To those on disability
Go for your SSI, then after you are on it for a year and show no improvement go for your SSDI.
I have been out of work now for 5 yrs and am still fighting for mine. They say I have to much money in the bank for SSI though. Make sure you get everything your doc tells you in writing for your SSDI. SSI is not hard to get all you really need is bank statements saying your broke and doc statements saying why you are not working.
Hope this helps some
Kimberly
I have been out of work now for 5 yrs and am still fighting for mine. They say I have to much money in the bank for SSI though. Make sure you get everything your doc tells you in writing for your SSDI. SSI is not hard to get all you really need is bank statements saying your broke and doc statements saying why you are not working.
Hope this helps some
Kimberly
If you have short term or long term disability on your job that could tide you over while you go thru the filing. That is what I had to do. I had many dr records documenting everything you can will help with your case. I got my approval in 2.5 months.
Shannon
Shannon
The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none. Thomas Carlyle
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/fibromyalgia/
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/fibromyalgia/
Hello! I am Kari, and I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia whan I was 17. I have been on Dissabillity since I was 20, which still is a tough thing to admit, even to this day. I am back in school, doing well and hoping to be off SSD in a year or so. As far as financially, you are allowed to make $700.00 a month on top of SSD, (As of 2 years ago..it may be more now) that is not not a lot, but it does help. I also found a job that I could sit and work. If I got up and moved when I didn't have a client, it helped with the stiffness...hope this helps.
Hi Kari! It's really nice to meet you. It made me really sad that you have to deal with this at such a young age...I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions.
Did you have to be out of work for awhile in order to file a disability claim?? Also, are you on any certain medications for your fibro? I am on hydrocodone but it is just not working well anymore. I think my body has gotten used to it. Thank you so much for posting!! Jeannie
Your very welcome! And please, don't be sad. My "team' of Doctors suspect that I had symptoms from 8 years old. But as you know this usually comes on in later life. (Later than 8). To tell you the truth, I was SO happy that I finally had a diagnosis, and that I was NOT crazy, because that it what I was starting to believe. At first I was on a LOT of meds to help control pain, and to help with sleep. But because I was so young,( and I think this can go for any age) I did not like how the meds made me feel. Yes the pain was much less, I was able to sleep a little better....but I felt like a zombie and had no life. That's when I started looking into relaxation techniques and herbal "remedies" (I HATE that term, because it makes it sound like "quack" medicine) for stress and pain management.
I have pretty much lived my life using these for the last 18 years. I do take Ibuprofin when the pain is being stubborn, and I probably take tylenol PM once ore twice ever couple of months to help me sleep. But I know that it takes more for some people, but like you the medication I was taking would only work for a time before we would have to increase my dose.
As far as not working for awhile, I really don't know the answer to that. When I was 20 I was in a car wreck, and was temporarily disabled due to that, and that is when I was aproved for Dissabillity. But one of the people I talked to said that I probably only got approved because I was so young. BUT, they didn't know a whole lot about Fibro/chronic fatigue at the time. I don't know if any of this will be helpful, but please feel free to PM me anytime!
I have pretty much lived my life using these for the last 18 years. I do take Ibuprofin when the pain is being stubborn, and I probably take tylenol PM once ore twice ever couple of months to help me sleep. But I know that it takes more for some people, but like you the medication I was taking would only work for a time before we would have to increase my dose.
As far as not working for awhile, I really don't know the answer to that. When I was 20 I was in a car wreck, and was temporarily disabled due to that, and that is when I was aproved for Dissabillity. But one of the people I talked to said that I probably only got approved because I was so young. BUT, they didn't know a whole lot about Fibro/chronic fatigue at the time. I don't know if any of this will be helpful, but please feel free to PM me anytime!
Jeannie-
I lost my career before I was diagnosed with both SLE (lupus) and Fibromyalgia. I used to be a radio news reporter in a major city.
I did low skill jobs, and couldn't even reliably make it to those. I continued to do anything that I could,(definitely under SGA limits) and relied heavily upon relatives.
In 2007, while waiting for an ALJ hearing for my SSDI, I received an on-the-record decision from the judge! All he did was look at my documentation, and the fact that even my state's Voc-Rehab turned me down! A big plus was the fact that Voc-Rehab sent me to a doctor, who wrote a letter suggesting WLS might help me tolerate some work, but thatr I was definitely disabled for the next several years.
I already had Medicaid, which took me out of a year and a half of "free clinic" treatment. I was awarded SSDI retro to 2005 (filed), SSI for one month, and sisnce I had waited for two and a half years, I was eligible for Medicaid immediately. Since my weight is one of my disabilities, Medicare will pay for the DS, and my medical needs connected to it. I still have Medicaid, but because of my monthly total, I have a spend down of $978.00.
Whatever is left from Medicare for surgery, Medicaid will pick up. I have a custom compression garment (I also have lumphedema tissue on the back of my thighs that interferes with normal sitting) that I'm paying for in February, to meet the spend down in time for surgery.
Make sure you have good legal representation, keep tabs on your own case, document, document,document, and know the SGA limitations. If you earn too much, it will cut your back pay, and may even kill your case!
I'm using this to get my life back!
I lost my career before I was diagnosed with both SLE (lupus) and Fibromyalgia. I used to be a radio news reporter in a major city.
I did low skill jobs, and couldn't even reliably make it to those. I continued to do anything that I could,(definitely under SGA limits) and relied heavily upon relatives.
In 2007, while waiting for an ALJ hearing for my SSDI, I received an on-the-record decision from the judge! All he did was look at my documentation, and the fact that even my state's Voc-Rehab turned me down! A big plus was the fact that Voc-Rehab sent me to a doctor, who wrote a letter suggesting WLS might help me tolerate some work, but thatr I was definitely disabled for the next several years.
I already had Medicaid, which took me out of a year and a half of "free clinic" treatment. I was awarded SSDI retro to 2005 (filed), SSI for one month, and sisnce I had waited for two and a half years, I was eligible for Medicaid immediately. Since my weight is one of my disabilities, Medicare will pay for the DS, and my medical needs connected to it. I still have Medicaid, but because of my monthly total, I have a spend down of $978.00.
Whatever is left from Medicare for surgery, Medicaid will pick up. I have a custom compression garment (I also have lumphedema tissue on the back of my thighs that interferes with normal sitting) that I'm paying for in February, to meet the spend down in time for surgery.
Make sure you have good legal representation, keep tabs on your own case, document, document,document, and know the SGA limitations. If you earn too much, it will cut your back pay, and may even kill your case!
I'm using this to get my life back!
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