why people are under the assumption that you have to be off work for a length of time before you can begin recieving SSDI benefits. I worked until the very day my first SSDI check was deposited into my bank. I called the bank, they said "yes, it was deposited" so I quit my job. I was also approved in 3 months and had to wait for an additional 3 months for my first check and I worked the whole time. SS knew I was working and said it didn't matter because I wasn't making a substanial amount of money per month. It has nothing to do with the state I live in, SS is federal not state regulated. It's same the rules for everybody, all across the board.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov
Well Nature Girl you were very, very lucky. Some of us can't work and must wait through all of the denials. It is very nice that you could work up until your award. Most of us are in financial distress going through the SSDI system though I know that you can earn about 0 per month while waiting if you can work. Working until I rec'd benefits was not an option for me and I am waiting for the ALJ's decision and he/she could still deny me and the appeals will continue.
My situation is like Bonny's but I am not nearly as far as her in the process. I just got my first denial saying that I could do something less demanding. What that could be, I have no idea. And, it does matter on where you live. For instance, in AZ all the initial determinations go through the Tucson office. I was told by the SS Case Worker that 95% of claims will be denied because they only have 300 workers and far too many claims. If one lives in a state where there aren't such a large ratio of claimants to workers, this might be less of a problem.
But my lawyer is also telling me that SS wants people to be off work for a year before they will consider a disability. Yes, I know this is not what their regulations say.
I would say that you got very lucky or were very smart. Maybe you could share more on how you accomplished this while working. If you know something that we don't, we sure could use it.
Being in Wy with such a small population I whipped through the first two denials but now things have moved to Colo as Wy does not have ALJ's which is going to take quite a while.
My firm also told me that while SS says you can work it is not advised.
Yes, let us know how you did it!
I was also advised against working. If it gets in your records somehow then they can use it as a reason to deny. It doesn't leave a person with many options.Well Bonny, I wouldn't say I was "lucky" just because my RA is severe enough to be considered disabled by Social Security. I wasn't working because I wanted to, I HAD to. No matter how much pain it caused me. I spent nearly every waking moment in agony even though I was taking 25mg of pred and 3x the amount of pain pills prescribed for me just to make it through a 4 hour shift. I cried until there were no tears left. And don't think for one minute that all of this hasn't ruined me financially, because it has. Trust me when I tell you that my "award" of 9.00 a month isn't even enough to live on by myself. I had a pretty sweet life before RA. Now I don't even answer my phone because of all the creditors that call me. But that is my problem.Nature Girl, I was in the same pain plus losing more and more mobility. I tried working fewer hours, working from home until I couldn't do it any more no matter how much pain meds I took. Certainly you deserved to get it. I have no doubt of that. But what we are finding out as we compare notes between different people applying for disability that SS seems to apply different rules. For instance, I was sent to a psychiatrist but never a medical doctor, Roxy was sent to a Occupational Therapist and someone else was sent to a Rheumatologist. It does seem to depend on who is reviewing your case. If that is poorly done then you have to file an appeal and most don't get results until they are in front of an ALJ. I am sure that my claim was given a sloppy review because the deadline for an initial decision was approaching and it was the holidays.
Truly, if there is something else you know that could help anyone in getting their disability, it would be nice. I do not think you cheated the system. But your situation is the opposite of everything else I am hearing. You are lucky only in the sense that you did not have to go the long haul. You are not lucky to have severe RA or in the pittance that they have given you. That is horribly wrong. You're right, how can you live on that?
I didn't have any choice working either. I just couldn't work any more. By the time I quit, I was working at home in 15 min segments with my TENS unit and pain pills. Then I would have to rest for a considerable amount of time. It was a horrible nightmare of pain and fatigue and I was causing more damage to my body.
You asked for why we were posting such long times. It is because so many people are discovering this is true. Some people go 5-6 years trying to get their claims approved.
Deanna, I don't know of anything that helpd my case, I only did what they ask of me.You know what Nature Girl? I do not understand why people on this board would even say "If you drop your internet service and sell your computer than you could get your pills." I know it has been uttered on this board.
But you know what? We pay .95/month for our internet service... we have dial-up, the cheapest form of internet service available. My laptop is brand spanking new! We paid 0 for it, but I did get my money back, as my brother paid for my laptop as a gift to me. My brother has also offered to pay for me to have a faster internet connection... cable internet /month, but I have turned that down. My internet service and the laptop both were put on a credit card, which we have just paid off with our tax refund.
