Disability Hearing

I have been on disability from my job since June 2009. I was having heart, high blood pressure and fibro issues. I was a personal Banker and I could feel the fibro fog really getting in the way of me being able to do a competent job for my customers. I have been on private pay disability and now on April 30 I have to have a hearing and go to court for Social Security benefits.
I have been trying so hard not to have anxiety attack over this but...They said I would have to testify as how my life has changed. I was diagnosed with fibro in 1996. I have spent so many years trying to block the pain out of my mind and not let it get the best of me that I am not sure I can honestly remember how much my life has changed. I have not been able to get off of my 13 heart and blood pressure meds yet. But I am working towards that with my weight lost surgery. I feel like I am better than I was a year ago,but if I did not have full time to work on my health I could quickly get back to where I started.
Am I just panicking or is Social Security this scary?

Hi please dont panick about this I am 38 and on disability I relized I just could do my job anymore it was hard to have to admit to the things  i could not do and the brain fog i felt some times I sounded so unproffesional at work when I really knew what I was talking about the pain was to much on me.They will ask you things like can you shave with out pain and things like that and in my case I cant turn my leg around to shave good and walking i walk slow no matter how fast i try to walk and I cant sit still or stand for real long these are the things they want to know if you use to be able to walk but now you cant or if your in pain we tend to spend are time hiding are pain from people but now is the time to exsplain what its like to be a fibro suffer. Hope this helps loretta 

I agree with Loretta don't panic it doesn't help but do be prepared. Try to think back 5-10 years ago could you shop without help, could you walk a good distance. Try to think what "normal" people do in a day and show what they can do that you can't. We'll all be pulling for you and do keep us informed on what happens!

Thanks, Ladies! I think I will start writing things that I think of down right now. That is one of my biggest problems is my memory is horrible. This is quite a dragon we are trying to slay.

when they interview me I was scared luckly the lady was nice. At first I thought it would be hard to exsplain to her what it was like since it was hard every time i went to the doctors. But telling them how my life had changed was easy. I dont barley often go shopping by my self because I cant handle lifting all the grocerys up the stair to get them in the house. Just three stairs but stair arnt my friend. I dont drive much because of the brain fog, and anxiety. If you get stressed and need some one to talk to email me and ill give you my number Ill gladly be there to listen and help were I can  Loretta

my ss hearing is also at the end of april and i, too, am trying to not have anxiety attacks.  i've been off work for a couple years and without pay since last august.  the advice to think back on what a normal day used to be and what we're able to do now is a very good idea.  anybody wanna send some prayers up, too.  they'd certainly be appreciated. 

Diane-

I am 54, and have both lupus and fibromyalgia.  It took 2 1/2 years for me to get SSDI, and my date of onset was December 11, 2005.  I finally got my first check in May of 2008.   I was waiting for a hearing, but the ALJ made an "on the record" decision, based on his looking at my medical evidence (records), so I never went to a hearing, but I did prepare for one.

I kept a daily activity log, with what I did and how I felt, so that I could recall bad days and good days with accuracy, and also have my lawyer enter it into the court record.

I found a site with something called "The Spoon Theory", and what it said fit me to a T!

Here's the link
http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christ ine/the-spoon-theory-written-by-christine-miserandino/

Thank you so much! I will start keeping a journal of my days...Friday up at 9:00, 10:00 am soo sleepy, I have to take a nap...etc.
I cant wait to look over this web site. I beat myself up all the time because of the "but you don't look sick." I often wonder do people really think that as much as I feel it.
So glad you made it through the struggle.

 You are not panicking. applying fior Social Security Disability is a very complicated process. Over 2/3 of claimants are denied after their initial claim, over 90% are denied at the reconsideration stage. Your best chance of being approved for SSD will be at the hearing stage, where more than 50% of claims are awarded.  

You may not even get to the ALJ hearing.

I never saw the inside of a court room when I was granted disability.  I had a "bench decision", based on the judge looking at my file and documentation.  The courts were so clogged with cases, my hearing was scheduled two years out from my notification.

I was awarded retroactively to my date of onset, meaning my benefits started immediately, since my date of onset was in 2005,  and that time counted as my two year waiting period for Medicare. The decision came down in April 2008. Medicare, Medicaid and my full SSDI with one month of SSI before the regular benefits started.

I have since had my DS, lost 245 pounds, and am in retraining to come off disability at graduation from Voc-Rehab and job placement.  My goal is to become a bariatric dietitian. By tne way, I'll hit double nickels (55) in January on my birthday, so it's never too late to take advantage of Voc-Rehab!

Some words of advice: Don't ever let anybody make you feel like you are a lesser person because you are on disability.  I had real issues with that.