[QuietStorm1214]

I am seriously considering applying for SSDI. I feel ashamed and a failure just for considering it. I feel like I'm giving up. But I've tried working again and I honestly can't handle it anymore. My Tdoc and partner both feel it may be a good option. But like most people I hate the where do you work/do questions. Those of you who have applied did you get a lawyer first? I'm considering it because I don't know if I can deal with all the stress myself since I don't have a clue how it all works. I have bipolar ll with depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Any help would be appreciated.


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[Moreta]

When I first applied I gathered all my drs info and hospital info and made an appt at the SSA office so they could file for me. You can do it online, but I didn't want to mess it up. I eventually got denied 3 months later, so I got a lawyer. He took down all my info and looked at the denial letter and saw they didn't have some of my medical records (i have a lot). He then sent in a file for reconsideration, and come to find out SSA never got the files from my pain management dr. SSA sent me a letter and I called them and gave them the right address for my dr. My lawyer also gave me forms for my pdoc to fill out, and he changed my dx and wrote a pretty convincing argument of why I can work. I'm waiting to hear back about my SSDI. Hopefully I'll hear something between this month and March. If I don't get it this time I have to wait 18 months to get in front of a judge. So I really hope I get it this time.

Don't be ashamed, you did your work and tried your best. That's how I look at it.

[BipolaRNurse]

I got an attorney right away, and it was worth the 25% they take out of your first big SSDI check because I won benefits the first time, within six months of when I filed.

Please don't feel ashamed of needing SSDI. That is money you earned through hard work. It's yours!

[Lost_in_the_woods]

get an attoney, advocate or csp. They can help you apply and a csp a lot of times can do much of the leg work ie obtaining hospital records n such. Good luck! I'm still trying too.

[neverending]

I filled out my own paperwork and got it 3 months later. I had been out of work for a couple of years and they even back paid me 12 months previous to my application. However I have both physical and MI disabilities and that was years ago.

[cakeladie]

Get an attorney first. The attorney doesn't get paid unless you get approved.

I had all my paperwork and I went down and I filed. Did everything I was supposed to went to their doctor etc. their doctor told me not to worry he was approving me. A month later I got a denial letter. My work put me in touch with an attorney we did everything over the phone after they filed the appeal one month later I received my check for back pay. The check arrived before the letter

Since then I have had to be re approved. They said every so many years you have to do that. So keep all of your papers.

But get an attorney. When I filed the most the attorney could get at that time was $5,000 if you get denied and it has to go before a judge they get more.

I fought my doctors a long time before I could not work anymore. The final straw was when I started having seizures.

Good luck

[Unrigged64072835]

When I got an attorney and sent in all my medical paperwork I was approved the second time. My attorney didn't get paid until I won.

I also made sure I had a statement from my psychiatrist that laid out my diagnoses and specifically why I couldn't hold a job. The reason was when I was denied the SSA said I could find a low-stress job. (Like there is one...)

[ComfortablyNumb5]

I'm working right now but have received a "closed period of disability" before. Same process. I got an attorney right away and I wasn't too pleased with him. He was very hard to reach and rarely called back. However he did have a lot of work to do getting my records. The process took over two years and I blame him for that. I actually didn't know I had BPD until I read my records. The reason I went for a closed period and not a monthly check is because I wanted to go back to work full time in the future. And he said I had a better chance. So they took the date of my IP up to the beginning date of my last job and paid me what I would of made in total if I was working. And yea the attorney got a chunk of it but it was worth it since he did most of the work really. The huge pile of files he had collected was huge! I thought about filing again last year after a huge breakdown but I couldn't afford to wait for the process and not work. And I also got a lot of crap from my family. They called me lazy and an embarrassment. Screw them.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

One thing it is important to know is that if you choose to file yourself you do not have to gather your medical records yourself. Social security will do that. You just have to give them the information about any records that exist, as far back as they will let you, especially if it related to your disability/ies. This took quite a bit of organization and note-taking on my part but I was able to pull together everything I needed for them with some effort. At the time I was filing I needed things to keep my mind off of everything and so I found it helpful to sit with a notebook and try to remember any dr I had seen and approximately when. (I also did not have that many drs on my list as I've seen most of the drs. I see now for at least 10 years. It also helped that my pdoc is part of the hospital system where I go IP so those were not separate records).

I was able to do mine myself and was approved in 11 weeks I think. I had a few things that helped with that: I filled out government evaluations for a living and so knew how to do it so that my illness was emphasized over what I could do. But I had decided to do step one myself and then hire an attorney if I failed. I'm glad I did it that way but I do think it is not for everyone. The forms have to be filled out from a specific view emphasizing what you can't do and what is very hard for you and how you manage to do things that are hard. You have to manage to organize in a fairly short time period all those medical record information they will need, etc. But it did work out for me.

[QuietStorm1214]

So I went to see my pdoc today. I got overwhelmed and stressed and couldn't ask about applying for SSDI. Instead she upped my meds and told me to go to a support group. I'm so stressed out. I can't work right now. I've tried and tried. I need to focus on myself. I don't understand why I couldn't bring up SSDI. Allsup said my pdoc has to fill out the mental capacity questionnaire or they won't help me. What am I gonna do?

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[BeyondtheRainbow]

Do you have a therapist? Mine did my mental health form and I was approved in 11 weeks. Mine does have a PhD in counseling and I don't know if that matters in whether he is allowed to do the form. They didn't give me a choice; I sent them a list of doctors and he got the form and filled it out. Which is really good because my pdoc is really slow with that stuff. But it isn't always the pdoc.

[gayleggg]

No need to feel bad about doing what's best for you.