I am right there with you about the internet being your link to the outside world. Which for me it is. I view everyone I met on these boards as my friends. I keep up with them and really have not wanted to befriend too many because of past fall outs and all and the hurt I felt from lossing my internet friends. I actually have cried about lossing the friendships of people I have never met in "real" life.
For me the internet is my entertainment - pogo, reading celeb gossip, news, meeting new people. My place to vent about being the only person with JRA in my family and no one knowing what I go thru. My place to spread my whacky ideas, thoughts, and memories. My place to just get whatever is on my mind off, without freaking my hubby out and being told by him that I am crazy and shold be committed.
I do not see how 9.95 a month is going to help me to get my meds. I mean my monthly meds are not as much as some on this board, but I do struggle to pay /month for my humira and then my other meds and multi-vitamins. For me I would have to go without internet service for a whole year to pay for one month supply of my meds.
I am not the only one in the household that uses the internet. Hubby uses it to pay his bills and not get charged fees for paying over the phone or the bills being late.
Besides... you cannot sell your computer for very much. So why sell something for a little bit of what you paid for it when you were in good health?
Oh and Nature Girl... nice to have you as a member of the board.
I think what we have all learned here is that our Social Security system is broken. Unfortunately that seems to be the nature of most of our government agencies. They are poorly managed, staffed by people who have not been properly trained or supervised, and in many cases are UNABLE to do anything but move paper, bury files and shuffle cases around, rather than actually process them. The employees who do care and are trying to do a good job are overwhelmed by the enormity of the numbers of people applying for assistance, and beaten down by the inefficiency of their own substructure. It is the same thing that is seen in FEMA and the Federal Flood Insurance, for example, and their inablility to properly deal with the needs of those devastated by natural disasters.Naturegirl first off I am happy that you were awarded your SSDI. It makes one more of us that rec'd our paid in disability insurance.
You were smarter or at least did things better than I did and it is not saying that I am dumb and you're smart it is just trying to examine how you handled your SSDI and working to maybe help others not to find themselves not only denied their SSDI but also unable to work until they do finally get awarded. We all can benefit from your SSDI experience.
For instance my hands became unable to type 2 or 4 hours at a time in 2001. I quit my job as I did payroll and it took all of 40 hrs per week to get checks out and it was an 8 hr day typing job. I decided that If I could just get enough rest, PT, meds etc that I would be able to work at my profession, not. I spent 4 yrs and 4 months trying everything available but just became housebound and for 6 to 8 hours a day bedridden. I only applied for my SSDI because in 8 more months it would have been 5 yrs since I worked and you lose your entire benefit if you don't apply 5 yrs from your last work date.
Ok now the mistake that I made that would have benefited from your story is that I should have filed for SSDI in the last year of fighting to work and if not then I definately should have filed after quitting work as I too had Dr's behind me.
I agree that it is only a pittance compared to what I was making and I hate the disability word but I must face facts. I was turned down for SSI in my state because DH has a small retirement pension. The sad fact is that 95% of SSDI claims are turned down and most of us have to wait for our ALJ hearing to be awarded so any help is desperately needed.
Nature Girl, some states have additional benefits for SSI recipents. What state are you in? I might be able to help you find resources. Also, what other needs do you have? You can PM me if you want.
Also, Hillhoney said it so well. You do not need to feel like a castoff from Society although do agree with you 100% that is exactly how you are made to feel. It's bad enough you got this terrible disease, then you lose your job, friends, and get rewarded with continual poverty. As Hillhoney said, our system is very broken.
But if you can let us know what kinds of supports you need, maybe we can come up with ideas. And, I also need my Internet connection or I would just give up and die. Without connections with family and friends over the Internet, without the support of this forum, I would have no social interaction except doctors and social agencies.
Also, there are ways to get your medications. You definitely qualify for Patience Assistance programs. Do a search on here for those under "Patience Assistance" and see what comes up. If you still have problems finding things, just let me know and I'll help you.
Nature girl, I am pleased for you that you got your support, but it's so sad you don't have enough to live on. I love your answers of "I just did what they wanted me to do." Too many people (not necessarily on this board) are looking for ways to get help they may not need or ways to get money without working.