denied disability

pamndorr · Post by **pamndorr** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:26 am

I applied for disability and was denied. They say that although I can't do the job I have been doing for the past 8 years and I can't work full time..that there is work out there that I can do.
I say to whoever made this decision to walk in my shoes for just one week and tell me if they think they can hold down a job..part or full time. I dont think any employer is going to put up with a zombie...from the sleep meds....or a witch from lack of sleep.
My mind is mush most of the time...from all the drugs and drug changes. I tried to tell them that I have to change meds almost monthly to stay on top of the rls/wed. Some meds I do ok on for awhile...others not so much. I have a feeling that I was denied because they dont understand what really goes on with rls/wed and the life changes that it causes.
I also wonder what my drs put in their reports. The sleep dr. told me to apply...but he retired soon after that and I have been seeing a new dr.in that practice...not sure what she put in the report...and my primary is just a dr. that doesnt pay attention to things. I had to remind him that on top of the rls/wed I also have arthritis in both knees....so I dont know if he even put that in his report...I was diagnosed after he filled out his paperwork...I called disability to tell them about the arthritis and they were their usual joyful selves..lol.
I guess I wait and see what the attorney has to say....
I was wondering has anybody else tried for disability and got it. I am 53 and been dealing with rls/wed for 6 years and it gets worse each year.
Thanks...Pam

dogeyed · Post by **dogeyed** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 1:51 pm

Hi Pam,
In around 2004, I applied for disability when i first got RLS and was denied. I realized later that it is not one of the health issues that grants disability. So, as I went downhill, I also developed a worsening of other mental and physical problems I have dealt with before RLS showed up. So, I applied again about a year or so later, this time putting down as first my other issues, with RLS as last. I made sure I had support from the various specialists I see, which I go to a neurologist for a fractured and deformed spine from a car wreck, and a psychiatrist for panic disorder and depression from my injury. SS turned me down routinely first time, but I found errors made in the denial and called the supervisor right away, they said apply again, and was accepted the second go-around. By then, I had lost my house and was living on relative's monetary generosity.

I tell you this in hopes it might help you out. I had to study Social Security Disability stuff that they count as bonafide disabilities, and it's not that I was trying to get something i didn't obviously deserve; it's that I had to learn to "speak their language." I had put up with my back injury for so long, and it got worse, RLS came from it, and it took me a while to understand that my worsening back impacted my health, creating just about every other medical problem I had, which I have many. I was a basket case, like you, and desperate to get help. The RLS was just the "topic of the day," but I was surely disabled by my whole picture of problems.

I do not know what medications you take for RLS. And not all drugs work for all people. Some need a combination. When I got RLS, I was already on tranquilizers for my panic disorder, which is one drug recommended for RLS. I was lucky, my family doc and then my neuro confirmed RLS, and I was given pain killers right off the bat. Then i went thru the other two categories of drugs, which did not help me, so i stuck with the pain medicine. That has controlled my RLS very well for many years, and I've only had to up the dose a couple times over the last six or seven years. So, if you haven't tried some sort of opiate relief, maybe whomever is treating you for RLS will look at that as a solution. It's listed in most literature as a category for treatment.
GG

Post by **Polar Bear** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:51 pm

Pam, I am so sorry that you have been denied disability and would say to appeal immediately. I don't know the system in the US but it sounds like you need the support and backing of someone who knows the system and how to stress the desperate situation that you find yourself in. No one can work without sleep, never mind coping with the symptoms of WED,

Here in the UK we have an organisation called the Citizens Advice Bureau and they are excellent at fighting someone's cause if they feel they have a case. They help with form filling and appeals, they know the system. Is there anything like that in the US.

Over here things are getting much tighter also. People who have previously been granted disability for life are now being re-assessed and refused.

We are all having to fight our corners and don't always have the knowledge of the exact information required to make our case properly.

Post by **ViewsAskew** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:04 pm

Pam, I am so sorry that you were denied.

If I remember correctly, besides GG, we've had a few others along that way who won but, most (if not everyone) were initially denied.

