[St George 2013]

I have my 3rd visit with my neuro on Tues and I'm a nervous wreck. Been in bed watching the clock since 10:30 so decided to get up and post.

Short story: Laid off last Sept after 26 years, rare uterine cancer resulting in 6 rounds of chemo, taxol/carbo, diabetic and developed severe neuropathy in my feet a month after chemo. Skin punch biopsy Sept of this year......0 a and c fibers in my feet.....diagnosis: severe small fiber neuropathy. Filed initial application for SSDI on May 17, 2013.....denied on July 24, 2013. Filed reconsideration on Sept 24, 2013 and my file is still open at this time.

My husband got our local congressman's office involved last week and within 15 minutes my case worker from SS called. I have only spoken to her twice before and she was not very nice. This time she was dripping sugar ? Did their call to SS get noticed that quickly ?

She said she was mailing me a neurological questionnaire for my neuro to fill out. And I do not like the questions on this form. The 1st page and a half is about strength. Of course I may have strength the first and only time he checks me.....but does that last ? No. WTH ? She stated that most of them did not want to take the time to complete these forms and if I could just get a letter from him on my behalf that would greatly improve my case. She said this more than once.

Problem is this will only be my 3rd visit to my neuro. Never needed one before now. He's a true specialist in every sense of the word. No chit chat. I have no idea what his thoughts are on people filing for disability. This is driving me crazy. I've worked since I was 15 and have had SS paid in all these years. Never thought I'd be disabled at 51.

I know he doesn't know me but I have 2 doctors in town that know me very well....my PCP for 6 years and my GYN of 25+ years who is the one leading the charge for me to get a team of dr's together to take care of me. Up until I saw her last month I was doing everything on my own and she was livid that my oncologist was not helping me with this. Do I offer up their names to him as references as to my personal/patient integrity ?

Thanks for listening....I just feel better getting it all out.

Debi from Georgia

[LIT LOVE]

This is why you want to undergo a Functional Capacity Evaluation like Finz suggested previously. They test strength multiple times and after various activities, etc. Than a doc like this neuro can take the information from it and be able to answer either an RFC or this questionnaire. Otherwise, at best, they'll test your grip strength 3x's in a row, and that's about it. There is simply know way for him to know without detailed testing since patients abilities vary greatly. And based upon SS requirements, those functional capabilities can mean the difference between approval and denial.

[Nanc]

Maybe your doctor who is leading the charge for you could talk to your neuro about this form. Some doctors do require a FCE before they will complete any disability forms. My PM dr required me to get one before he would fill out the forms to go on disability thru work's STD/LTD insurance carrier. This FCE hurt my claim. It was four hours of hell and did not test one thing that was relevant to my job. It tested strengths and weaknesses...basically how much I could push, pull and lift. Climbing stairs (which was three steps), walking on a treadmill, reaching, etc. NONE of it had a thing to do with my job as a Finance & Human Resource Manager. Working on a computer all day, critical thinking, adding machines, writing, etc. The lowest level the PT could rate me was sedentary level...I was already in a sedentary level job!

I did finally win my case against the STD/LTD insurance carrier in the last two weeks...this is after fighting them for a year. I was approved for SSD within three months. I think what helped me was the letters from my doctors, especially my PCP's letters.

Good luck!!
Nanc

[ginnie]

It will be OK. Give the Neuro the chance to help you. The letter that helped me the most was from my PCP, NOT a form, but a personal letter, that outlined all the issues together that I was having. All my other docs. just did some form for evalutaiton. That personal letter was brought up at my hearing, as one of the deciding factors. I do wish you all the best. The process just makes a person nervous, as so much rides on the decision. ginnie

[Hopeless]

Hi,

I know exactly the feeling of asking a doc for help with the disability process, especially one that you do not have a LONG relationship with that knows you well and you know well. You have no idea of how they feel about disability in general, nor how they feel about getting involved, or how they feel about YOUR situation. It is hard enough getting and keeping a doc's attention for the immediate reason for your visit much less having the time to ask about disability. And if you do not have a long relationship with the doc, you do not know if he books patients every 15 minutes, hates to get behind schedule, is open to spending more time with you than was allotted, etc. You feel like you are walking on eggs and broken glass trying to tread lightly. You might fear rejection or feeling like you are imposing upon him. It is hard enough to find a doctor that "fits" and can be helpful for your care and treatment and fear jepardizing a new and maybe fragile relationship. I understand all the "feelings" that can be experienced in approaching a doc about disability. Even when they voice a willingness to assist you, pinning them down to actually do it is another whole problem. The issue is you really do need to know how your doctor feels about YOUR situation since they may be contacted by disabiity just by being listed as one of your physicians.

The more ammo you have, the better your chances of approval. Whether that is a letter, a functional capacity, a medical source statement, any of the above, all of the above, etc... it all comes down to support of your assertion that you are unable to perform any work with your limitations. As someone here on NT told me,...... it is not about your diagnosis, which you must have and be able to substantiate, but more how your condition, whatever it be, affects your ability to perform any substantial work activity. Having a disease or condition does not get you approved, it just moves you to the next step in the process.

[St George 2013]

I would first like to say thank u for the replies.....they always help me see things from a different standpoint.

