Midodrine Dose

[ahimsa]

I'm not sure what ERISA is but am sure I will find out.

If you have long term disability (LTD) insurance coverage through your employer then your LTD claim is most probably covered by ERISA laws. I'll try to keep this short. Detailed questions probably should be posted in the forum about disability claims.

The most important thing to know is to talk with an attorney who knows about ERISA LTD claims, even if only for a one hour consultation, *before* your LTD claim gets denied. The details are complicated (it has to do with what evidence can be put into the administrative record after a denial -- hope I remembered the right terms) but trust me on this.

Insurance companies (and the "claims management" firms hired by corporations who are self-insured) are very good at exploiting all the legal technicalities in ERISA laws to deny LTD claims. Or sometimes the claim is approved under the category of mental illness (depression) so they only have to pay for 1 or 2 years (usually there's an exclusion in LTD insurance for mental illness).

You can hire a lawyer at an hourly rate (very expensive) or look for someone willing to work on contingency (they take a percentage of your claim). The percentage they want may seem high but I will tell you that statistics show that ERISA LTD cases, even non-ME/CFS claims, are very hard to win.

Getting LTD benefits from social security is a piece of cake compared to fighting an ERISA LTD claim. And we all know that even the social security process can be difficult.

... you said you could feel the Midodrine dose wearing off and during that time period you felt worse until you took the next dose. I am not having that experience so far and wonder why?

I don't know why this happened to me, or why it happens at all, or any details. Sorry!

 

[Gingergrrl]

@ahimsa Thanks for explaining about ERISA and I didn't mean to go off topic as I tend to do! I am confused if it pertains to me as my case is still covered under "short term disability" through my employer until Jan. My situation is kind of complicated and I am certain that in the future, I will need an attorney to straighten it all out.

Back to Midodrine... ... My CFS specialist told me I need to take my BP both sitting and standing and when I did that today (pre-Midodrine) I was shocked that it does drop when I stand up which I had been told that it didn't. It dropped so much that the lower number was only 40! After Midodrine today, my BP did not raise (still 90's/60's) but when I stood, it did not drop and stayed virtually identical.

Since eliminating the Florinef, I have less shortness of breath and so far today, I have had no shortness of breath. I really feel that the three months that I took Florinef, made me worse. This was prescribed by my former cardio and I now realize that her knowledge was quite limited.

I feel hopeful that I have potential to improve if I raise the Midodrine very slowly. I was able to prepare and lift a plate of food into the microwave (above my head) with no shortness of breath. My new cardio wants my BP to be around 110/70 which so far seems unattainable but maybe once I increase the Midodrine it will get there.

Thanks again for all your feedback.

 

[ahimsa]

@Gingergrrl -- I was the one who brought up ERISA, not you, so there's no need to apologize for going off topic! That was me.

Best of luck adjusting your midodrine dosage. I hope it continues to work out for you.