Wondering about Disability

Hey all;

I have a question about anyone who is on disability if you had too many problems with getting them to pay. I have been going through the denials for the last 4 years and am at the last stage of the appeal process. Went to a hearing where a judge advocate was the one who would make the decision on my case and he thought that because I can be on my laptop for 4-6 hours a day that I could get a job. But here is the thing....I am always laying down when I am on the laptop and I do not think that anyone will hire me for a job when my requirements are going to be a comfortable bed!

My attorney thinks that it too has to do with my age since I am only 44 years old and I believe this to be true. Was wondering if anyone else has had any problems with disability?

Good morning Tom;

Yeah I hear you on that one! Stupid people think that just because I spend most of my time on the laptop that I am not disabled! I mean what am I suppose to do with my time?? Plus on top of that he mentioned three or four times in his report that I walk my dogs which I never said I do that...what I said was that when I am in tremendous pain I walk up and down the yard and the dogs follow me. How do you get that from that???

Hey I finally caught that dang rabbit last night and he bit my finger!!! So I chopped his head off and made Hosenfeffer out of him!!! LOLOL Hey how about a little roasted pig for supper? hehehehe! Sorry just a little cranky here, I cannot seem to get the pain under control today and its bugging the hell out of me!

Anyway.....my best wishes to ya. Your cranky, bitter, mylogrammed, poked and prodded in pain friend

Scarred

LOLOLOL sure how about this....had another dream cause I woke up after I caught the rabbit. Here it is; I was in this huge building with lots of hallways and doors. It looked kind of like a school but there were no students. Anyway I heard this skittering behind me and when I turned there was Remington my Male yellow Labrador Retriever standing behind me. "Rem what ya doing?" I said as he came up for me to pet his head. And he just stood there looking at me with his pouty little face as though he wanted something. "You ok buddy?" I said and stroked his head.....and in the next second my Lab who gives you looks as to tell you what he wants spoke to me and this is what he said;

"Mom....I don't know what you are doing in this big building but do ya think we could go outside? I know of a huge field that has gobs of Pheasants and I wanna hunt them. I know where your gun is wanna go?"

I nodded and the dog followed me out of the building. We had just gotten to the front doors and were just about to go outside and I heard footsteps behind me. When I turned there was my husband coming up behind me with his shotgun and Jazz (chocolate princess lab) and Shadow (black I gotta please everyone Lab) running to catch up with him. Jazzmine skittered across the polished floors and Hubby had a smile on his face.

Now....this is where it gets very weird! I looked at hubby and said "Ready?" He looked at me and smiled...."You can't go hunting today hun." he said. I gave him a puzzled look and asked why and he said "Cause your going away. You have to go to Tanithion to finish your story about the medieval race that you put there."

I actually looked at him with a **** look on my face and said "Now darling, you know that Tanithion is a fantasy world. There is no such place." and he said "Oh yes there is remember you made it! I was told by the King of Tameitha that you are needed to finish the tale."

"Oh" I said and looked at him like he was nuts but all of a sudden a like swirling white light appeared before us and hubby smiled and said its time to go. Then he disappeared along with my three dogs. When I looked around I was in this wonderful world with wildflowers of many colors and beautiful castles with tall pillars and statues. Then I heard a voice behind me that was low and growly saying "about time you arrived My Lady. Are you ready to complete this tale?" I turned and there before me stood Cothera my red dragon in my story to his right stood the King of Tameitha and the other four Kingdoms of my story and they bowed low and smiled at me. I was just about to climb onto the dragons back when I suddenly woke up in tremendous pain.

Now here is why I think I dreamed this; I have failed to complete my story about this world and have not worked on it in many weeks and I think subconsciously my brain is telling me its time to go back to my world and complete my story. What do you think?

Yeppers which means that I am back to free flowing mode with the book and am writing up a storm as I lay here and try (try being the key word here) to forget the pain that surges down my left leg. Arrrrrg will it ever let up???? darn nerves are about to drive me insane!!!! Oh well, Fairies, giants, Pixies, witches, along with Kings and Queens and medieval knights are in my head today so I will keep going with the book and hope that the pain subsides for awhile.

Until my next post.....your scarred up, in pain, tormented, medieval thinking friend......

Scarred

Nope I'm in WY and their real weird about this stuff. So I am going through my supposed last appeal or so they are saying ack! I hate trying to get money out of people that think that you can work. Stupid people...the judge seems to think that hypothetically I can work if I can sit for 4 hours which I cannot sit for four hours. It's impossible to sit for 4 hours what are they thinking!

I am on my second try for disability.

I am hoping that this last appeal will do the trick. My attorney says that in this last stage he has a high rate of success 90% so we will try this and see what happens. I of course have no faith in the system and think that the whole system is messed up. I do not understand how anyone can tell someone that they can work when I can't even focus on things for longer then 5 minutes....or sit for more then 5 minutes without it hurting so bad that I wanna cry.

IMHO the whole system is totally screwed and needs serious attention. I wish someone would take a better look at what we go through on a daily basis and help us to get the help that we need for our problems. The ins is horrible...you have to fight to get anything done and butt heads with each and every care taker, doc and pharmacy to get done what you need.

