[gruvingal]

I want to know if anyone here has multiple disabilities and did you get disability? I have been diagnosed with bi-polar, fibromyalgia, and now since my MRI the other day I have four herniated discs in my neck and three in my lower back. The neck is worse. I'm at my wits end. I can barely work when I feel O.K. but now I'm out of commission. I have to go back to community health and fill out paperwork for state help because project access will take up to six months to get me into a neurosurgeon. The appointment with my provider is at the end of the month and if I qualify he can sent me to a neuro guy. I'm seriously considering applying for disability and I just need to know what I'm up against. HELP!

[cool09]

If you have medical documents to prove your mental/physical issues and possibly proof of poor functioning at work (and/or multiple absences) you will get SSDI. I think everyone is automatically turned down when you apply then you have to appeal and go to Court (about 6 mths). That's what happened to me (been on long-term SSDI 2x). SSDI $ amount is based on your age and education.

My first court case (2004) was partially favorable. I asked for backpay (ie. when my disability first began: one yr before SSDI application) and only got 1/2 of what I asked for. We appealed again, same Judge denied me, the SSA Appeals Council overturned the Judge's decision (Judge did not look at my paystubs for absences) and I got all backpay that I asked for. I had an excellent, sharp lawyer from Princeton. (fyi: Every Court decision is sent to Appeals Council for review for checks and balances.)

Get a very good lawyer. My lawyer told me that he would rather take mental disability cases than physical cases because they were easier to prove. (I had medical records going back to 1990 to back up my mental disorder.)

[BlueInanna]

Hope you can get it quickly gruvingal. Maybe there is some emergency assistance for the meantime? Sending good thoughts your way.

[Snell]

I was trained as a lawyer. I don't practice as one now, though; I spent most of my career as a teacher before I became--here it comes--disabled. But I did do some work pro bono for legal aid corporations and I know a few tricks. It's actually surprisingly straightforward. If you can, find the CFRs (Codes of Federal Regulations) by which Social Security must operate. Then, using those, present yourself as someone who is UNABLE TO WORK (people often forget that part) because of symptoms of mental illnesses (get as many diagnoses as possible), the need to attend therapy, the inadequacy of therapy, the inadequacy of drugs, and the side effects of drugs (that one is also frequently forgotten). The other poster who said that his friend preferred psych disability cases has a point. Social Security would love to argue with your orthopedist's determination about how long you can sit or stand or crouch or whatever. But once a psychiatrist and a therapist (and maybe a social worker too, for good measure) have all said--he just can't do any work; he's too f****d up; he has too many problems with authority; all he can do is lie motionless in his bed--well, those conclusions are very hard for Social Security to argue with. Contact me by private email if you want further help. I believe that people do become disabled--they aren't just trying to hose the system--and they deserve to be treated properly.