Advised to apply for SSDI by my doctor and very scared.

Exactly - it is either expensive, or with rough winters. I used to rough out winters in my youth though, and would not mind it doing it for two years. My bigger problem would be (what I assume to be the lack of) ethnic grocery shopping, yoga studios, and the like. Things that are not necessarily super expensive, but, you know, optional.

Yeah, I wouldn't count on some of those cold states to be jam packed with ethnic grocery shops.

Another observation: I know something about NY and NJ. The variation in quality of living between the high rent sections and the low rent sections can be quite wide.

This is what my lawyer said:


I would not bother with those statistics about differing rates of approvals from state to state. Those numbers change month by month and year by year.

Terry LaPorte, Esq.

Hamster, my first check came one month after approval.

I first filed in 2006 and was approved in 2008.

Wow, Bella, looks like that approval process can surely drag a bit.

Yes, in some states it takes a while before the judge hears the case. They are pretty backed up with hearings.

One entertains the hope that the case won't need to go to a judge, but I understand that's a bit of a long shot.

I know someone in California for whom it also took 2 years, way back.

I'm filling out paperwork for SSA. Doing this causes me great anxiety. I'm so worried I will not put enough of the right answers on the page. I spent five minutes on it and put it down. I could do this paperwork - describing my last 15 years of work and describing my daily activities, now - in collaboration with a clerk from the lawyer's office. The clerk would get info over the phone from me and fill out the forms, on my behalf, and FAX them in to SSA. Those clerks, however, do kind of a half baked job on anything they fill out. So I most likely would do a better job on my own.

I'm getting disillusioned with the law firm. These places that only do Disability are like paperwork mills. They just churn stuff out. Their claim to fame is that they get stuff in to the SSA on time, which I'm not keeping up with on my own. So I'm glad of them, or I wouldn't have even started the process, yet.

Hamster - thanks for feedback. It is what it is. If you submit a claim, I'ld be real interested to know how you make out in the process . . . like how you find doing the paperwork to be.

I feel like I'm in a tunnel that I'm never going to find my way out of. The clerks say that SSA is mainly interested in what they see in medical records. I have a long documented history, but it does not show me to be unable to function. So I am pessimistic.

I have physical problems that are truly limiting me, but my PCP said that SSA will be much more interested in my psych history. He wants to see me get approved, and he seems very smart, so I try to do what I think he suggests.

I better get my resume out and fill in that 15 years worth of jobs on the paperwork that the SSA wants.

I appreciate any feed back anyone has on this whole process.

I feel for you, Rose....you have the double whammy, the combination of physical probelms along with mental problems...

Remember, you are doing this for YOU, you deserve to be able to worry less about money, to get a 'break' when so many others do not have to even think about the kinds of problems and situations you do..

I, too, have been through the disability process, and I'm so glad I got through it...I, too, have seen so much tragedy and pain in my own life due to my mental illness, I feel entitled to receive my money each month, I know it's mine, for all I have been through, I have earned it

Try not to be pessimistic and focus on the negative....to qualify for disability, it's not complete lack of function they are looking for..more, that your illness has prevented you from achieving what others can...

Take care of yourself during this process, keep writing us and expressing how you feel, we love being there for you, I'm sitting here, listening, holding your hand...

Junerain

Junerain - Thank you for the very kind words. Growing up, I was always told by teachers that I had a great future ahead of me. I did well in school and was told that that would overcome the limitations I felt psychologically. Now, at age 59, I accept that my limitations were more handicapping than I had even feared. It's good, in a way, that I didn't know that sooner. I kept trying for things that I thought would work out. That seems to count for a lot with my PCP doctor. He keeps saying that he thinks I have tried very hard to avoid SSDI. I tell him that he believes in my claim more than I do. I hope he has given me sound advice. I can't believe that he would encourage me to do something foolish. Since 2003, I have been encouraged to apply, by, among others, a counselor at Division of Vocational Rehab. She told me to apply, get my benefits, and then try to work part time if I wanted to. Now, suddenly I'm crying and I don't know why.