Anyway down off of my soapbox hehehe.

Based on a couple people I know, yes, as long as they're legally prescribed & there's no history of drug abuse. They do screen -- same as just about any job these days.

I have had pre-employment drug screens -- including for teaching jobs, back when I was able to do that -- and have never had an issue not qualifying for a job based on prescribed narcotics. You just have to disclose that to the testing company prior to the test. The testing company said I needed to disclose any scheduled meds I'd been on for the previous 6 months & provide prescriber information for those meds. My PM examined reflexes & stuff to clear me for driving, so even jobs that required a small amount of driving (driving is painful, so I've never actually tried to apply for one that requires a lot of driving) have never been an issue for me.

If you're otherwise eligible for employment (and if you have a job offer contingent upon drug screen, you're considered to be eligible) and you are medically cleared for the job, then it is considered *illegal discrimination against a person with a disability* for them to exclude you solely based upon legal use of prescriptions. Now, if the meds make you so sleepy you can't actually work, that is a separate issue; but if they just don't like the idea that you're taking meds, that's discriminatory.

Honesty is the key. I've seen people who've tried to go off their meds a week or so before the screen & trace amounts showed up. Since they hadn't disclosed their prescribed meds ahead of time, they were disqualified from the job. One girl I know was even reported to the police -- she was eventually cleared, but now has that on her record until she can save up enough money to get it expunged. The screening companies don't voluntarily offer up the consequences of testing positive but they're supposed to tell you if you ask; if you want to be sure, ask before giving a sample.

Ry : your 100% right in Your feeling's. It must be almost impossible to work and function at home and I for one am very proud of You. Luck was with You that your employers did not ask for your medication list for if they read up on them i guess you would be unemployed like the rest of us. Usually,
I comment on everything and Your problem hits me right in my heart as you are in such a tight situation and i am at a loss for words to write.
Are You able to take your meds as directed or do You wait till you get home as many others I know do. Now with the threat of this new Urine test around here my friends are worried about holding onto their jobs and their medications. A lot of my friends hide there pain problems from their employer.
Ry i am truly sorry I ( right now) can not give you the answer I think You were looking for. I know the rest of our Great group will help You
with advise. Your friend in life and pain, tom

Wow, Tom. Thank you. I cried when I read your post. I appreciate the encouragement and support. It is really difficult to keep up the job and some days it's all I can do to make it home and drag myself through the door and cry myself to sleep. I think "this can't be my life!" But I am determined to hang on to it as long as I possibly can because I know that all of you would love to be able to have your jobs still. It's probably stupid, but I tell myself I'm working for all those CP patients who can't. Just wish I made enough money to send you all some! Well, for that matter, it'd be nice to make enough to make ends meet here! LOL!! I was pretty relieved that the Risk Management peeps didn't ask me WHAT I was taking, because you're right - they wouldn't have let me stay. I am lucky in some respects that I have a high tolerance for the meds I take and don't usually have the side effects, so I am able to take them on schedule even during the day. But I do make VERY sure that I am completely alone when I take a dose, and though I carry a copy of my prescription in my purse, I keep the meds I'm going to take during the day in a small Tylenol bottle so if someone did see me with it they'd think I was taking Tylenol.

PaLady - I had never thought about the lawyers' percentage of the SSDI back pay. It certainly makes you wonder. Sad, though. Seeing what you all struggle through to get the benefits you deserve is pretty scary. I know it might not be long before I'm right there with you.

Ry

Scarred,
Yes, I think (sadly or not - I'm not sure) that the main hope for some of us (like me) is probably going to lie with some new type of medication that is developed that doesn't have as many side effects. And I do think there's some work on these - things that work on the brain in a different way to block pain sensations. But if they ever are successful and make it to market they will probably cost lots of $$. I feel like I'll be stuck in a nursing home somewhere on the cheapest meds available and that's a scary thought.

You know the work issue is a different thing when you already have a job and especially if you've got a supportive employer, and then you get some surgery or other treatment, and try to ease back in. It's another ballgame altogether when you've got to apply for a new job in a job market where employer's can pick and choose from a large crop of healthy people! And most of the work at home scams are just that, and even anything that's not a scam is probably going to require some out of pocket expenses like a new computer, or specialized programs, or something. It's not as easy as it sounds. I get so tired of people suggesting that to me! It's certainly not worth risking whatever benefits you may be getting or might be eligible for in the future to gain only a small amount (or even lose money) after paying for business expenses.

Oh, well....I am glad to hear you're taking it easy. It at least sounds like the decision to sell the house is made and sometimes I think we should all move every few years to keep the clutter from piling up. I've been in my home over 25 years (and it shows!) and I dread having to go through things. So watch the Titanic yet one more time or write another chapter of your novel!

PaLady

Ry,
It's a deal! Only this needs to be the "real deal" and not a virtual one!!

PaLady

I'm there too gals!!!! I will join you both in that Nursing Home ready to share my tales of "Woe" and be ready with the tissues when everyone cries!