had my ssdi physical from a poker faced md... what to think?
 

hi ... I am a 57 y/0 doctor of pharmacy 9 months post mva with a fractured c-2 and herniated c6. then 10 days later 2nd concussion by walking into a poll.
mentally let me sum it up this way. went to my psyk test sat and asked my driver if I was in my car or her car. had been in the car 5 min. you get the picture. classic pcs. headaches, noise sensitivity, personality change. ect. ect.

well today went to the social security internist medical exam. could not read the doctor at all. I can early and brought my newest medical records which he used. (good) was sitting in the waiting area with my gun protection ear guards on because the receptionist have their music blasting and ppl are visiting in there. looked totally weird because for some whacked out reason I was stressed and randomly shaved my head last week but kept the full beard.
so my turn can up to see doc. went into a little room. Remember 5th grade where you had to write a report and you thot you were so sly by copying sentences from 5 different encyclopedias would fool your teacher? that is what he did. the took the Stanford neurologists report that obviously he had never looked at and would flip thru them and randomly copy and put that in his report. never asked me anything.
then to the exam room. him take your glasses off and put them down. me what? .... put them where? you know very slow on the up take.
then did something laying down. then stand there and swing my leg. had to hang on to the table. flex my joints. walk heal to toe. ..... could not do that.
...... then the sly question on the way out "do you miss you job?
me. "I miss my mind" or something like that might have been. " I miss being myself"

so what do you think? did this exam help or hurt my disability case?

Have no faith in any State or Fed agency
 

Dear friend


I wish you well
I had all of my paperwork in order
But in the end I cannot do anything
I was able to do before my surgeries
Fusion level C5/6 C6/7 second surgery
My surgeon took my life from me
and doesn't even concern him
Needless to say I 52 years young do
Not fret you cannot make up what
you are suffering with
Just a important suggestion
Take note of E V E R Y T H I N G
JOT down every phone call
Get copies of everything including
you scripts
take pictures

God be with you

Someone who cares

Been there and done that.

I understand how that make you feel or at least I know how it made me feel.

I once had a CDR with someone that acted very indifferent about it either way. He acted like .........whatever, I just want to get this over with so I can go home, golfing or whatever.

I remember leaving that interview feeling.........like man, that guy acts like this is no biggie to him but it is my livelihood he has in his hands.

I was very worried for several weeks until I got a letter saying everything was good to go.

I wish the doctors conducting these interviews would show at least some compassion. That in itself would help.

Good luck!

Rake

e1ectric,

I think you'll end up with a never ending headache if you keep trying to replay the exam to try to figure out what it means and how that doctor may have been leaning.

That said, did I take that advice and stop worrying when it was me with the WC IME doc ? Heck no ! I was a wreck and the stress just made the pain so much worse.

It sounds like that doc was more focused on the physical aspects of your abilities/disabilities than your pain and cognitive issues. Maybe he copied the info about your pain and cognitive issues from your other records. While I think that's a poor way to conduct an exam, that shouldn't hurt your case. If he just skipped addressing your pain and cognitive issues, that could hurt your case. If he exclusively focused on a functional capacity form and he feels that you could complete those physical tasks, his impression could be that there is some menial job that you could do, even if you obviously cannot fulfill the responsibilities of being a pharmacist.

The thing is, you don't even know EXACTLY what he wrote. You can drive yourself crazy trying to GUESS what he wrote. Try to relax about it. It's out of your control anyhow.....

Are you working with a lawyer ? That can make it easier to assign him/her to get a copy of each part of your SSDI record.

You know that you are disabled. You know that if at first you are denied, you will keep fighting for your disability benefits. Try to have faith that eventually you will have all the documentation that you need to convince the SSA and get an approval. Prepare for a LONG wait.....and be happy if they find in your favor soon.

Also remember that your age, 57, works in your favor for not having to meet as stringent requiremets.

Stress just isn't good for us at any age, though, so try to relax and focus on other things