Rose,

I'm sorry you're upset. When I filled out my paperwork I was sure to mention the extreme cases when I was manic/depressed. Give examples that specifically relate to your ability to hold a job. I also got back all my notes from the mental evaluation. PM me with any questions.

Peace,

TnT

There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.

Erma Bombeck

Here's some things I'm learning. The claims examiners in my state must be overloaded. So my initial paperwork is being sent to an examiner in a neighboring state. It's a state with the worst record for approving claims - TEXAS. The law firm I'm using says they do that a lot. (send paperwork from one state to another depending on who has the lower work load.)

This is discouraging. I expect it is going to get worse.

I did the 2nd thing you do, which is fill out paperwork on everyplace I worked over the last 15 years. (for me, that's a lot of places.) They want to know just want did I do everyplace I worked and why can't I do that work now. Plus, I had to fill out a "daily activities" thing, explaining what do I do typically in a day. I read somewhere that even just saying that I watch TV can be used as evidence that I could do a sedentary job. I never even had a sedentary job in my life. Most of those jobs, from what I know, what you to be competent in some kind of computer software. One I applied for wanted proficiency in 4 different Windows applications. I'm lucky to figure out my way around Psych Central.

Rose, I just had to reply to your thread as everything you've posted could've come from my own brain! I too am just starting the SSDI process, I'm also a nurse and I've been dealing with depression for 20 years with the last few of them being told that I'm in the "atypical bipolar" category.

Over the course of the last 8 years I've slowly, slowly decompensated, having bouts of low dark depression when I wouldn't get out of bed or shower for days at a time. I've gone from being a "Nurse of the Year" at my last workplace to being given the opportunity to resign because I was about to be fired for absenteeism due to this damned depression.

From there I started an outpatient day program for SI's because I felt all of my problems were due to my being a lazy,selfish and immature person that just fails miserably on a daily basis. I did resign that last job as I didn't want the firing on my record. That was in October of 2010 and I haven't even TRIED to work since then. I wound up with a TRULY and DEVASTATINGLY unplanned pregnancy last June that almost sent me back to the psych ward. I had my baby in January and am still battling every single day to have the hope that things will eventually get better, while in the back of my head still telling myself that if I'd just grow up, shut up and get a job that I'd be just fine if I'd just decide not to ALLOW myself to be this way. So I really really feel your pain.

We are our own worst enemies, you know? My own expectations for myself are harsher than any anyone else could possibly set for me. Add depression/bipolar to that and it's just a toxic soup that leads to despair and hopelessness. Seeing my poor husband stressing over our situation is what's pushed me toward applying for SSDI. I tried to get an attorney involved for the initial application, but I live in Georgia, one of the WORST states for initial approvals (AND reconsiderations too), and all I've gotten are the "call us when you're denied" responses, I think b/c they know it's going to take work to get it approved, so they want to wait til I do all the INITIAL work for them, then they can take over once it's gotten to the reconsideration point. So I can't even GET any help with all this paperwork!!

Tonight I filled out the 15 year employment history and it took me 5 hours. Seriously, 5 hours. I've always worked in the same specialty, so I basically have the exact same job duties for each job, so I did a rough draft in pencil on a copy I'd made of the form, then when I got it how I wanted it I painstakingly copied it SEVEN times to represent the seven jobs I've had in the last 15 years. FIVE hours worth of copying. What these SSDI folks don't account for is that those of us that truly ARE debilitated by mental disorders are often not even capable of completing this amount of paperwork in the 10 days we're given. I have until Friday to complete that Adult Function Report and I'm scared I won't get it done! And the constant paralysis, inability to decide, not knowing what to write? I feel you on that too my soul sister! There's no good reason for me to be up after 1am stressing over these questions, but I just don't know what to write!

