Initally applied for disability 8-04.After denial obtained an attorney jan 05.
Appeal was denied.Now I have been waiting for my "day in front of the judge"!
And What A Wait It Has Been!
It is so frustrating.Called the lawyer today and was told how back logged the office of appeals are in Atlanta GA.That the Government is under staffed etc.

Write my senator...complain to political officals...was the advise I recieved.
Then decided to call the office of appeals.Was indeed told how far they are behind.Just now looking at claims submitted in 04.
Was told the only way to expedite the process is to obtain
A letter from my DR stating my condition is Critical.Or....
Send financial documents such as forclosure...

My claim according to them would "probably" be looked at otherwise in 9 months.
I am just at my wits end.Why does this process take so long for people in need?I did pay into the system for years.Now I am failed by the same system.
Any advise? Izzy

i can't give you any advice except to keep on them. I gave up mine.

Good luck

Julie

Hi Izzy;

The entire administration of SSDI claims is messed up. I live in NV and was told that except for a few states, every one of the offices is in a world of hurt.

You know that the decision was made to drop the current 2nd step, the "appeals" process sometime in the next few years. At least that problem was taken care of for those claimants in the future.

All offices (now get this part, it really burned me up) are working on getting first time applications caught up, leaving those of us stuck in appeals or waiting for hearings simply on hold.

I have made all the contacts you have but I'm still waiting for an answer and if there is someone with an answer to when things will be caught up, they are not talking. So all we can do is wait! This is a nightmare!

Good Luck to You and Keep In Touch!
nancy-h
when they will be caught up

Don't give up it is a very long process. Believe it or not you may get 3 denials before you get the hearing in front of the judge. Then the judge that you see makes a recommendation then it is sent to someone else to make the final decision. Even after the decision is made it can take a considerable amount of time before you see any money.


The best thing to do is to get your attorney to send them a letter, That you are in dire financial need and that will move you up on the list some. Also send some letters to your political representatives , and tell them your situation. If they get involved it can also speed up the process. That is what I did and I think it helped allot.


I had 3 political reps. contact me. 1 gave me all kinds of contacts that can help you finically till the SS comes through. The is a lot of help you can get locally , state and federal.
Also so call the national toll free number for SS they can be a great help with info and maybe help you get SSI which is different the regular SS and comes much faster. The other 2 reps. wrote to the SS office and told them I was in financial dire need. I got my judgment faster because of them.
If I can be of further help , please fell free to ask

Mark

its an absurd process, infuriating, discouraging, and impossible, but that is its intention. you must remember that the system's intention is to shake you off, hence the automatic denials. but dont let it get you down. you might want to go for the doctors letter approach. when my husband and i were going through this, we had his doctor fill out a written statement of his condition. the papers were issued either by his lawyer or by the ss admin. and they outlined and specified the severity of his illness and the immediate need for medical care. his lawyer then sent these papers and a letter expressing the urgent need for a quick resolution to the judge that was supposed to hear the case. the judge, after considering my husbands condition, made an 'on record' decision to approve him. that was in august, and he has since recieved his medicaid card and other benefits. this was no easy process, and i dont mean to make it sound as such. he first applied in 2003, and suffered through three years of unmanaged chronic pain and total bankruptcy before we got to where we are now, but really, the doctors letter was a golden asset that really pushed the process along. you must remain proactive in this persuit. there is no answer to why this system is so anti effective, at least no answer to it in words. it needs change, but you worry about that after you get your other issues in order. i will close this statement by saying that once we feel that we are in a better position of control over our own lives, we can make the decision to help others who are now where we once were. dont be discouraged by the denials. they are merely technical. and get your doctor to work with you. best of luck to you. keep us informed.

All I can say is keep at it, Izzy. It took me a long time to see the judge here in VA. The good news is that once I saw him, I was approved instantly, and received my first benefits within a month.

Have you looked into SSI? If your financial needs are dire, sometimes they will step in and pay you immediate benefits. But then they may deduct what they give you from your SSDI if or when it gets approved. At least that's how it was explained to me here.

Good luck!

