You may qualify for jobs that give first priority to disabled applicants--including potential government jobs that are answering calls from home. The best place to start would be with a Voc Rehab Agency. If they decide you are too disabled to perform any work, than you have documentation for SS. If you need additional testing or training, they will provide it for you. Either way, it should be helpful.

You should explain to your PCP that while you understand the need for introducing one medicine at a time, you are unable to work even part time at your current pain levels. Starting a journal with notations of how much time you're spending in and out of bed, or on the sofa with your leg elevated, would be very important. What activities (and how long are you doing them) are causing swelling and escalations of pain? This may be helpful to provide SS with info about your Activities of Daily Living as well, at some point. Your doc can then hopefully prescribe meds that will help, or at least refer you on to someone that will. If you are not taking any opiates, I would suggest starting with low dose naltroxone first. Perhaps bring a print out about it to your next appointment.

Neither you, your doc, nor SS, really can guess how you'll react to treatment and/or meds. You might not even have found the best doc for you yet. While it's unfortunate that the SSDI process can be long and complicated, it is just the reality.

It's a really good idea to encourage your healthy friends and family to research and invest in Long Term Disability Insurance, to help with exactly these types of problems. (Those that live in CA, HI, RI, NY and NJ at least have short term disability provided by the state available in many scenarios.)

Thank you for the voc rehab suggestion...probably my only (last) hope.

I'm okay with the long SSDI process...what I'm NOT okay with is having to tell my docs what to document and stand over them making sure they do. I'm also going to be unable to switch docs that easy due to medicaid. This one took me 2 months to get into after waiting 2 months to get approved for medicaid. Pretty done all the way around.

Pain management...right. I would laugh if it didn't hurt so much.

Having a Functional Capacity Evaluation, which your doc can then use to fill out RFC forms with, or a questionnaire prepared by your attorney or non attorney rep, will likely cover much of what you need, so long as you're pursuing aggressive treatment and going to your doc/s at least once a month. It also, just takes time to generate the type of records SS expects.

If it turns out you will need a cane or walker long term, you might just qualify for SSDI with a Listed Impairment--which could mean a faster approval.

There are certainly Medicaid patients receiving pain management care. Another option that docs might be more willing to prescribe than opiates is methadone. There are lots and lots of different options! Most of us are still trying new meds and treatment options even if we've had RSD/CRPS for a decade or decades!

I cannot tell you how good it feels to not feel alone!!!!

As for the FCE, I am planning on calling the PCP office on Monday to see about getting actual records from them. I might as well make an appt for an FCE at that time as well. She wanted to see me in 4 weeks, but whatever.

As for a pain management doc...yes that certainly is covered on medicare but I need a referral. My PCP refused a referral last appt. (which I can sort of understand since that was my first visit with her). The impression I'm getting from her is she thinks she can handle this. I'll give her that without looking at my records, only per exam and my verbalized symptoms - she went straight to RSD. The ortho I went to, while he was thorough and is attempting to rule out any new injury, didn't have a clue what RSD is.

I'm thinking I may end up missing my reconsideration deadline if I need to get a whole bunch more stuff. I'm calling my medicaid insurer on Monday to push the MRI approval through. I figure at least I can get that out of the way. Still working on my TN ortho records. I have received my PT records, which I will be including in my recon if I get all the other stuff in.

Debating now if I should have done the lidocaine/steroid injection - I have an incredible dark purple bruise still...a week later it looks like it just happened.

Thank you for your help and direction!! If it weren't for finding this site...let's not talk about that

The odds of you being approved at the Reconsideration level are very slight. The point is to keep the claim active and not lose backpay while going about documenting your case. It could be 18 months before you have your ALJ hearing. If you have enough evidence prior to the hearing, you can request an On the Record decision at that time.

You really don't even need to hire legal representation at this point. Just follow through with filing the Reconsideration within 60 days. You can decide to drop it later if you find a job or want to start a new application.

The bottom of both of my feet almost always tingle. But a painful tingle...

Oh the tingles. Ugh. Some days I think the gabapentin helps...other days, there's no difference at all. Constant, and then cramps to the point of not being able to walk on it. For the love of my crutches

Yeah, I'm not counting on getting approved after my recon. Going to complete/submit every form that applies as well as any/all new records. I have 30 days left. I think a visit to voc. rehab agency is in order before the 30 days as well.

Not giving up, I just hate that things like my PCP telling me 2 weeks ago she's going to "order the gabapentin BID, but only take it once/daily until I see you in 2 weeks" and then when I see her 2 weeks later she says "So since you've been taking the gabapentin BID, lets increase it to TID"...Huh?? I was so taken aback I just went with it. Seriously, her notes must be absolute crap. How do you go about addressing that?

I hear ya on the crutches.
I've got my wheelchair and Gabapentin but the pain becomes unbearable at times...