Please keep posting your experience with this process...it's been comforting for me to read and see that I'm not the only person on earth that feels like this. I know that doesn't make you feel any better about your own pain, but at least know you've helped me tremendously, just by venting your feelings as you've progressed to the point you now find yourself. We should compare notes one day, it sounds like the similarities between us are downright uncanny!

One form down, two to go, and two days to get them done~ I need some prayers folks!

Hey guys, I made that epic long post last night and guess what?? I got a call back from Binder and Binder in the morning, after IDK, over a month maybe that I called them about a consult? Gave them my info over the phone and now have an appt. today to go in and speak with whoever about taking my case! Strange how things happen huh? I'd given up hope that anyone would be willing to do anything with my claim until I'd at least been initially denied. Yay!

saywhat? - Thanks for sharing. I feel for you. It seems we do have much in common. It sounds like you are hard on yourself, and I'm glad that you know that.

The law firm representing me is one of those nationwide firms like Binder and Binder. I hope you will have a better experience than I am having. My firm is Heard and Smith. If the day comes when I feel I can say something nice about them, I will. As it stands, I am very leery about these big firms. The lovely man you see on the TV commercial who says "Nobody intimidates our clients - Nobody!" Well, I would be very interested to hear whether you ever . . . ever . . . get a chance to talk to him. Trust me - you won't.

That doesn't mean Binder and Binder won't do as good a job as anyone else will. They are the biggest law firm in the business of representing claims for SSDI. As one on-line article that I read said: They have it down to a science.

The federal government regulates the fees that lawyers can charge for representing a claimant before the SSA. They get 25% of your back pay - dated back to the date you became disabled. It is capped at $6000. Every firm I called, called me back - real promptly . . . even on Sundays. Every one of them said "We only charge you 25% and we don't charge you unless we win. They say that so boastfully. Well - guess what - that is all they can do. Every firm charges you the same.

It is no longer profitable for local attorneys to handle SSDI claims from the get go. That's why these huge national companies came into existence. Binder and Binder, like other big firms in the SSDI business, handles thousands and thousands of claims a year. (You see why it is unlikely that either one of the two Binder brothers is going to even hear of your name.) One good thing is that these big firms have departments to handle every aspect of the work. There will be a department with clerks whose job it is to bug the doctors and hospitals who have medical records needed for the case. I think that is a good thing. Unfortunately, when I saw the copy of the list I gave them, the clerk hadn't written down every provider I named. Also, doctor's names were misspelled.

From what I read, the clerks who work for these mega-law firms are sort of working in sweatshop conditions. They are part of a processing mill. So, you can expect them to make mistakes, which, hopefully, will not affect the outcome of your case.

When I complained about mistakes, the manager of the clerks working on claims at the stage mine is at told me I could get out of the contract if I was unhappy. I was just reading that Binder and Binder makes it very hard for you to fire them, if you are unhappy. If you fire them, which you can do, they will want payment for the work they have already done for you. Sounds fair - doesn't it. Well, firms tend to claim they have done an awful lot of work, regardless of how little time they have been working on your claim.

I never like to undermine anyone's faith in a doctor, or a lawyer, or any professional where trust has been placed. I don't for one minute think that the firm you have chosen is going to be any worse than mine. It's just that I am finding my relationship with the law firm to be way different from what I had guessed, based on how sweet and kind the "intake paralegal" was. I'm sure that person gets a commission for every new client they land. The one who called me spent hours telling me about her broken marriage and wanting to hear all the sad things that had happened to me in life. She gave me her "personal cell phone number" and her "personal e-mail address" with an invitation to contact her anytime. Yeah, right! I tried. Forget about it. I felt like such a sucker that I was so charmed by all the rapt attention paid to me by her. She even told me she specializes in doing intake on potential clients with disability based on psych diagnoses. I am probably going public with more than I should, but feel this is how we help each other know what we are up against.

