• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

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  1. P

    Anyone successfully get approved for SSI in Texas?

    Hi Davsey, Thanks for the referral. I didn't know there were any specialists in Dallas. Dallas is the area I may be relocating to. I'm trying to figure out if I need to do the SSI process here in CA or in Dallas but if they can tele-consult that'd be good too. Do you have any personal...
  2. P

    Anyone successfully get approved for SSI in Texas?

    I read that Texas has a pretty low approval rating for SSI claims overall at around 40% while other states are more 50% or so. Not sure how the distribution differs from the various cities within Texas but I'm wondering if anyone was able to get approved for SSI in Texas? I know some people...
  3. P

    Do you guys have advice for SSI?

    You can look up the approval rates by state as well as county. Texas is the lowest out of the country at around 30 something % approval. Every other state with the exception of a few others are mostly the same
  4. P

    Do you guys have advice for SSI?

    Thank you all. I've been reading a lot and I found an SSD attorney named Jonathan Ginsberg on youtube who has tremendously helpful videos about the SSD process in general (though nothing specific to CFS). gBells, do you mind me asking how old are you and if you're male or female? Aside from...
  5. P

    Do you guys have advice for SSI?

    Thank you. I have been reading that blog for a while and my head is starting to hurt. But it's very helpful. I have a period of 8 months where I worked full time. I crashed so hard I was bedridden for a year after but because the social security limit for "unsuccessful work attempt" is only 6...
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    Do you guys have advice for SSI?

    I've been seeing mostly out of network functional medicine doctors because they seem to be well versed at least in this type of condition but they are very expensive and usually far. My last doc was great but visiting him is an all day affair. Has anyone been able to work with a regular...
  7. P

    Do you guys have advice for SSI?

    Hi @Zebra, Thank you. I've been feeling hopeless but more so feeling like there's no escape. I cannot work, my ME/CFS is severe, my parents are retiring and running out of money, there is literally nothing I can do. I watched myself get older and more degraded in the past 10 years. So I'm...
  8. P

    Do you guys have advice for SSI?

    Sorry, long post but i really can use the help. Took all the energy I have to type this. For those of you who got approved for SSI in the USA, it would really help if you can tell me what additional I need to do NOW before applying to make sure I have the BEST chance of getting approved. I've...
  9. P

    Cervical Issues not Chiari

    Was the doctors opinion that cervical arthritis is asymptomatic? Im a mma fan and there's a professional fighter named bad rutten who has a "baby" arm because of a pinched nerve in his neck. I have to believe that a nerve or multiple nerves compressed could be problematic especially in our...
  10. P

    Cervical Issues not Chiari

    It was triggered by simply over exerting. I've always been into Athletics and when I would feel fatigued I thought I just needed to push harder and "wake" my nervous system up. Well you technically can... For a limited time. But once you're depleted you crash hard. Took me 6 years of being bed...
  11. P

    Cervical Issues not Chiari

    Was this study ever posted here on the forums? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5796598/ (Very recent, published online 2018) I know there's a big issue with Chiari and cervical instability but how many people have stenosis, disc degeneration, herniation, etc? 3 people in that...
  12. P

    Have you ruled out Chiari or Craniocervical Instability (CCI) as a cause of your CFS

    Does anyone have a local Doctor who is familiar or at least open to prescribing these scans in the southern California area? I see people are getting scanned before traveling to see a specialist. Idk if it's my issue but this is one area I had always suspected when in high school my football...
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    Have you ruled out Chiari or Craniocervical Instability (CCI) as a cause of your CFS

    It sounds very similar. When my baseline energy is good (ie I can drive and do grocery shopping etc) I can tell I'm over exerting because I'll start to feel really lightheaded and then when I sit down to rest my arms especially my forearms and neck will spasm out of control. They tighten about...
  14. P

    Is there anything I can do to reduce PEM?

    Thanks I haven't had mito testing done. The last testing I've done was by Genova or metametrix and they looked at some vitamin profiles etc but nothing specific to mito issues. I actually have been thinking about hbot because I follow someone who's husband has brain injury who's been helped by...
  15. P

    Is there anything I can do to reduce PEM?

