Lerner's Office Won't Fill Out Disability Paperwork.

[WillowJ]

I'm glad it worked out, Ema. Sorry it was such a hassle.

 

[john66]

I'm glad it worked out for you, Unfortunately I'm in a similar situation I got denied disability a few months ago and my wife and I have a baby due it's the end of the month. Right now my health insurance is more than my house payment. At this point all I can do is take it day by day. I have given up on the horribly overpriced CFS doctors who don't seem to do anything for me. the disability decision is being appealed and at this point just don't know what else to do

 

[JalapenoLuv]

I'm glad it worked out for you, Unfortunately I'm in a similar situation I got denied disability a few months ago and my wife and I have a baby due it's the end of the month. Right now my health insurance is more than my house payment. At this point all I can do is take it day by day. I have given up on the horribly overpriced CFS doctors who don't seem to do anything for me. the disability decision is being appealed and at this point just don't know what else to do

I hope you filed for an appeal and got a lawyer. You need to strengthen your case. If you have chronic pain lasting 6 months or more get a neuropsychological exam at a local univ hospital. they have sliding scale fees. If the psychologist diagnoses you with somatoform disorder its an automatic win. Also get an attorney if you don't have one. They work on contingency with a $6k cap.

 

[golden]

@john66

Congratulations on the new little human coming to shower you both in blessings

 

[john66]

I have a lawyer, in the process of appeal. I had one EBB test that came up negative (probably lab error) and said that I "work' on the computer researching CFS. Thirteen pages of got BS, blah blah blah. Too many cognitive issues to keep track. Thanks for the well wishes. I alternate between excitement and panic. At least I'll have company when I don't sleep.

 

[Alea Ishikawa]

Alea, just because you know someone who filed for disability is not the same thing as going through the process. You think there is the same burden whether a condition is on the list or not. That is completely wrong . . . Again, the point of the list is that the impairment listed is commonly accepted as being so severe that someone doesn't have to work.

The SSA states every impairment goes through the evaluation process. Each impairment has its own criteria, for example, as one disorder's description can differ from another, etc. Both somatoform disorder and CFS require proving functional limitations which prevent gainful activity.

Per your own citation (emphasis mine):

Social Security will not need look at how your impairments limit your activities (unless specific functional limitations are requirements of the impairment listing).

Also here (emphasis mine):

. . . [Social Security] is looking to see whether you have a "medically determinable impairment" (a sold diagnosis based on objective evidence) that has lasted or is expected to last at least a year. In addition, your mental health condition has to be so severe that it impairs your functioning so much that you cannot work.

Also here (emphasis mine):

The evaluation of disability on the basis of mental disorders requires documentation of a medically determinable impairment(s), consideration of the degree of limitation such impairment(s) may impose on the individual's ability to work . . .

Under Mental Disorders (emphasis mine):

Assessment of severity: We measure severity according to the functional limitations imposed by your medically determinable mental impairment(s). We assess functional limitations using the four criteria in paragraph B of the listings: Activities of daily living; social functioning; concentration, persistence, or pace; and episodes of decompensation.

Somatoform disorder requires meeting both A and B criteria:

B. Resulting in at least two of the following:

1. Marked restriction of activities of daily living; or

2. Marked difficulties in maintaining social functioning; or

3. Marked difficulties in maintaining concentration, persistence, or pace; or

4. Repeated episodes of decompensation, each of extended duration.

Again, a person does not need to be the subject of a disability claim to understand SSA regulations.

From your tone and repeated posts it is clear you think SSA follows everything they write verbatim when instead they have their customary way of doing things and the guidelines are mostly a public face used to try to look good then they are excessively and inappropriately dismissing people trying to claim conditions that are not on the list of impairments.

I never said I believed every person follows regulations; such an assumption would require disregarding logic.

Depression . . . is a component of the larger affective disorder.

Depression is indeed under the affective disorder category.

Also see here (emphasis mine):

Social Security has a set of disability listings for mental disorders, ranging from depression-related illness, anxiety-related disorders, and psychotic disorders to autism, ADHD and learning disabilities, and mental retardation (intellectual developmental disorder) and low IQ. The disability listings contain criteria that the disorders must meet to be considered disabling. But even if your disorder doesn't "meet" the listing, if you can prove you can't do even a simple, unskilled job due to emotional, psychiatric, or brain-related problems, you could get disability benefits.

Also here (emphasis mine):

You can collect disability for both physical and mental medical conditions, but it is usually harder to collect disability for a mental illness than for a physical illness. Why? Part of the answer to this lies in the nature of mental illness itself. Symptoms are not likely to be easily assessed, and the severity of the condition may be hard to measure objectively.

This further indicates that mental disorder claims are more difficult.

In order to be in the list someone has to show the mandatory components. This is not the same thing as proving that a disease that is not on the list is impairing enough to prevent someone from working. You are confusing the two.

See above.

 

[Alea Ishikawa]

If you have chronic pain lasting 6 months or more get a neuropsychological exam . . . If the psychologist diagnoses you with somatoform disorder its an automatic win.

@john66 - This suggestion can come with notable issues, talked about here. A psychologist's diagnosis of somatoform disorder is not an "automatic win" for a disability claim, because the illness severity exists in a spectrum and functional limitations still need to be proven, per SSA here.

Having a successful claim usually requires appealing at least once. So, don't give up hope. In the meantime, maybe try to compile additional evidence (see "laboratory findings," etc.). Also, have you been able to look into church charities, food programs, etc. for your area?

 

[JalapenoLuv]

Alea I realize you just don't understand what is being said. The links are there. I am correct. I'm not going to continue this.

 

[Gingergrrl]

This thread is about @Ema trying to get her disability forms filled out and I think the other issues are better in another thread. I know if I had started the thread, all the back & forth would be stressful for me so just trying to get it back to the original topic for Ema.