The other side of it is that, if I had know what the reality of what I was going to get from the law firm was and tried to do it on my own, I'ld probably still be mulling it over. One thing about these big firms: they are real good at getting the ball rolling. Maybe that's what I needed most.

Good info: http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/assistance.html#b

One doesn't have to have a lawyer, there on non-lawyer representatives too; I found this interesting:

http://www.allsup.com/about-ssdi/com...entatives.aspx

Rose, it looks like after this is through and you have your monies, you will be so smart you can become a non-lawyer representative Now there's a "clerical"/sitting job for you?

Thanks, Rose, for your warnings....I will definitely be on guard with the B&B folks~no matter what promises they make! But unfortunately for me, they didn't make any.

I had my initial consultation and it went pretty much as expected. I spoke with an intake person, I couldn't even tell you if she was a paralegal or not, and we went over my history and she asked questions here and there. After maybe 30 minutes of Q&A and her looking over all my documents she said she had to go "talk it over" with her boss, I didn't bother asking who the boss was. She came back in with a letter to give to my primary doctor and said they would only be able to take my case if my doctor agreed to write a detailed letter discussing my condition and why I can't/couldn't work for 12 consecutive months. The letter she gave me was for me to give to my doctor that states what they are looking for and where to fax it once it's written, all on B&B letterhead. So if I can get the letter they want, then evidently they think they can prove my case. I have a consistent history of treatment with the same providers for several years.

The B&B lady said that I had a few things that were going to work against my claim...First, my age. I'm almost 40, and she said I was VERY young to win a disability case, regardless of the diagnosis. I thought this was strange, since depression really isn't age specific. I've been dealing with Major Depression since 1991...How long should I suffer with this before it's eligible for a claim? 30 years instead of 20? That aggravated me, not her fault, but if that's true, then shame on the SSDI people. Second, my primary diagnosis is depression with a secondary of fibromyalgia. B&B lady says these represent the two diagnoses that are most used to cheat the system, so flags go up instantly when these diagnoses are used for a claim. OK, this doesn't surprise me, but if I have the evidence to back me up, it shouldn't be an issue, right? Wrong, I know, I know, I will probably still have a very very hard time getting my claim approved, even with the best letter from the best doctor and the best attorney in the world, but there you go. This is all very disheartening, as I was caught off guard by the B&B lady's pessimism. I think I wanted a little sugar coating subconsciously, but the cold truth is better I suppose.

So now I must obsess over getting this letter from my doctor. He's a good doctor, heck, even a good guy, but is he going to take enough time out of one of his already double booked days to write a LONG, thorough, and most importantly SUPPORTIVE letter for my SSDI claim? Now that's the million dollar question! No pressure mr doctor, no pressure

I am now 31, was 26/27 when I was approved for disability, diagnosis of major depression and BPD, so don't lose all hope just yet. It can still happen (and I was approved on my first try)

Yes, all lawyers make it sound like they want to help you & how important you are.....then they do hardly anything.....at least that's been my experience with them.

I don't remember much about my filing for disability.....back in 1995...lived in California. I remember my pdoc being the one that worked on getting a lot of the information together for me about my depression which was major with suicidal issues at the time. I filled out all the work stuff, but I really don't remember much. Think at the same time I was filing a case for workman's comp which which landed me in the hospital anytime something about it came up.....so disability was sort of in the background.....did it all myself & think my husband might have helped fill out some of the forms. I remember going through the interviews & all the crap that had nothing to do with the mental issues that my disability was for.....but I got it first time.

My husband later on......ended up filing for disability...didn't get it on the first time...but appealed it later & ended up getting it the on the second try.....neither of us used a lawyer. The one lady we used to help fill out my husband's paperwork had mental problems at the time & we basically threw away the $150 to her.....went ahead & handled it ourselves. I never like using lawyers unless I absolutely HAVE TO....if I can't take care of it on my own.