    I have been reading about lactic acid and this is one thing I never tested. Even in the ER gasping and unable to breath they didn't test for it. I fairly convinced this is my issue. At my limit I can barely move before I start sweating and cannot breath. When I say breath, I mean I feel like I...
  16. P

    Is there anything I can do to reduce PEM?

    Thank you I just read thru it. I have a cm herniated disc starting in high school and have always had neck issues so will have to find a specialist to do the testing once I'm able to go see a doctor. As for now Im just waiting doing nothing hoping my neurological system will recover.. haven't...
  17. P

    Have you ruled out Chiari or Craniocervical Instability (CCI) as a cause of your CFS

    @jeff_w just read your blog as it was recommended on my thread. Going thru a severe crash now. I had ongoing neck issues my entire life and ruled out out as a cause of anything because my family doc at the time said it was normal. I seem to have lots of Neuro issues that not many people here...
  18. P

    Is there anything I can do to reduce PEM?

    Thank you.. crashes are always long and terrible
  19. P

    Is there anything I can do to reduce PEM?

    I am currently laying down and plan to be in the state for a while... Reading is hard for me in moment but I did a quick skim and it def seems possible. I actually have a neck issue that was riled a "block vertebra" when I had it scanned in high school but I am adamant that it was not...
  20. P

    Is there anything I can do to reduce PEM?

    I honestly think this is the last crash. I had my second major relapse in 2016 and it took my entire family to recuperate me to somewhat functional health where I can do basic things including some physical activity like camping (with heavy PEM) to deal with. Just had a 3rd relapse after 3...
  21. P

    US student loan forgiveness and disability

    Thank you both for the help. I'm not on SSI and was denied last time I applied. I never bothered appealing because I ended up making a recovery but my relapse this time around is bad. I'll have to look into this.
  22. P

    US student loan forgiveness and disability

    For those that have been approved, how hard is the process? Do they require you to see their own doctor? I would not be able to as I cannot leave the house. I'm also not on SSI but I know my doctor will give me support.
  23. P

    Possible Remission. What now?

    Can I give you some advice? I was in remission for 3 years. and I was getting better and better and better and physically looked good (Started working out etc.) but also meant I got a lot more confident in my body's abilities to endure things. I was REALLY REALLY sick and I kind of left it all...
  24. P

    Why do antibiotics help most of us?

    Idk about everyone else but antibiotics will destroy me. it's what caused my crash i the first place. that being said, the question should be not Why does antibiotics help or hurt, but why is it able to influence our wellbeing and health to such a severe level? And new literature and research in...
  25. P

    Those of you who are completely disabled

    Thank you. Able to sit up today thank God. I have a hypothesis I'm working on. Basically what I did last time around for recovery. Took a long time and a lot longer than I had hoped but I got recovery. I'm hoping for the best here and that it'll work. Seems like it's not up to me though
  26. P

    Question for former athletes/fitness rats

    Weight lifting, power lifting, bjj, bouldering, sprints. Hell i was fit in remission last month! weighed the most i ever did, looked fine. crashed and body died in a matter of few weeks.
  27. P

    Those of you who are completely disabled

    I haven't i wanted to at some point but even with cfs i feel like i have some really odd and rare symptoms. I am extremely sensitive to everything, my nervous system can't handle anything. No vitamins or anything which of course makes it impossible too treat me. My recovery came by removing all...
  28. P

    Those of you who are completely disabled

    Did you just recover from this state on your own? My crash was Feb 15 and over the next month it was weird. Seemed i might be getting better with normalized sleep and what not but my stamina kept getting worse and worse and then the heart palpitations and stomach jolts kicked in. These are all...
  29. P

    Those of you who are completely disabled

    Hey Danny, yeah my family wanted to take me to the er yesterday and i said im in a state where i can't. They carried me and it was so incredible hard on me i was put in a stretcher and not moving but the stimulation, the incredible fatigue and neurological weakness from sitting up for a few mins...
  30. P

    Those of you who are completely disabled

    How do you deal with it? I've recovered for few years and relapsed hard and so now i am completely disabled. I can barely go to the bathroom on my own and i live in a twilight world where I'm wide awake, anxious, unable to sleep but too shaky neurological and fatigued to sit up. Think about...