Well I'm headed into the long-term disability . I haven't worked for 13 months I have several of the Lupus markers in my blood test, but not all of them, whatever that means. That's kind of how my doctors explain it. I have breakouts with butterfly rashes lung pain, headaches, back pains bodyaches
tremors and shaking in my hands and I have lost 50 pounds in the last 10 months. A couple of my nieces have Lupus so it runs in the family. Yet my rheumatologist will not officially diagnose it as Lupus , which will cause a struggle for me when I apply for permanent disability. The doctor has me on 15 mg of prednisone daily Plaquenil.
20 mg of doxepin. Dapsone which I recently had to stop taking due to the bad liver test. So they have me on all of the medications to treat Lupus but they won't come across with the official diagnosis. I'm not sure what they're waiting for. But they are dragging it on, which may cause a struggle for me to be approved The longer I have to wait . I will have to find ways to survive financially, which is very stressful.. But I am too sick to work any longer. My lung pain has become severe , and I now have moderate asthma they have started treating that with QVAR 80 mg inhaler along with the prednisone. The stack of paperwork and research information I have to submit is challenging and depressing for me. Because it's hard to think and do all of that paperwork. What a struggle.
Does anyone have any suggestions or tips on how to make the long-term disability go smoothly
I am also just starting the process. I have been out 7 months and am on disability insurance through work. With how difficult the paperwork was for the disability insurance my husband and I decided to use a lawyer for applying to social security. I am just not up to handling all the paperwork and there fee is 25% of what you get back from when you filed. The lawyer said basically people that are dying get approved on the first round and it can take up to 2 years. Good luck.
Tip #1: Get thee to a disability lawyer ASAP. They only charge if you win your case, and they take a fourth or so of any award made to you. And if you factor in all of the extra time it takes you to run down the paperwork and put it into an order that is what the SSDI panel wants...plus the time taken for any hearing you will need to sit through...it's worth it.
Tip #2: Talk to your doctor very frankly. Tell him/her exactly what you've told us. See if you can get him/her on board with your diagnosis being made on paper. I had to do this.
Tip #3: Do you also have fibromyalgia? If so, if might be easier for you to get disability for fibro as it is so painful and tiring that most can't work after several years with it. When you do fill out your paperwork, be sure to add all related diagnoses you have, that are part of your medical issue. Depression, IBS, migraines, eye issues, heart kidney or lung issues...include all of them. They will all be considered when you apply for disability.
Tip #4: There is a great and free resource on the main or home page that you can sign up for. It will send you info on what you need to do in order to get SSDI It's an invaluable resource. If I find it, I'll add its link here.
Tip #1: Get thee to a disability lawyer ASAP. They only charge if you win your case, and they take a fourth or so of any award made to you. And if you factor in all of the extra time it takes you to run down the paperwork and put it into an order that is what the SSDI panel wants...plus the time taken for any hearing you will need to sit through...it's worth it.
Tip #2: Talk to your doctor very frankly. Tell him/her exactly what you've told us. See if you can get him/her on board with your diagnosis being made on paper. I had to do this.
Tip #3: Do you also have fibromyalgia? If so, if might be easier for you to get disability for fibro as it is so painful and tiring that most can't work after several years with it. When you do fill out your paperwork, be sure to add all related diagnoses you have, that are part of your medical issue. Depression, IBS, migraines, eye issues, heart kidney or lung issues...include all of them. They will all be considered when you apply for disability.
Tip #4: There is a great and free resource on the main or home page that you can sign up for. It will send you info on what you need to do in order to get SSDI It's an invaluable resource. If I find it, I'll add its link here.
Piewacket said:Hey I had the same problem! I got a disability attorney and it only took about six months to get my benefits.I might consider getting a second opinion from another doctor. Just because your ANA may have come back negative does NOT mean you don't have Lupus. With your symptoms it sounds like you do! I was diagnosed when I was 24 and I am now 51. Please get an lawyer that specializes in disability ASAP! My thoughts and prayers are with you!
Piewacket
Petunia said:
Tip #1: Get thee to a disability lawyer ASAP. They only charge if you win your case, and they take a fourth or so of any award made to you. And if you factor in all of the extra time it takes you to run down the paperwork and put it into an order that is what the SSDI panel wants...plus the time taken for any hearing you will need to sit through...it's worth it.
Tip #2: Talk to your doctor very frankly. Tell him/her exactly what you've told us. See if you can get him/her on board with your diagnosis being made on paper. I had to do this.
Tip #3: Do you also have fibromyalgia? If so, if might be easier for you to get disability for fibro as it is so painful and tiring that most can't work after several years with it. When you do fill out your paperwork, be sure to add all related diagnoses you have, that are part of your medical issue. Depression, IBS, migraines, eye issues, heart kidney or lung issues...include all of them. They will all be considered when you apply for disability.
Tip #4: There is a great and free resource on the main or home page that you can sign up for. It will send you info on what you need to do in order to get SSDI It's an invaluable resource. If I find it, I'll add its link here.
The first thing is to ask your doctor 'why' you are not diagnosed with Lupus if many of your tests are positive...maybe not all of them, but mostly. Some doctors don't want to lable us because of insurance reasons....because we are uninsurable. So talk to him, then like the others said get an atty....it's much easier that way. My husband and I did it all ourselves over 20 years ago, but not as many people were filing. Good luck, and feel better
If you file online, just make sure you answer all the questions. I know people who have gotten approved right away. When I applied I was 45 years old, suffered 4 heart attacks, bypass surgery and was then diagnosed with lupus, and a bunch of other stuff. I had to fight for six years before I was finally approved. I don’t know why being under 50 had a part in it but I was definitely diagnosed with lupus which is an automatic qualifier, yeah right. I had paralegals representing me. They only help to a certain level. My case went to federal court and I had to hire a lawyer in the middle of this mess. It was then remanded back to appeals court and then after 50 and three hearings I finally got approved. They want and expect people to give up, don’t give in to them.
Dang, Lori, girl, what state did that take place in??? Remind me to keep out of it. They should be SO ashamed of how long they made you wait. That is truly disgusting and morally wrong.
Yes, you're right, it's easier to get once you are over 50. I think it's because they figure you'd have diminished earning capacity at that point, so also can't get back into the work force if you're 50 or older. But then again, there is SSI that a person can apply for if they can't qualify for SSDI due to too high of an income or haven't worked enough time in order to qualify. Again, those people can try for SSI instead.
It truly is sickening to think of being made to wait six long years to qualify for scraps of money. And I think it's a bit easier to get it right now because Obama sent extra money over for it, I believe. That's one reason why I rushed to get my application in, as I was afraid someone else would get in and make it nearly impossible to get it again.
I also am heading in that direction. Was diagnosed at the first of the year along with liver issues and RA. I am struggling to keep going on as usual and the dr. said its time to get off work however, I can not live on disability as a single person. Ive read all the comments and I just don't see how you can make it work with all the medical bills then very little $. How do others manage?