Writers needed - trouble completing forms

I am having trouble completing my insurance forms. I am not a writer by trade.

I write software, but that hardly counts.

Particularly right now with generalized anxiety disorder I have a great deal of difficulty concentrating so as to express myself.

I tried writing a three page letter two days ago and it took me two full days... over 10 hours of work at least... maybe 1500 words at most.

I have to answer the following question
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From my perspective, I am unable to return to my full job at [Employer name] due to the folowing medical issues:
(To allow us to assess your appeal, please include as much information as you can about how your medical condition and/or treatment affects your day to day functioning and what part(s) of your job you feel you could not do because of your medical condition).
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I work at a desk. I take meetings. I do support calls over the phone. I type, I type, and I type. I have to think about abstract ideas in order to organize programming code intelligently. When you are at a professional level you can't just throw code into a program, you have to think about it.

This is all I have so far. I just have no way of explaining how each of these symptoms of GAD affect my work. My biggest trepidation is that my insurance company has a habit of twisting anything I type into a corner they choose that will disqualify me for coverage.

If I say anything about my workplace affecting GAD, I get told "workplace issues are not an illness, they must be resolved in the workplace. We expect you to return to work immediately." I learned not to even remotely suggest my workplace triggers or affects my GAD in any way. That is a bear trap I won't walk into again.


nausea
diarrhea
tiredness
irritability
sleeplessness
memory loss
disorientation
restlessness
hand and leg tremors
muscle tension and muscle cramps
vomiting

So, I have to find a way of explaining how these problems affect my work, without expressing them as a workplace issue. What I pretty sure about is I have to lead with the symptoms, not my workplace chores.

I understand how someone with these issues won't perform well at all. But right now i can't explain it to save my life.

Are there any writers on the forum that have any ideas? I need help. It took me almost an hour to write this post.

I would talk to my psychiatrist or therapist about how best to word the medical aspect. They have to deal with insurance companies all the time and will have a better idea of what they are looking for.

Some of your symptoms make it hard for you to stay at your desk (Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, restlessness). Some make it hard to type (hand and leg tremors, muscle tension and muscle cramps). Some make it hard to concentrate (memory loss, disorientation, sleeplessness). Some make it hard to deal with customers (irritability).

Think about what a day at work is like. Walk through the last day you worked. What happened when you arrived? How did you feel reading your email? Were you able to understand the customer's problem and be helpful to them? What happened when a coworker stopped by? Did you talk to your boss about something? Did you need to ask a co-worker for help? Did you run into a bug you couldn't fix? Did you need to explain a design to your group? How long could you stay focussed on what you were doing? What coping mechanisms did you use (and are these "acceptable" behavior in the workplace)?

Come up with a list - don't worry about making sentences or having them flow into paragraphs.

The reason all of this is hard is because you are anxious. Give yourself a break and don't expect perfection. If lack of perfection shows through it will demonstrate your current state.

Do ask your therapist for help, as the other poster suggested.

Good luck.

Okay try viewing this from another perspective.

You have been diagnosed with GAD, right? Anything else (just asking)?

Here's the Mayo Clinic's info You wouldn't want to say work causes your GAD because in truth, we aren't sure what causes this dilemma/disorder!

So... rather than take this "personally" (though it is I know)... try writing about the GAD, how IT causes you to need to be able to focus (in a quiet place?) upon the code you are writing... or whatever you need etc. rather than sounding snarky

Quote:

I work at a desk. I take meetings. I do support calls over the phone. I type, I type, and I type. I have to think about abstract ideas in order to organize programming code intelligently. When you are at a professional level you can't just throw code into a program, you have to think about it.

That's a good start really... It's okay, imo, to go ahead and write what you REALLY feel, like the above paragraph, so you have it "all out there".... and THEN rewrite it for the insurance company (they are not rocket scientists and are paid not to think )

So... continuing (and you need to use your ideas because I don't know your job)... because of the problem with not sleeping well, I need... ??? what are you requesting?? to be able to have flex time???

Got it? Let me know if you need more help.. You can do this... and yes I fully understand how insurance companies twist things. I've been surveilled for 29 years!

Can you do this job at home????

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Thank you everyone.

My Doctor I'm afraid isn't much help. I may be looking into getting a new Doctor who is willing to invest more time in putting insurance responses together.

I will keep working away on my paperwork and let you know how it goes.

