I'm new to the group, how wonderful to see that others live each day w/ra like I do. (sorry to see all the suffering as well).I have a question. Does anyone have any advise for me? In Feb. 06 I stopped work & was on short term dis., waiting for approval to get long term dis. and am have my ssi phone interview in a couple of weeks. I've had RA sero. neg. ana postive ra for 19 years, I stopped working because of a severe flare. They come more often, more severe, and last longer. But the worst part is the constant crippling fatigue. That's probley worse than the pain. How do I get the message across when I apply for ssi that it's a key in my not being able to work. I can only do anything for 2-3 hours before needing to rest,sometimes sleep for an hour or 2 and sometimes just lay down and shut my eyes for 20 minutes.When I get up I'm good for another couple of hours. If I push myself past the 2-3 hours I'm done for the rest of the day and sometimes the next day or so. Ughhhh. I can't see how I'm to relay this to ssi for them to understand when people in my own life don't really get it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Sorry I'm so long.Welcome db - There are two really informative threads - work and ra and disability that may encourage you. I think what you just wrote communicates exactly how it is with ra. My fatigue is totally debilitating. I exercise to try to get more energy and it just exhausts me more. That is ra. I hope you get better answers to your questions. RoxanneWelcome, db. I don't know anything about SSI - but I'm learning quite a bit about RA. You'll find a lot of caring, knowledgeable people here.
I applied for SSD in November thru an attorney. On May 30th I have an appt. with one of the SSD physicians. You need to be very careful with what you tell the caseworker at SSD. Too much information can work against you the same as too little. Determination for benefits isn't made so much on what you tell them but on how complete your medical files are. Have your doctors documented each and every complaint and have they addressed each complaint? Doctors are notorious for not documenting what you've told them. Things get lost in translation. I feel my files are well documented but the SSD system is antiquated. Hopefully having an attorney represent me and helping with the application process will have a positive influence on a decision. I used Binder and Binder attorneys and their whole practice is devoted to SSD. Hope this helps. SSI goes on your income and available assets. Such as 401K any retirement, cars, savings, cds, stocks, bonds. The ssdi goes on how many points you've earned through working. They can tell you exactly how much money you'll get a month with ssdi. They will tell you on the phone whether you qualify for ssi. SSDI on the other hand is alot of papper work/ I did the phone interview about a week or so ago today I got three enevelopes or paper work to fill out. Didn't even get finish with one question without having to stop because my fingers were hurting so bad.
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