SSDI

I applied a few weeks ago. I applied for snap and medicaid this week. I stopped working about three weeks ago. That was after being back a couple weeks after being off a month after a bad crash. I was sick for at least a month before the crash, but I didn't know it and no one would have been able to convince me and those that tried I laughed or yelled at.

I am still cycling but not working is helping me. There is a lot of stress from applying for insurance benefits. I want it to be over and done. I know that is impossible though. A couple of days ago I felt relief and that finally I can start getting better now. I felt confident things were going to get better and I'd be OK.

Today I am worrying I won't get approved and then I am ****ed. I long ago used up all my savings. And that is only the financial aspect. I am terrified of getting sick-sick again, this time was really really bad, and the one before was worse than the previous ones. Removing work and not having that stimuli is the best thing I can do. And then focus on sleep, exercise, relaxation skills, etc to help me heal.

But this worry about benefits is kind of maddening some days, and today is one of them. It really affects me socially. I don't want to talk about this with friends, I think we all want to kind of sweep it under the rug. We all know I'm not well but I'm so close with some of my friends that we are family so in that sense, everything is always OK with family and unconditional acceptance. I don't know, I'm just a lot more stressed today and like I said, if I don't get benefits I don't know what I'll do.

I miss my old life. I was bringing in over 4k a month, having a blast, lots of money in the bank. Now I can't hold a job and I make the best of my life but it's all kind of a maddening struggle even on good days even though mostly I cope well and am kind to myself. It's a big struggle. If anyone can relate to some of this I'd love to hear that I'm not alone.

Thanks,

I understand. Having to apply for SSDI was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Giving up my career hurt so much.It's been 4 years and I still miss it.

But I'm able to manage life so much better. If I don't sleep at night I can sleep when I'm able. If I don't feel well I don't have to pretend I'm fine. I don't have to try to cover mania. I just live and do the best I can at living. It helps.

The money side is really hard but you can work some while on SSDI. I can't, at least not now, but you can if you are able to work some. I don't know the limits but it's a reasonable amount beyond your SSDI.

The waiting is hard. I only had to wait 11 weeks so am not the best at knowing how to get through it but hopefully you'll also be approved rapidly.

I hope that you are able to find some peace tonight and a break from the anxiety.

Thank you for that.

It is so hard. I was so good at work, always, till I got sick and I've never been the same.

I do think I can get a lot better not working. I don't even want to think about it for at least 6 months and then maybe can ease into it again. I really though want to have a full year with no episodes at all (big ones I mean. I cycle frequently and generally speaking have not went more than a few months without one since I got sick sick.

Yes, the waiting is hard. It has been about 3 weeks. Glad to hear your wait was 11 weeks. My therapist said it will go quickly and not to worry.

Thank you for wishing me peace tonight. The same to you and thanks.

I haven't worked in 2 1/2 years and don't regret a minute of it. Every time I even think about trying to get back into nursing, my stomach clenches and I break into a cold sweat. (And no, there are no other jobs I'm qualified for...once your application shows you've worked as an educated professional, Mickey D's isn't interested in you.) In fact, I've been mostly stable for the entire time, mainly because my lifestyle is relatively low-stress (even after losing my husband in July).

Please don't get your hopes up and expect to hear from SS anytime soon. There's a whole lot more paperwork ahead, plus you'll have to supply records from your pdoc and you may need to see one of their psychiatrists and/or medical doctors. I believe you have to have been unable to work for six months prior to becoming eligible, but even then it usually takes another six months for them to make a determination. Once they approve you, you'll get a check for all the back payments owed to you. This can be a pretty big check!

For the record, I used a disability attorney and got benefits within six months. They take cases on a contingency basis, which means you don't pay them until you win. I think this is a wise move since they know all kinds of ways to work with the system. They will also pay for copies of all your medical records, which is expensive because you probably have a lot of documentation and doctor's offices will charge you by the page. (I don't know what they do with electronic medical records though.)

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Does your doctors fully support you in filing for SSDI?

As BipolarRn said it does take time, as in months.

Waiting times also vary depending on what state you live in.

I hope your able to get Medicaid so you can receive medical care.

