued to get his portion until he graduated in June 2008, then my daughter got the full benefit until she graduated in June 2009.

Sorry for being long winded, one of my pet peeves, people don`t understand the system and complain about it, an entitlement? aren`t you entitled to what you paid for?

The only problem with the system is the same people in charge of starting it have never made sure it was properly funded. LOL an old saying, if the opposite of pro is con? then congress must be the opposite of progress?

Sleeper
I was a Special Ed teacher - Emotionally Disturbed, many with other secondary classifications,neurological and many ADD with H. Like MS, these are problems people can't see, only the resulting behaviors and think kids should but don't control them. Kids got a lot of negative from parents and other adults. I wasn't great (just good) at academics but great at having a safe and nurturing environment. In my book, better for what I did. I loved my kids and what I did. Too many teachers don't. I'm in a chair, but MS has taken more than my ability to walk. That other stuff is invisible to most others.

I applied in 2004, I was approved 2007, with an attorney. The day I went to court my attorney had a 'fill' in because he was sick.

The judge was very nice and stated that 'this case should have never come before me'. I was denied the first time, then I got the attorney.

My DIL was approved the first time for Mystenia Gravis, I know exactly what her letter read, I wrote it at the same time I did mine. My interview was over the phone, I told the truth, didn't whine, complain or exaggerate...I should have according to my doctors and attorney.

My medical records looked one of those huge family Bibles, it couldn't all fit into one file, there were three flexible folders with medical records, etc.

Kicker, I can't say its your friend either, work paid more and was a heck of lot more rewarding.:)

SSDI system
 

I think every state and every office is a bit different. The guy who originally reviewed my case when I applied seemed very uninterested and indifferent. I was denied because they said I could do "some" less than sedindary work. Never mind my biggest complaint was fatigue and dizziness. For any vocation this would be a big problem:confused:
I was too tired to try again on my own so I got a lawyer. Its been almost 2 years since I got him.
I did get a letter from a judge telling me to make sure I had everything in cause I would be getting a court date soon.......I think that was about 5 months ago and I haven't heard anything yet.
I worry because I am in Michigan where the government is close to shutting down and the state is totally broke. Hope they didn't lay-off my Judge!

On my rejection, they said at my age and educational level I could get a job. I said "Like what?" and that I couldn't drive, could barely walk and no buses came by my house IF I could get down the 500 foot hilly drive (But no bus came by still!!!). Nobody answered my question or helped me get to a job, I was then approved. @#$%&*s

How pathetic is this?? Problem is there aren't many, if any, states in better condition.

I wish you the best of luck with your problems.

gmi

:I-Agree: totally with what's already been said, both the good bits and the bad.

It appears the concerns that have been raised are not unique to the USA. After the experiences my hubby and I both had when making our own applications, I now believe it depends on just who processes your application ..... no matter what country you live in. Which state you live in may also give rise to different outcomes... I know it did for hubby and I.

My husband did 'heavy' work all his life, and when his back deteriorated to such an extent that there were days that he couldn't even walk, let alone work... he applied for a disability pension. He had many doctor's letters and some of those came from doctors they had sent him to, but still they refused him.

I've not heard of lawyers standing in your stead here in Oz for disability claims, so I wrote his appeals for him and it wasn't until the third attempt that they approved his application. Grrrr! :(
So much paper work and so many plane trips, because we lived 4 hours drive away from the nearest major city.

Then there's me.

Two years ago I had a nasty exacerbation following major surgery for bowel cancer (hemicolectomy). I went into Social Security to ask about sickness benefits because I had used up all my paid leave where I worked, and we needed money to survive.

The lass I saw there was really nice, and it was actually on her recommendation that I applied for disability support. It was something that hadn't entered my head for myself. My doctor filled out the paperwork ..... I was interviewed the following week, and approved that very day.

For me it was less than 2 weeks from start to finish.

That part was certainly a relief, but I hadn't forgotten all the hassels we had to go through for my hubby. His refusals made me so cross at the time because I could see how bad he was, how much pain he was in... and we knew others who were "ripping the system off ...
people who were only approved because they were very good actors. Any person who falsely claims benefits makes me very angry, no matter what benefit they're claiming. :mad:

I was denied 3 times so went before a judge. I think it was the vocational expert that said that with my fatigue history that I would be calling in sick an average of 4 times a month. When I was fist assigned a judge I realized I knew him from my hospice volunteer training which by the way I found out I was to tired to do. Any way I talked to this judge at the hospice Christmas party and he asked me if I was approved. He said that before he realized it was me he had already decided to approve me without a hearing. But of course he couldn't do that or relay that to the judge that took my case. It is quite a process.

I fell and fractured my back. I was forced to retire. I was a state employee where i lived. They filed the paperwork, and presented it all for me, as part of my disabilit retirement. it went through without a whimper. Maybe because its the states MDs who filed the papers for me, or maybe it was tied to a state retirement, I dont know, but mine went quick, fast and in a hurry.