It can be tough to use the search engine, but try searching on disability and you'll find the old posts. They may help add to GG's post and help you figure out next steps.

Post by **Chipmunk** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 5:30 am

Many if not most people get denied the first time around. Sucks but I think they save money by not having to hire people to actually read them (she says sardonically). I hope your next application will be successful.

cornelia · Post by **cornelia** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:46 am

I live in Europe and it took me 5 1/2 years to get it. In my view the docters that have to decide about disability don't know a thing about RLS. One of them told me that one day I would wake up and RLS would be gone! He said also that it is a somatoform disorder (meaning that it's between the ears).

Try to find a very good and understanding sollicitor until you get it. I have read your messages in the past and it is a shame that you don't get it.

Corrie

Post by **Polar Bear** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 2:13 pm

One of them told me that one day I would wake up and RLS would be gone! He said also that it is a somatoform disorder (meaning that it's between the ears).

What hope is there when doctors are so ill informed. I'd like to give that doctor a slap between the ears.... oops.... sorry about that ... I'm back to my nice self again

Neco · Post by **Neco** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 2:25 pm

cornelia wrote:I live in Europe and it took me 5 1/2 years to get it. In my view the docters that have to decide about disability don't know a thing about RLS. One of them told me that one day I would wake up and RLS would be gone! He said also that it is a somatoform disorder (meaning that it's between the ears).

Try to find a very good and understanding sollicitor until you get it. I have read your messages in the past and it is a shame that you don't get it.

Corrie

I hope you buried that "Doctor" in paper work about RLS and all the genetic research that has been done on it.

cornelia · Post by **cornelia** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:41 pm

Yes Zach, I did! At that time my neuro adviced me to write a small book with my RLS experiences in it and I sent him (the disability doc) a free copy when I had won my battle in 2 court cases. Of course I didn't get a thank you note, sorry that we were wrong etc. I don't think he has learned from it, these are the kind of docters that will never learn, the only way for that to happen would be that they get severe RLS themselves. A chance of only 3 (?) % I would guess.

Corrie

cornelia · Post by **cornelia** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:44 pm

PB: I am even 'worse' than you: I wanted to kill the guy.
Corrie

Post by **Polar Bear** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:10 pm

Corrie:
tut tut tut.... no extreme violence......
a slap is sufficient :lol:

Neco · Post by **Neco** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:51 pm

Does disembowelment count as "extreme" ?

Post by **Polar Bear** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 10:41 pm

It just might !!

pamndorr · Post by **pamndorr** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 12:13 pm

Wanted to thank you all for your input on the disabilty thing and let you know that I did go and talk with an attorney and he took my case. He said he has won WED cases in the past...he is getting my dr. reports and going over those to see what was said. He also said that this will take about a year and a half before it ever even gets to court...I guess the disabilty courts in West Michigan are backed up....go figure!!
I did ask my sleep dr. if she was supportive of my decision to pursue disability..her response was that she would gladley share her notes and reports but that is as far as she wants to get involved....she said that as far as she is concerned that I can't do a job that requires me to sit down for long periods of time. Not sure if any of you read my past posts about my original sleep dr..the one that was doing everything he could to help me....after he filled out my disabilty papers he got sick and had to retire. It still makes me sad that I lost Dr. Quimby....I cant even start to tell you how many different drs I have seen for this disease and he was the first one that really understood it.
I also called my primary to see if the reports about arthritis in my knees was ever given to disability...and the answer was no. I called disabilty when I was diagnosed...which was about a month after I applied. They never sent for the report.
So that is it about disabiltiy...a waiting game.
Thanks again...Pam

dogeyed · Post by **dogeyed** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 1:38 pm

Pam,
If you ever saw a psychologist for this, get those records to your lawyer, too. If any doc has prescribed meds to you for any health issue recently, same thing. I imagine you already have your ducks in a row, but wanted to make sure. As I said before, I have several health issues, and I put them all down as reasons for disability, which the second time I applied from scratch, I put the one that is most likely to get disability at the top, which for me is the terrible depression and panic disorder I have that quadrupled when I got RLS. Well, hope things go better this time.
GG