I'm sorry your doc isn't helping you out...I wonder if the office has a nurse that can help? Some offices have nurse case managers/nurse liaisons whose job it is to help out with things such as this. They deal with insurance companies all the time and would understand how to navigate this better I think than your doc would. Not all offices have them (I see them more in the hospital); nurse liaisons especially are kind of a newer thing. But it may be worth asking about this.

Dealing with insurance is definitely not easy, and causes anyone anxiety. I can't imagine trying to navigate those waters with GAD. Stay strong, and good luck to you!

you can go in to what ever agency this is for and let them know you have trouble writing things down, they will have someone sit with you and have you answer the questions orally (here in america we have a law that requires work places, government offices like social services, social security and others to offer other formats and people to help with situations like this, the law is called the american disability act law.... short version if someone has trouble reading or writing they must administer the forms orally with someone from their office filling in the forms as you tell them the answers.

my suggestion contact who ever these forms are for and let them know one of your disabilities is writing/filling in these insurance forms. they will set an appointment with you for when you can go in to have someone help you with them and if you cant get to them they can also have you do the forms with one of your treatment providers.

Any oral questionnaire is worse.

If it's in writing I at least have time to sit back and think about my answers.

You can't ask someone with anxiety to take an oral questionnaire on the fly like that. That's just going to stress them exponentially more than they already are.

While a written exam requires concentration, you at least have the luxury of time and a BACK button.

I am looking into a new clinic that seems to be able to offer more support. I have pretty much given up on my doctor at this point.

I am just shocked that there isn't more examples or guidance on the www for this sort of thing. I can't even find one example claim to work from.

I can write and write, but I would rather know i am including what the insurance company wants to hear and excluding anything that may be a waste of time or detrimental to the claim.

one time I was having writing reading problems due to medications, I had to fill in insurance forms. I called in and explained the problem. I also have anxiety. so I explained that to them. they were fantastic. they put me in a room where it didnt matter how long it took to fill out the forms and the person asking me the questions was great. she asked the question, gave me plenty of time to think about the answer and if I asked her to she would repeat the question. I remember this one question she would ask me it, write my answer and I would say ok read that back to me please. she would and I made changes and then thought a bit more and said can you read that back to me please she did and I made changes. this went on for a good 15-20 minutes on just that one question. afterwards I thanked her for all the time she took with me and that I was a bit embarrassed. she said ...."no problem, working with you is and your problem topped with anxiety is just like working with a blind person. sometimes it can take many hours for the process but its our job to take this time and help the client through the process in a calm non rushed way that fits their disability, your disability at the moment is reading, writing and test taking anxiety, nothing we cant handle, in fact we handle this every day with the disabled."

Im sorry this process wont work for you,my post wasnt meant to upset you, it was more to tell you that thanks to the disability law there is help for filling out forms, only you can decide if its something you want to do. for me it was well worth it and less stressful then trying to do the forms on my own.

since you dont want to go this route, the only other choices that I can see that you may have is...

contact your treatment providers so that they can help you (since you posted your treatment provider is not able to do this then all thats left is....

do them on your own
reveal to a friend what the insurance form are so that they can help you

unfortunately here we cant help you fill in the forms because we are not you, we dont know what your disabilities actually are in full detail, by this I mean we dont have your medical and mental health records so we dont have the full picture of what your problems are, what your treatments are, what your past history of medical and mental problems are....all that kinds of things that you may need to consider when filling out the forms. only you know what's what. the forms want you and your problems not what people on psych central think based on a few posts. so that leaves you and your friends, unless you choose to contact the insurance company or your treatment providers.

No I wasn't upset. I am just frustrated and anxious.

It's not that I don't know the details. As I write I know in the back of my mind my insurance case manager has an idea in his head of what he wants to see written there and I am supposed to

a. know what that criteria is
b. meet that criteria
c. have evidence to support the fact that I meet that criteria

I don't have a helpful case manager. I have a case manager who keeps me in the dark unless I explicitly ask him a direct question. Even then half the time i don't get a straight answer. Anything I say he tries to twist that into something to invalidate my claim and order me back to my desk. I get panic attacks just seeing his number show up on my phone.

All of this is just ridiculously anxiety inducing to have to write and guess what I am supposed to say.

It's not unlike someone holding a gun to your head and saying "ok, in my mind I am thinking of a number between ONE and TEN..."

I don't think anyone can write well under those kinds of conditions.