I'm old enough to just tell people I'm retired.

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[lany]

I hired a lawyer at first. He did nothing. I fired him. Filed myself and was awarded in 4 months. Currently I have been told that most people are turned down the first time and that is when they get a lawyer. Keep all your doctor info. In state of NJ SS collects info from docs. This can be a problem because a lot of doc's are really slack. You can contact your SS advocate (the person assigned to your case) and find out the progress or your lawyer can. Wait time is by state. I hear it is getting longer. A lawyer can tell you. Good luck.

[Bluesday]

I have been fired multiple times, so I finally had enough and filed for SSDI last August. I was denied even thought the psych exam they sent me to was in my favor. I got a lawyer though the mental health center I go to. Disability cases are all he does. He said they reject you the first time hoping you will go away. Stay with it!

[HeavyMetalLover]

I filed on my own first because I didn't know I should get an attorney. I got denied right away even though bipolar 1 isn't my only mental illness nor my only disability(I also have COPD). I then got an attorney at the advice of a friend of mine who receives SSDI benefits. My attorney said that everyone gets denied the first time, usually, so don't get discouraged. They filed a reconsideration which was denied, then my attorney has filed another reconsideration because some of the medical information SSA sent back to me( in their letter of why I was denied again) is wrong. My attorney has filed for another reconsideration and told me we are now waiting on a date to go in front of a judge.
I was also informed, in the first appointment with my attorney's office, that the whole process can take up to 2 years to get approval for SSDI because they're so backed up. ( My attorney also partially blames that on Obamacare but let's not turn this into a political debate. That's just one person's opinion.)

[HeavyMetalLover]

Originally Posted by lany

I hired a lawyer at first. He did nothing. I fired him. Filed myself and was awarded in 4 months. Currently I have been told that most people are turned down the first time and that is when they get a lawyer. Keep all your doctor info. In state of NJ SS collects info from docs. This can be a problem because a lot of doc's are really slack. You can contact your SS advocate (the person assigned to your case) and find out the progress or your lawyer can. Wait time is by state. I hear it is getting longer. A lawyer can tell you. Good luck.

4 months?!Holy crap!! That's fast!! In KS it takes forever!! I guess you're right about the wait time being dependent on the state.

I filed online and got approved in three months. Was relieved but kind of like whoa lol

Be patient and hang in there. It can take a long time in most cases. xo

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[thedayturnedaround]

I did mine by myself, all online. I was approved in 3 months. What "helped" my case was probably that I had bipolar disorder with psychosis, was out of work for several years, and had been hospitalized.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Sorry if this was already answered, but do you have to be out of work for a certain amount of time before they will even let you apply? Because I just lost my job TODAY. I was told by a case worker that I needed to go down to the office myself (like a 4 hr wait) because they help you answer questions in a certain way that help your case?

How did you guys get the luck of doing it online so fast?!

Trileptal 600mg BID
Buspar 45mg
Seroquel 150-300mg for sleep
Ativan 1mg PRN
Vyvanse 70mg
Risperdal 4-6mg PRN

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[BeyondtheRainbow]

Anyone can do it online; just go to ssi.gov and there's an application.You don't have to have been out of work any given time. The number of quarters you've worked will determine if you're applying for SSI or SSDI. If it is SSDI the amount you've earned will determine what you make; if SSI everyone on it gets the same amount.

To fill out the form you just have to focus on making sure you aren't trying to point out what you do well and instead explain that ________ is something you can do but only with extreme difficulty because ________ and you handle that difficulty by _____. Don't talk about what you can do without talking about how hard it is (If it is, of course; don't lie or they'll figure that out at some point) and emphasize what you can't do.

When I was approved very quickly (11 weeks) they told me that there is a computer analysis of each application and if the initial stuff submitted shows there is no way the person will be denied they stop and award without doing the entire review. Of course not everyone who is at the same level of illness will get it this way and sometimes people who are less ill will. I'm sure it helped me that I'd had 2 hospitalization in the preceding 6 months, one of them for suicidal intent.

When I applied I figured that it wouldn't hurt to try applying myself and if I was denied initially I'd go to an attorney but if I was approved I'd have saved myself a fee. It worked out.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Unfortunately I lost yet another job from BP/anxiety today so I came here to ask some questions. For all of you who say to get an attorney first, I called one right after I lost my job and they said I had to be out of work for 6 months before I could apply? Wth? I'm in Michigan if that helps. Also after losing my job, I was so devastated I went and talked to my case worker. She said I had to go down to the office myself and apply with help from someone so I say the right things. However I see others here did that and got denied. And if I go down there, what do I bring?! It would take me years and boxes of my history to drag in there. And then I see others on here say they applied online and got approved within months!

So I'm thinking of trying online first. If I get denied then get an attorney. However when I got my closed SSD case, that attorney was either really busy or lazy because he never answered my calls or called me. I didn't even talk to him for the first time until wk before my hearing which took about two years! I'm sorry but I don't have two years to wait.

Detoxing at home from all psych meds at the moment because of self admitted abuse. Doctors orders and then new cocktail. Just being honest.

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[BeyondtheRainbow]

You do have to be off for 6 months before benefits would start but I don't think you have to be off 6 months to start the process. I would have applied at the 6 month mark nearly precisely just by chance. Everything goes back to the "date of disability" and your date of disabiliyt has to be 6 months from your first check but you can be approved and waiting for the check as far as I can tell. The sooner you do it the sooner you'll get medicare; you have to be 2 1/2 years from date of disability. So my date of disability was August and my approval date April; I got Medicare 2 years after resigning my job and applying for Medicare because I had already waited 6 months.