Good luck

I applied last year based on physical ailments, as I had not sought help for mental issues, and was hesitant to disclose them. I did answer the application questions honestly about social life and stress and detailed my battle with mental issues in that section. I was examined at two consultative exams. The first one at the local hospital where they took xrays.The second exam was at a run down strip mall, where a lone doctor set a plywood sign outside a walk in door noting the address. Inside there were tarps hanging, to separate the very small carpeted area from the abandoned retail space. A tiny exam room where i was interviewed, asked to walk the building barefoot, and had the doctor physically move all my limbs while on a table. A few months later I received the denial letter. Nobody had asked anything about the mental issues I wrote down, and only two of the seven physical issues were even examined. I did not use a lawyer, which in hindsight was a serious mistake on my part.

My work record had degraded to only working somewhere a few months before being unable to cope and quitting, with a long stretch between jobs. I have been self employed off and on, as I can control the schedule and deny new work if I'm not up to it. I turned down a project today, and I am very close to default on financial obligations.

I hope your process with social security goes well for you. I am considering retaining a law firm to try again, now that I have began professional treatment for mental health issues.

Thank you all.

I am a RN also BP nurse.

Makes me feel better to hear from a nurse.

All of my nurse friends have told me to apply for a long time but I kept fighting it, got a new job, and crashed and burned at that so I applied so I can actually heal and not just kind of sort of get better enough to sort of be able to work some days, then another bad episode comes and back to square one. I refuse to put myself through that anymore. I think it injures my brain more each time if there's not adequate time to heal, and I've never given myself that time since things got bad almost two years ago.

I know this is going to take some time. My therapist said it should go quick because of diagnosis but it sounds like quick is at minimum months. The last time I saw doc was during episode and he said bipolar 1 with rapid cycling. They both seem to support me. Anyone I have told has basically seemed relieved to hear that I'm doing it.

BP nurse, I backdated my date of disability to last September. That is when there was another big change and I was really sick. I had a bad episode and barely worked from then till March when I got a new job at a former employer. They basically made new rules for me and I still didn't do well. I never made my numbers, they didn't write me up, I got to go home early almost everyday, or comp hours on the weekend, from home. I barely did any direct care at this last job and that is bothering to me because I used to be so good at direct care, skill-wise and as emotional support. I was told that all the time. I would so much rather be working but I know I can't anymore, at least for a long while and during that I need to have NO major episodes. I read up on things and if you have not worked for awhile, then try to go back, and don't make it six months, they consider that an unsuccessful attempt at work and award benefits during that time. If there's one good thing about this it's that I've done a lot of social services work and know how to advocate for people, now it's me that I'm advocating for. Thanks for listening, it really helps to talk some of this out.

The average wait is 9 months. Ofcourse each state varies. Mine was 22 months in NC and that was with no appeals, approved in one attempt with a SSDI lawyer to ensure approval odds best humanly possible.

I did call a couple lawyers and they both said they only take cases after an initial denial. I want to be able to get it without needing their help.

I did mine without an attorney. I figured I could fail the first stage on my own and for free. But I was approved so I never had to do the attorney thing. I was an OT so I spent my entire career filling out government assessments; I just figured this was assessing myself.

One thing to know is you don't pay for your medical records; social security gets them. That's a common misconception and reason people say they use an attorney.

The key is to emphasize as much as possible what you CAN'T do. The normal tendency is when it says "can you do your grocery shopping?" to answer "Yes". But you really need to say "I can do it once every 4 weeks but have great difficulty due to being overwhelmed by noise and other stimulation. I am exhausted when I finish and must rest for 2 days afterwards. I also have difficulty putting everything I need on a list and then following the list in the store without having to go back through the store several times". Everything you write, make it about difficulty.

The other thing I had was my therapist filled in his form and was very specific in detailing my deficits. My pdoc never even was asked to fill out anything nor was my family doctor (I also have asthma and severe allergies to things like cleaners that made healthcare work impossible). It helped my therapist to have a copy of what I had filled out and we also talked our way through the questions before he filled his part out. Just a few weeks after his form went in I was approved.