And a constant worry that I am writing things that are at best a waste of my time, or even worse may invalidate my claim completely:

a. not of any use/irrelevant
b. things that he can twist into something to dispute my claim

For example i could type this :

"using the computer for more than 30 mins at a time is exhausting and I have to stop"

And he could just say "Oh, so you CAN use a computer and do work? Great, time to return to work."

This just makes my hands freeze and I cant' type anything.

I keep looking for samples on the www and there's nothing. I am quite shocked about that.

I see. heres an idea go to the library reference section, get the DSM 5. this is the book that has all the recognized mental disorders in the USA and the criteria for it. this way you dont have to know the criteria. you can just look it up and then its just a matter of whether whether you feel you meet that criteria or not. if so write down which of the criteria you met and why you think you meet that criteria...

Here's some suggestions from the ADA site:

Here is a page from the Accommodation Ideas site of the eeoc:

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Talk to a social worker connected to (usually) the ER or outpatient area of a local hospital...they used to be free to discuss things with and also used to be great at finding resources patients of all types need.

Here's a specific link you might use: http://askjan.org/media/Bipolar.html

I'm sure he is just asking so that he fully complies with the ADA and isn't being a jerk on purpose This shows they need to be educated in this area, and you, my friend, are the educator!

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Wow. That is a lot of detail.

I am not looking for ways my workplace can accommodate anxiety however. I am actually looking for detailed explanation of how anxiety symptoms (like nausea, vomiting, diarhea, disorientation) make a return to the workplace unrealistic/impossible right now.

For example, if I can involuntarily vomit, or have a bowel movement at any moment, it's not a good idea to go into an office place, surround yourself with co-workers, and put yourself into a high activity, high stress work day. That's a recipe for a disaster. Not to mention, that's not conducive to getting any better.

My case manager has the idea in his head that no matter what my symptoms are or how uncomfortable I am, it's not a reason not to go into work. Despite the fact that three licensed medical doctors all advise me to remain home until I have GAD under better control.

I find anxiety similar to a stomach flu. This is not something you take into a workplace. You are drowsy, confused, throwing up, and wetting your pants all day long. That does not belong in a professional office building.

I don't think my case manager is a jerk either. But I do think he underestimates the severity of the problem. He won't even say anxiety or generalized anxiety disorder. He insists on calling my absence "work stress." In all dialogues I have had with him he dismisses anything I have to say about GAD and changes the conversation into work stress.

what about contacting your medical doctor. there are some really great meds that can get these symptoms in control. here in my location these symptoms even though anxiety caused are called IBS and incontinence. the meds work for both sides of the coin so to speak and there are some really great hygiene products out there...

not exactly the same thing but yet is...with each of my pregnancies I had these same problems. I would get stressed out and like you vomit, wet and soil. my doctor prescribed some meds for all of the above and I also wore Attends, and in a back pack kept a few Attends and package of disposable wipes and a few large zip lock freezer bags. when accidents happened I went to the bathroom, cleaned up, put the wet\soiled Attends in the ziplock freezer bag and disposed of it in the bathroom garbage can. at first I was self conscious about it so I also brought with me small brown paper bags, this way the waste was concealed from others using the restroom.

not saying this is perfect but its an idea to use until you get all the insurance stuff taken care of, in the event that you are required to go back to work before everything gets settled for you.

I am perfectly ok remaining at home for a few months while the anxiety gets under control. My challenge is my insurance company is not fine with that. I am not looking for solutions on how to immerse myself into my workplace.

I am not looking for way to accommodate myself to my workplace. My insurance company is working full time on that already, despite my doctor's warning.

I know my work, and I know going back right now is not a good idea. My doctor agrees with me, but my insurance refuses to even acknowledge my doctor's advice.

I think that will cost them the appeal. I honestly don't think they can outright reject the advice of a licensed medical doctor who advises me to remain off work.

The most frustrating part is that while in the middle of this war between my doctor and my insurance company I am not getting any better.

I left work to recuperate. Unfortunately I haven't had any time to do that. I think that's the insurance company's strategy: make time away from work even more unpleasant and destructive than time at work would be.