Ok...went to the neuro yesterday morning with my RN daughter in law whom the dr seems to like...thank goodness.....I have such a good relationship with some of my dr's and I'm very open but this guy just makes me shut down. But....I was proud of myself......I actually read off my list of symptoms, told him I was not any better pain wise. He thinks the 2700 mg a day of gabapentin is too much for me and lowered me back down to 1800 mg a day. Well that was not really helpful.

I asked him if he had treated small fiber neuropathy before and he said he had. I asked him did he think I could work 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week and he said no. I asked him to write a letter on my behalf to ss and he said he would only write one if he got a request from my attorney. Well.....I don't have an attorney. He said the best he could do was put it in his medical notes that due to my condition and symptoms I could not sustain gainful employment. So I'm going with that from him.

THEN.....my Gyn called me to see how things are going for me. She's the one that was so upset when she heard all I've gone through and promised to help get a team together to take care of me. She's been my dr over 20 years and is extremely upset at how disabling this is for me. When I told her the neuro would not write a letter for me she started cussing....lol.....love my Marty. She said she will be more than happy to write a letter for me and just to let her know what needs to be in the letter. She then gave me her cell # and email address......I was shocked.....NO dr has ever been this concerned for me and my health.

I called the lady I have been talking to at our Congressman's office and she said the notes the neuro will put in my file will be fine and to let my Gyn write that letter. She then wants me to fax to her office, she will put both on their letterhead and send directly to ss for me. WOW.....she really thinks I have this in the bucket.

So my question to all of you now is.......since she is my Gyn and not the treating dr or even my PCP what should she put in the letter ? I know she needs to state how long I've been a patient of hers and to state the difference she has seen in me since this began in May....I've seen her twice......she agrees with the fact that the severity of my SFN is due diabetes and then the high doses of chemo. She sees the fact that I can barely walk and am unbalanced. She knows my personal history as we talk extensively each year when I go to her....she knows how dedicated to work I was.....we talked about our kids and my grandkids and so on. And until all this started I saw her frequently in the grocery store and at restaurants at which time we would also chat.

So there u go......she wants the letter to be exactly what I need but I'm not sure what to tell her.

Thoughts and suggestions please ?

You guys are the bestest !

Debi from Georgia

[LIT LOVE]

Generally speaking, SS does not take into an account if a doc claims you are unable to work. There are vets that have been rated 100% disabled by the VA that spend years fighting for SSDI. So, that's not terribly helpful of him.

Being deemed eligible for SSDI by SS, is a complex medical/legal evaluation. I would not trust the opinion of someone at your Congressman's office knowing how the process really works. Two people with the exact same symptoms and decrease in ability might receive different rulings based upon their age, education or type of previous work.

Can you be found eligible without doing things the way SS wants? Yes. But, it's best to not give SS any wiggle room to deny you, because the process can become very lengthy, consuming, financially difficult, etc.

I'm reusing my posts from the "Don't start..." Sticky. If you've already read them, than you can skip the rest of this post, but if you haven't I think they might help.

http://social-security.lawyers.com/s...isability.html (link is no longer accurate, but I'm listing to give credit)

"Disability is determined using a five-step sequential evaluation process conducted by the SSA. If, at any point, an applicant is found not to be disabled, the evaluation process terminates and the claim for disability insurance benefits is denied. Following are the five requirments in determining disability:

•Substantial gainful activity. If the applicant is currently engaged in substantial gainful activity, there is no disability, regardless of medical condition, age, or work experience.
•Severe impairment. If the applicant is not engaged in substantial gainful activity, the SSA determines whether the applicant has a severe impairment. An impairment is considered "severe" if it significantly limits a person's physical or mental ability to do basic work activities. If there is a finding of severity, the evaluation proceeds to the third step.
•Listing of impairments. If the applicant's condition meets the requirements, or is the equivalent of a disability on the SSA's Listing of Impairments, then the applicant is ruled disabled. If the applicant does not meet the requirements, the sequential evaluation process continues to the fourth step.
•Past relevant work. A medical assessment is performed to determine whether the impairment prevents the applicant from performing his past relevant work. If the applicant is found to be able to perform past relevant work, the claim will be denied. If not, the evaluation process continues to the final step.
•Other work. The SSA evaluates whether the applicant can perform other available work existing in significant numbers in the national economy. The evaluation considers the applicant's residual functional capacity (what the applicant is able to do in a work setting despite the impairment), age, education, and past work experience. If an applicant cannot perform other work, they will be found disabled."

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Attorney Jonathan Ginsberg's link:"Three Winning Arguments in Disability Cases" http://www.ssdanswers.com/three-winn...ability-cases/

Statistics are based upon his experience.

1. 15% Qualify by meeting an IMPAIRMENT LISTING. Even if you do not believe you have a Listed Impairment, you should read through all of them, including the Mental Disorders since parts of the descriptions may be applicable to your disability.http://www.ssa.gov/disability/profes...ltListings.htm

2. 70% Qualify by proving that their Residual Functional Capacity is less than sedentary.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OP_Hom...4/404-1545.htm

3. 15% Qualify by meeting a GRID RULE (applicable to those aged 50+): http://http://www.gridrules.net/index.html