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Fibromyalgia and social security disability

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Posted 4/9/2010 11:09 PM (GMT 0)
Fibromyalgia and social security disability? Help. I have been fighting SS for 1.5 years trying to get them to agree with my doctors that i am disabled. not just from the fibromyalgia, but all the meds i am on. I also have Osteoarthritis, and IBS. Unexplained seizures, migraines, and severe short term memory loss.


(I put a Subject on your post so people with disability experience will find you easier)

Post Edited By Moderator (Chutz) : 4/9/2010 9:37:48 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/10/2010 1:08 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Nanajones,

Welcome to the fibromyalgia forum. It can take two years easy to get disability. Do you have an attorney? It often helps to have one. You often can get denied up to three times. So be patient with the process. It is no fun. I tried, and didn't get it. But I did get well enough to work a part time job. So that was an accomplishment. I hope that you do get yours.

Take care, keep posting.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 4/10/2010 3:36 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Nana and welcome to the fibro forum family!

Many people on the forum are proof of what Karen is saying. It can take a very long time. But at this point you might want to consider a lawyer. They are limited as to what they can charge and I believe they don't get any money unless they win for you. But others will come along and help you out more.

Hugs,
Chutz
Posted 4/10/2010 3:51 AM (GMT 0)
I do have a lawyer and we are currently at the waiting to see the judge advocate stage. Two denials, and several phone calls with them saying that the date for the judge is another year away. My husband is getting very frustrated. Thanks for your support. The doctors thought that perhaps everything was related to celiac disease, but that test came back negative. Both my EEGs have come back normal. They even had me do a 4 night stay in the hospital to see if they could monitor the seizures better. The neurologist at that time said that they were probably brought on by stress, and i should see a therapist, so i did, and she said i was fine. She sent a note to the neurologist and my PC and told them to keep digging, it wasn't all in my head! lol. One MRI. showed frontal lobe slowing, but the neurologist said that was normal, so at the end of April I am going to the University of Washington for a complete neurological work up. The seizures, have pretty much stopped, except for the occasional space out episode, and the falling down spells. Its the memory loss, and the muscle weakness, and what my kids and i politely refer to as the "duhdism" that is driving me nuts. To weak, and slow to even help out with my granddaughter. I know the meds don't help with with my episodes, but without them i am worse. I am on Valium, ultram, another very strong muscle relaxer, and topamax. I see a pain specialist, a gastro doc, a neurologist, and my pc.
Thanks again for the advice,
NanaJones!
Posted 4/10/2010 4:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Nanajones, and welcome!  I do have social security disability and I didn't have a problem getting it.  I know you don't want to hear that!  I don't know why some get it easier than others.  Many on the forum had to get lawyers.  I didn't but I have fibro, I'm legally deaf, have Crohn's, and diabetes along with a few other things. 

 

I think your problem is that your testing is coming back fine.  I was sent to their doctors, even though my doctors were wonderful.  They checked me out and ran tests and they corresponded with the tests results of my doctors.  I had an Internist, gastroenterologist, surgeon, and audiologist that sent my records to social security.  So, I got it right away.

 

I sure hope they will speed things along.  Let us know what happens.

 

Sherrine

Posted 4/11/2010 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
Is it true that you must have paid into the ss benefits while working ( FICA AND ETC) in order to even be considered approved to apply for ssdi? I was told by ALLSUP that I was a shoe in for disability but~! I didnt have enough credits!
I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ticked Ive worked the past 12 yrs and the city never contributes to ss!
Posted 4/11/2010 10:59 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, cpdwife, that's true.  If you haven't paid into social security, you shouldn't expect to get "free" money.  I was a teacher and we didn't pay into social security.  We had our own retirement fund.  I did work a little outside of teaching and paid a little into social security, but not enough that I could get disability OR any retirement, either!  You have to earn a certain amount of credits before you are eligible to receive social security payments.  But, my husband worked for years and paid into social security with every paycheck.  Then he passed away.  I became disabled and, because my husband paid a lot into social security, he had earned a lot of credits and I was able to draw off his account because I had no account of my own.  But, if he never paid into it, I would be out of luck.   

 

Social security is not a free service by our government.  We have to pay into it.  It earns interest and the money helps when people, who have paid into it their entire lives,  retire or are sick.

 

Did you check to see if you could get disability through your work place?  It wouldn't be social security but at least  you could get something.

 

Sherrine

Posted 4/12/2010 5:57 PM (GMT 0)
No, I have definetly paid into it. Never thought it would be so difficult to get social security to agree with so many doctors. Hard enough to get doctors to agree with each other, but when they do, SS should just get on the band wagon. The added stress of all this crap doesn't help my conditions.
Posted 4/13/2010 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
If there weren't enough credits or time put in, they would have you sign up for SSI. Supplemental Security Income. I don't think that is the problem. It is just hard to get, and they hope that you will give up before you see the judge. You are in your final step as it is just the process of it. Get as much information on your condition as possible. Well, your lawyers will do that for you. But if the judge denies you, you can appeal. But do it in a timely matter. You will probably get it, they just make it hard for you.

I hope that this helps a little.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 4/13/2010 12:39 AM (GMT 0)
Sorry, Nanajones!  I was responding to Cpdwife...not  you.  Karen is correct.  It does take time and I have no idea why some get it easily and others have to jump through hoops.  I hope this is resolved soon for you. 

 

Try not to stress over this.  That won't help anything but will make your pain worse.  I'm sure your lawyer has things under control so hopefully you will be granted social security disability soon.

 

Sherrine

Posted 4/15/2010 3:54 PM (GMT 0)
I had worked in law enforcement since High school unfortunately most pay into OPERS or DEFERRED COMPENSATION through the state of Ohio. Noone does Soc Sec. So I am wondering there has to be a "way".

I never had meant I wanted something for "free" Not sure what was implied by that because I have worked since the age of 14. Unsure when reading the above that being said. Nothing in life is for free thats for sure but if someone is laid off and disabled w/the disability that is uncertain they will be able to obtain employment at all...what do we do~
Posted 4/15/2010 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, I'm sorry!  That was a poor choice of words.  I put it in quotes but I can see where it could be taken wrong. 

 

If you don't pay into social security, you usually have another retirement plan that you pay into.  If you haven't, I'm not sure what you can do.  Try checking out this site.  It should answer any of your questions about social security.  Best of luck and I hope you get some good answers.

 

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

Sherrine

Posted 4/18/2010 10:26 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you...Ive been through ideads on the ss.gov site now its what I guess was told to me to just pay into ssi for at least another year and I'd be good to go. If I received unemployment does that count?
Posted 4/18/2010 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
I'm guessing here but if social security taxes are taken out of the unemployment check, I guess that would work.  I think there is a place at the top of the SS site where you can type a question.  I'm not sure but check that out and ask that question.  It's a good one.

 

Sherrine

Posted 4/19/2010 11:24 PM (GMT 0)
I feel for you and can really relate. It took me almost 4 years to get social security disability.
My only hint is to make your answers very short and to the point. Facts only. I was told that if it is too wordy they probably won't read it. The good thing is that once it does go through you do get retroactive pay. Good luck.
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