I have run across dozens of websites explaining how to better accommodate and manage anxiety in the workplace. I have yet to find one that details how anxiety can impact the workplace. I haven't found one that warns about the risks of returning to work with a severe GAD. That is what my insurance case manager is looking for from me. I have been paying into insurance for fourteen years. I have taken less than half dozen sick days at my work for fourteen years. I am not going to put my health at risk just to go to work more. I have witnessed dozens of people take time off work for less. I am not going to martyr myself for my company this time. My health is going to be first. That means remaining absent from work. No one seems to be hearing this. That's incredibly frustrating.

What I am looking for is an explanation/example of how to convince my insurance company to recognize pressuring me back into my workplace is a bad idea. What I am looking for is a way to convince my insurance company to put me back on Short Term Disability coverage while I get better. While my doctor has a report to submit. I have one as well. Mine is the one I am working on and can't complete.

short version you cant convince them to stop pressuring you to go back to work, its their job to look at the facts and decide whether or not they can pay your bills with their money.

think of it like you are in a computer business. someone walks up to you and says I want that software for free, you pay for the software and give it to me.

your not going to just hand over that computer software and eat the cost of giving it to someone else. you are going to need all kinds of documentation to prove this person really needs that computer software....so whats going to make you stop pressuring this person to buy their own software? right... documentation, proof....

in order to get insurance companies to pay for your bills rather than requiring you to go to work and pay your medical bills from your paycheck, you will need to jump through all their hoops gathering all the information they need to make an informed decision...

suggestions get a psychiatric evaluation from a treatment provider that is listed on the insurance plan.

unfortunately only you can fill out your part of the forms. Ive already given you suggestions on how to get your forms filled out...(contact the insurance company and tell them you need help on the forms and set an appointment for one of their employees to help you, ask a friend who lives in your location to help you, ask your treatment providers to help you.) others here have also made suggestions, but each time you say you cant do that...well only you know what you can and cant do,

unfortunately we can not help you fill out your forms for you because we are not you, we dont know your life history, and only you know the full extent of your disabilities.

look Im going to be a bit blunt here...you seem to have no problem writing about your problems here in psych central. that tells me you can fill out this forms that you need to do. just think of it like making a post, sit down and write about your problems as if you were writing about them here on psych central..maybe go back and read your past posts, that can tell you what your problems are and what you need to write down on the forms.

I think you can do this. just breath and take it one question at a time.

Well, comparing posts here to the documentation insurance companies are demanding is an apples and oranges comparison I'm afraid :

a. no deadlines to post here
b. no one is going to withdraw support if i don't word something the way they envision it in their mind
c. no one here is reading posts with a cynical or skeptical eye.. everyone here has a similar illness themselves
d. the people here, are here to help, the insurance company isn't help.. insurance is the obstacle that must be overcome..
e. if I type something here, it's not going on some permanent record that gets referred to and quoted to me

It's easy to write here for you guys. You are educated on mental illnesses and there's zero pressure. I can actually sit back to think and breathe. It's a very different thing to write a convincing appeal for an insurance company with a deadline attached and your household's finances riding on it being well written.

What you are experiencing right now is exactly why you can't go to work. Use the current situation to help you write.

How do you feel? How is your body reacting?

These are things you have said above:
using the computer for more than 30 mins at a time is exhausting and I have to stop
I can involuntarily vomit, or have a bowel movement at any moment, it's not a good idea to go into an office place, surround yourself with co-workers, and put yourself into a high activity, high stress work day. That's a recipe for a disaster. Not to mention, that's not conducive to getting any better.
I find anxiety similar to a stomach flu. This is not something you take into a workplace. You are drowsy, confused, throwing up, and wetting your pants all day long. That does not belong in a professional office building.
It's not unlike someone holding a gun to your head and saying "ok, in my mind I am thinking of a number between ONE and TEN..."
I have a great deal of difficulty concentrating so as to express myself.

These are good. This is what you need to say.

You also talk about time pressure being a problem. And you demonstrate that you have trouble making decisions when the stakes are high.

Maybe you can take it one step at a time and I'll help you. Write a short paragraph (just a few sentences) about how it felt and what happened the last few days you were at work. Just write to me - not for them.

Then we'll work on a different aspect. And the whole thing will get edited a lot before it goes to them.

For me, the hardest part of writing something like this is that I don't want anyone else to know how badly I'm really doing. But you need to let them know that or they'll think you can come back to work. You need to be honest with them.

Falls

Thank you falls. These specific examples are what they are looking for yes. I hadn't realized I was already writing what they needed to hear.

I am working on something right now. I will post soon.