Re: Re: Psych exam - H.

[Guest guest]

OK, I've read the comments on the thread posted after Sharon's but I wanted to

underscore hers...

ly, I think it's probably a GOOD thing to have psych evals and I'll lay out

my case for it - I realize that means one has to have a psych diagnosis of some

sort, and that can be pretty unpleasant - especially since a good number of us

on this site can feel defensive after having been accused of making up physical

symptoms.

My first fungal 'exposure' was in a hospital after my third open-heart surgery.

I had my second open-heart surgery immediately before the third one, and there

were complications and then complications upon those complications and I

survived by the skin of my teeth. Woke up with thrush on my tongue and a fungal

infection on my back. Had another re-do on the valve 15 months after that which

brought my surgeries to 4 over 5 years.

If y'all don't mind my saying so, I was pretty F'ed up physically and had nearly

died twice and it was a VERY long road back to something akin to health. I was

pretty sure that with what I'd been through that SS would be a snap. NOT SO.

Here's the deal, you need whatever you've got going on to be in what they call

their Blue Book of diseases and disorders or whatever it is. If it ain't in the

book, you don't get covered - unless you have symptoms exactly like something

else in the book and all the stars line up in your favor (unlikely - don't hold

your breath)...helps to be in end-stage cancer or renal failure (those will

actually get you IN).

So the rhythms my heart went into that weren't consistent with life, the

congestive heart failure, the fact that I got 30 units of blood in one sitting

and was jolted nearly 100 times to get me beating again? Nuttin. Got me to the

SS door but not in it. What got me THROUGH the door was the intelligence and

psych testing I had done. See, if you look through the Blue Book, you'll find

that there are a HEAP GOB more descriptions of things that can go wrong with the

brain than they have listed for body ailments. I hit the jackpot because I had

listed on my forms that I had memory loss with my heart surgeries - I'd had

stroke-like events when particulate matter got stuck in my brain from the

heart-lung pump. Now this brain stuff was annoying, but it sure didn't seem

likely to KILL me like I thought my other symptoms might, but this is what got

me on their rolls.

I've had two of these sessions, and I left in tears both times and felt quite

humiliated. But it got me covered. I'm just saying, as horrid as it may seem

(and I won't deny that it's horrid), it may have a better chance of getting you

through the SS door than whatever your physical symptoms are. I got through on

my first appeal. Lord know that the REST of the world doesn't recognize

anything mold-related (if that's what your cause is for being disabled), and

certainly SS doesn't mention mold anywhere in the Blue Book. But if you have

documented cognitive decline, that'll likely get you farther than anything short

of qualifying you for hospice.

I actually do have brain damage - seems that I've got a genetic situation that

predisposes one for trouble, and the heart surgeries created situations to bring

it home. My mold exposure from my home exacerbated all this by bringing on

seizures and peripheral neuropathy.

My recommendation is to read up on what they think can be wrong with the brain

so you can report to them what you've got going on. So many of the freaky neuro

things that come from mold just seem unbelievable, so if you have an idea of

what may be going on for you and can document it BEFORE you see their doctor,

that could go a long way for you - if you've tests that have been read by other

physicians, I think they'll be less likely to contradict that sort of material.

The guys SS hires run bare-bones mills to churn people through... bring any

documentation that supports your claim - it will make it easier for them to give

you the Good Housekeeping seal.

Here's the Blue Book link:

http://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/AdultListings.htm

~Haley

tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote: This is

not uncommon for SS. The doctor they sent me to was very open

minded, not like the one for w/c. As a matter of fact SS doctor

report was one the reports (I had gone to see Dr. Singer on our

own) that helped SS grant me full disability, both mentally and

physically.

Hope this helps,

Sharon

>

> Social security is requesting a two hour psych exam prior to granting

> any benefits. Anyone want to share their experience with ss and psych

> exam? Is videotapping allowed?

>

[Guest guest]

Haley, I understand where you are coming from. but I was not sick from mold when

I was declared disabled.......it was my back. The mold did not come into play

until I moved in where I live now, and if I had only known there was mold, and I

would become this ill...believe me, I could deal with what was handed to me with

my back, but would give anything if I never got sick from this mold/mycotoxins.

Darlene

[Guest guest]

Has anything been easy about mold??? I hate to say it but its much easier to

say chemical and people don't get that blank look on there face. I am reading

the manual.

K

[Guest guest]

You're misunderstanding how the system works (or arguably, doesn't work).

There is no way to get disability under 'mycotoxicosis' because it isn't in the

Blue Book. If you've had brain damage as a result of mycotoxicosis, that can

qualify you. The book is set out primarily under organ systems and considers

impairment to those systems.

An SS determination does not proscribe particular treatment. There are numerous

reasons to have caution about how the system works, but these concerns are not

reflective of the process, to the best of my understanding.

~H.

gsgrl2000 <gsgrl2000@...> wrote: Just be

careful is what I say about a psych diagnosis especially if

you don't want to be taking anti-depressants or even committed to a

psych ward somewhere but it is clearly up to the individual what

route they want to take in applying for disability. I would prefer to

not have a psych diagnoses and make my case about what it truly is;

mycotoxicosis. And I've let my lawyers know my feelings about that.

The more cases won under mycotoxicosis the more people in the future

will not have to fight as hard to get help and to get disability. So

if I get disability for a mental disorder and not for what I actually

have then it defeats the purpose for me.

And you do not have to be labeled " crazy " just to get disability as

you can see if you visit the link that was provided below. It is

harder to get disability without a mental disorder but it's not

impossible.

Dana

[Guest guest]

Ah, yes, the old, 'if I'd know there was mold and what it would do to me'

question that ALL of us on the list have pondered... I'm sure all of us would

use a time machine if we had one to take us back to pre-mold time.

My initial experience with fungus is NOT what made me sick when I qualified for

SS, but it may have set me up for the sensitivity and complications that came

later when I was exposed to indoor mold and mycotoxins.

My point is that if SS calls for a psych exam there's pretty much nada you can

do about that if it stands between you and benefits (obviously not the case in

question for you, Darlene). They're gonna use their own rules to make a

determination about what the source of disability is and there isn't much a

beneficiary can do about that with or without an attorney - there really isn't

much of a system for challenging what they decide has made one incapacitated.

~Haley

Darlene <darlenesb2000@...> wrote: Haley, I

understand where you are coming from. but I was not sick from mold when I was

declared disabled.......it was my back. The mold did not come into play until I

moved in where I live now, and if I had only known there was mold, and I would

become this ill...believe me, I could deal with what was handed to me with my

back, but would give anything if I never got sick from this mold/mycotoxins.

Darlene

[Guest guest]

It's always been my understanding that the most Social Security or

disability or unemployment insurance or anything like that pays is a small

fraction of what someone earns working.

So its not enough money to support people, except at a bare subsistence

level, and their saving money for the future is probably very difficult if

not impossible, right?

Wouldn't be far better if people had not gotten sick in the first place. If

they could still work?