It took me over 5 years to win my case..And I thought it wasn't going to last that long..But I sure was wrong..Gave me a line of bullcrap..because I was ( at the time 38 and had a college education ) it didn't much matter if I had a bomb in my head that could blow at any moment..And because of my age the ALJ denied me and I had to appeal it and finnally went to Federal court with it..And they was very upset...Said I should have won at the ALJ court..Paid for everything from ALJ court to the fully fav made by fed. courts. And paid my fees and attorney his part..Had a hardnose judge...But this took over 5 years...What I'm saying sometimes they do make mistakes...DO NOT EVER give up...I think that is what they want people to do..It was very hard 5 years but made through it...Hugs, Cindy

i filed in May 05, went through the thing of being denied twice, got a good lawyer. that is very true about getting that letter from your pdoc. i got one that my pdoc signed & my therapist. i was so nervous when i went in front of the judge last Monday Dec.4. he was a hard judge also. now im in the process of waiting for my backpay. i dont know how it will work with my hubbys income & taxes. my dad gets ssd for mental illness & they dont tax his nor does he get a return anymore. but my hubby said he heard if his income + my ssd it might be very taxable income. im 32, when i filed i was 31 & i felt so weird applying for it in my 30s. but after God led me to the pdoc & therapist i go to now who actually care i realized i had real mental illness. it all came together for me Praise the Lord! please dont give up. i know its very frustrating & i cant imagine how it must be being on your own & waiting forever. before i had my actual hearing i had a prehearing meeting with my lawyer & his paralegal. i live in wv & i dont really know how long it will take to get my final letter of approval so i can take it to the ss office. just please dont give up cuz i think they do all this red tape stuff to see how bad you really want it & need it. im so thankful the Lord has blessed me with mine.

Several years before I applied for SSI, I had a doctor friend encourage me to apply for it and even gave me the name and number of a lawyer he had worked with. He gave me a lot of guidance and support. By the time I hung up the phone, I had forgotten everything he had said. That was how ill I was back then.

No one in my family saw any need to take me for a psychiatric evaluation, despite my borderline existence and incapability to care for myself. When I finally went to a clinic so I could get something for my crushing depression, the diagnosed me the first week and told me to apply for SSI. I was told to call so the clinic employee would fill out all the forms for me. I never called.

I kept going to appointments, trying one medication after another, and one day a doctor who works in another city was there to provide vacation coverage for the regular guy. I told him I was going to use the clinic's services to help me look for a job -- he had obviously reviewed my chart, because he freaked out on me, told me there was no way I could be working and supporting myself. He instructed me that I HAD TO apply for SSI. I made a call and they sent me forms.

I couldn't calm my mind enough to read them, never mind fill them out. It took me weeks to get them done, one question at a time, and it was terrifying. Almost immediately (it seemed like one week), I was rejected. It took a lot of encouragement from doctors to get me to send in the appeal. I was so scared and I truly did not think there was any way I could handle repeated denials and appeals. I could scarcely open envelopes, threw all my mail in the trash, couldn't accurately count the money in my wallet - how could I take on the government when they were set up to fight me?

But within 3 months of getting my award, getting a HUD apartment, and getting it set up for all my bills to be paid by my bank, I could recognize that I wouldn't ever again have my phone or electricity cut off or late rent notices because I couldn't remember to pay them because I was too scared to open the envelopes. I started to have some hope. For the first two years, tho, I never relaxed, for I was sure I would suddenly get a letter telling me that the approval process would be started all over again or that they had decided I didn't need help anymore. This past year, I've finally begun to have a sense of stability in my life - that there is something I can really count on.

I may have only been "in the system" for a few months, but I know how it feels to finally have some financial stability beneath you - And Medicaid in my state is changing in January and I will now finally be able to get all my prescriptions filled every month instead of deciding what got filled and what I would go without (I take 7 meds, but Medicaid only has paid for 3). And DENTAL CARE!! The rewards of economic security and stability are worth it. Stick with it.

Teri

hi everybody. I guess I'm one of the "no way" turndowns they are catching up on. I filed, less than a week a phone call. Few days later another phone call asking all about hubbys income. He is retired.

What does hubby have to do with wife getting Disability or SSI or SS? Take your pick. Guess hubby and I could get divorced then I wouldn't be asked such silly questions concerning hubby anymore.

OK where did I get to. I filed, less than 2 weeks I recieved 2 phone calls. Not many of the questions had anything to do with the issues. Less than 3 weeks I recieved a letter. Guess what? I was not getting anything.

Guess I failed the test because I dicided not to answer the "how many times did you have sex , average week!" It took less than 3 weeks for them to say no way!!



I feel for you all, I really do. Bug them to death, Drs. lawyers, any body else that would speak or write for you.

You all deserve it and that is NOW!! The system is so screwed it is pitiful! good wishes for all of you. JoJo6