I also recommend giving everything you can. When it asked me to list every doctor I'd seen I went back as far as I was allowed and included every doctor I could think of, even if it wasn't really related.

If you need any help please feel free to PM me. As weird as it is I kind of enjoy this sort of thing and hope that one day I'll be well enough to volunteer to help people fill out the forms. (I don't like the stress that goes with my own but I do like trying to make it all work).

I was denied the first time. I hired an attorney, sent in my copy of my military health records, got a statement from my pdoc, and a did couple of psychological assessments. I got approved the second time. It took me eight months overall.

Some of you who got denied the first time, what was the timeline to get the initial decision? A few months?

I was denied first time after psych eval from a guy who never even really a sled me questions about my illness but rather did memory tests.

Then hired attorney and was approved!

How long after you filed did you get the initial decision?

I think the initial denial was about 4 months after I filed .

I think mine was four months as well. It's been a while since that happened.

I found this site very helpful when I was applying. It is written by someone who previously processed claims for social security and has tons of information.

SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER - HOW TO APPLY AND QUALIFY FOR SSD AND SSI BENEFITS

Thanks for that, I'll look at it.

Does anyone know when you apply for medicaid if they count 401k as a resource? I am screwed if so. I hope this is not the case, I worked hard to save that money for retirement, not to drain them because I got sick.

I think they do. I had to cash mine out and I'm pretty sure that was why. I know you can't have over a certain amount of money in any form to qualify. It may vary by state though.

OK thanks. I bet you are right, I did not realize that before earlier this evening as being a potential problem.

I bet though I can get another version of state medicaid or ACA coverage.

My therapist told me to tell them I need "disability medicaid' and made it sound different and that is why I hadn't thought about retirement.

Here disability Medicaid is a little different but I don't know exactly how. I know I have it but on a spend-down plan where I have to have medical bills for a huge percent of my income in a given month to qualify. I could also theoretically pay them that amount and would then have Medicaid every month but since I like to eat and pay rent I just get it when I qualify, which is if I am hospitalized. I think here you can work a certain amount and buy into disability Medicaid but I don't know how that works exactly (although I do remember it is very minimal work required to qualify).

There are benefits to not having Medicaid. I was still applying for it when I was approved and then definitely not eligible but as I recall they told me if I was on it and denied for SSDI I would lose my Medicaid as I no longer could say I was disabled which was what was going to let me qualify for Medicaid in the first place.

I wound up uninsured for a few years until Medicare kicked in. I am so fortunate because this was before the ACA and I live near a hospital that had amazing low-income benefits so I was able to get my care for free until I was insured. I even had a free hysterectomy. That isn't nearly as easy to qualify for now but it saved me (my pdoc happens to be in that hospital system so she was no-cost for those 2 years as well).

Thinking of you.

This is making me nervous. I wish I would have made a post asking what I should be writing on the function report I filled out. I did everything wrong while filling it out! I wasn't very specific and was honest for the most part. I knew I should have lied!

Anyway, I obviously don't know very much about this, piano, but I hope you get SSI or SSDI!

I didn't qualify for SSI because I have $10,000 in my 401k.

I applied and got state insurance and it didn't matter though how much I had in it.

Oh... and I refuse to drain my 401k. Not happening. That money is mine!!!

Yes, I'm hoping to not touch 401k. If I have to, I have to, but is last resort. I asked my dad for help today.

I filled out the function report and my mom did too. I don't know what she wrote. I was honest, I said sometimes I do have "OK' days for a few days even up to a week, but mostly I cycle from too up to too down. I sleep way too much, or barely. I don't eat like I used to. I don't socialize like I used to. My hobbies are mostly gone. I don't drive a lot. I isolate. I also wrote a letter than basically said the same stuff, and have a letter from my last boss, some pay history reports, FMLA and leave of absence records, etc.

I'm nervous as hell about all of it. I hope I did OK. I was honest and that's all I can do. I hope they don't count it against me that I said I have OK days sometimes, but I really think they will see that I cycle frequently and that really really affects me.

I'm going to turn it in tomorrow, which feels good to have it done, but I'm scared as hell too that I didn't do it right!!!