I am scheduled to have an FCE test on the 22nd. My concern is that they will find me capable of doing enough to work. My pain is not constant as in I do not have miserable pain 24/7. However, My injurys do keep me from working. I am prepared to restart my work out regiment from nearly 4 years ago to make sure I can barely walk when I go to this test. I would just like to know what to expect and what kind of "tests" I will be having to go thru.

Work experience is roofing/masonary. Highly physical demanding work. However sitting/standing provides a great deal of pain and discomfort. I find my self lying down several times a day to alleviate some of the pain in the L5-S1 area and T5-T6.

Any advice or knowledge of these tests would be a great help, I have 3 years put into this SSI and dont want to loose it at the last minute.

Thanks

[QUOTE=pooleo;745431]I am scheduled to have an FCE test on the 22nd. My concern is that they will find me capable of doing enough to work. My pain is not constant as in I do not have miserable pain 24/7. However, My injurys do keep me from working. I am prepared to restart my work out regiment from nearly 4 years ago to make sure I can barely walk when I go to this test. I would just like to know what to expect and what kind of "tests" I will be having to go thru.

Work experience is roofing/masonary. Highly physical demanding work. However sitting/standing provides a great deal of pain and discomfort. I find my self lying down several times a day to alleviate some of the pain in the L5-S1 area and T5-T6.

Any advice or knowledge of these tests would be a great help, I have 3 years put into this SSI and dont want to loose it at the last minute.

Thanks[/QUOTE

i had one of those.but my doctor sends me to special place.it kind of looks like a cross between a little playroom and a gym.but its how they do it here in NY though.my was to my shoulder so i had to do a dexterity test.picking up nuts and bolts and putting them to gether.picking up small boxes of different weights.some of it your timed.he'll ask you what you do for a living stuff like that.but what i learned(IMHO)be "HONEST"they can smell a "Facker"im kind of like you.im in construction so physical work is hard for us.but now they discover that i have a disc problem (C5&6)so now i have to get another evaluation base on this new discovery.now this changes everything

[QUOTE=don1956;745437]My exam is a mental exam. If I understand correctly there will be twenty questions requiring fifty answers and I have 30 minutes to finish. I can't think of anything since my accident that I can do in thirty minutes, let alone describe my daily life in 30 minutes. Any insight anyone can offer me. I'm going to a different city, to a building even the Social security office in that town wasn't sure where it was. I believe the test is called Adult Function test.

Thanks
Grame

I have never had to take this FCE test, did SSA schedule this or your doctor. If SSA scheduled it and they are paying for it, you have no choice but to take it. What I would do is (If you can afford it) get the same test done by your own doctor and send the results to SSA after you make copies. That way they can compare results between the two. I have learned through my own expirence that SSA appointed doctors will sometimes give a 'less than truthful diagnosis" to SSA. When I took my consultative exam, the doctor reported to SSA that there was nothing physically wrong with me. Less than six months later, I had to have a total knee replacement.

This is voluntary test requisted by the back specialist, in regards to my work comp letigation. However if results are favorable, can be used in my Social Security case. I just finished up my Work comp case this evening, so if the results are non-favorable, they wont be furnished to the ALJ for SS.

I did not have to do an exam through the SSA. I have had MANY IME (independant medical exams) for WC.

I would caution you pooleo about purposefully overdoing it so that the doctor will be sure to see you in pain. I did try that once and do not feel it worked out well. I was in so much pain, I really have no idea what happened at the visit. I know that I had no ability to describe my functional limitations.

They are basically looking to see if you can substain substantial activity. I took one of my clients to an exam. The nurse dropped something, my client went to pick it up, I put my hand on his leg to hold him back. Only do something until it hurts, and say it hurts. Just do what you can and no more.

Thanks to all for your responses. I am not one for "putting on a show" if you will, I just want to make sure that all my symptoms and pain levels are present at the test. A truley accurate measure of when things are there "worst" I guess is what I am after. Obviously if I lay around in a lazy boy for a week prior I wont be "symptomatic". However if I maintain a high level of activity prior I will have all the pain and discomforts for the test.

This is one of the most objective evaluations available for doctors to tell what you are physically capable of doing. It is in your best interest to do what you are asked to do to the best of your ability. If you do less, this test is designed to detect that. Self-limiting behavior is fairly easily detected during an FCE. So is pain behavior that does not match the accepted injury.

I once handled a worker's compensation claim on an injured worker who decided she would show up in bad shape for her FCE. What she didn't know is that her employer had ordered surveillance and caught her engaged in activity beyond her restrictions during the week prior to her FCE. Her file and case were promptly handed over to the fraud division . . . .

I don't recommend ever trying to skew results of test for any kind of disability or insurance evaluation. It is just not worth it.

As for what the FCE will measure, that is specific to what part of the body was injured, what kind of injury you had, and your job description. They most likely would not test your back for an injury to the upper extremity, or hand dexterity for a knee injury, for example. If you can't work, it will be evident in the results. And most FCEs are performed by physical therapists, as far as I know.

Or you may have improved your conditioning slightly, undetectable by you, who feels your own pain, but maybe measurable by the test! Keeping active and in the best shape you can is in your best interest, don't you know. "Laying around in a lazy boy" does not guarantee that you will not be unable to lift or push or pull a weight . . . but neither does it contribute to your health. If you have been following the rehab plan given by your physician or therapist, and you fail to measure up on the FCE to the level needed to return to work, then the doctor has the best support for declaring your disability.