Re: Was trying to find out info on my situation

[Guest guest]

What kind of medication are you on? The only way I know to treat

this disease is with medication, and I know that from watching my

mother struggle with RA as I grew up, before there were many meds to

treat it. If the meds are not working, that is another thing. If

you've tried everything and nothing works, that is still another

thing. It is hard to successfully apply for disability, but to do

it you need the support of your rheumy. My mom is legally disabled,

although she is on lots of meds that do work, she has severe joint

distruction which makes it impossible to get to work on a daily

basis, much less work a normal business day.

Jennie

> I have RA. I have had it since I was 11. I am now 23 and It has

> been getting worse every day. Sometimes I wake to find myself

unable

> to move. Some days I can move but as the day goes on I get so

sore,

> I have to stop all activities and just lie down in order to deal

> with the pain. When I was younger the doctors gave me some advice

> but as the years progressed I forgot all the advice since I was

> stubborn and did not want to admit I have RA. Turns out admiiting

to

> having Ra is not being weak since it takes alot of strength to get

> through every day. I am getting worse and I have no Idea what to

do.

> I find it very difficult to work now, and I am worried about how I

> am going to support my wife. I joined this group to ask for your

> collective advice and wisdom. Should I file for disibility? My

> doctor and other medical staff have recomended for me to consider

it.

[Guest guest]

I would apply for disability. I am thinking about it except I'm confused. Do

you have to be completely unable to work for the past 6 months or does your

income have to be below a certain level to apply. Does anyone know?

Becky

[ ] Was trying to find out info on my situation

I have RA. I have had it since I was 11. I am now 23 and It has

been getting worse every day. Sometimes I wake to find myself unable

to move. Some days I can move but as the day goes on I get so sore,

I have to stop all activities and just lie down in order to deal

with the pain. When I was younger the doctors gave me some advice

but as the years progressed I forgot all the advice since I was

stubborn and did not want to admit I have RA. Turns out admiiting to

having Ra is not being weak since it takes alot of strength to get

through every day. I am getting worse and I have no Idea what to do.

I find it very difficult to work now, and I am worried about how I

am going to support my wife. I joined this group to ask for your

collective advice and wisdom. Should I file for disibility? My

doctor and other medical staff have recomended for me to consider it.

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the group! I'm very sorry to hear that you aren't doing well.

Were you previously in a long period of remission? Do you have a

rheumatologist? What medications are you on now and which have you tried

in the past? Do you have joint damage?

You don't need to answer any of the above questions, but it will help us

understand your situation better.

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

[ ] Was trying to find out info on my situation

> I have RA. I have had it since I was 11. I am now 23 and It has

> been getting worse every day. Sometimes I wake to find myself unable

> to move. Some days I can move but as the day goes on I get so sore,

> I have to stop all activities and just lie down in order to deal

> with the pain. When I was younger the doctors gave me some advice

> but as the years progressed I forgot all the advice since I was

> stubborn and did not want to admit I have RA. Turns out admiiting to

> having Ra is not being weak since it takes alot of strength to get

> through every day. I am getting worse and I have no Idea what to do.

> I find it very difficult to work now, and I am worried about how I

> am going to support my wife. I joined this group to ask for your

> collective advice and wisdom. Should I file for disibility? My

> doctor and other medical staff have recomended for me to consider it.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

i am taking the liberty of answering you post personally. I read all of the

posts but I am having difficulty writing to the whole group. I guess I am a bit

shy but this group keeps me going. I am writing you because both my husband

and I are on disability for the last four years and I believe I can give you

somem insight. I worked for 17 years as a teacher for emotionally handicapped

children then had two herniated discs while at work -breaking up a fight

between two of my students . I was working summer school in 1998 in another

school

-not my regular one. The last day of classes after exams is really a day for

baby sitting especailly if you work with Eh Middle Schoool children. Most

teachers on that day have very few children but all of mine always showed up. It

is

a day teachers usaully grade the finals and make out the report cards for

their respective classes. It is also a day that teachers must clean their

classes

and return their books, media equipment ans get signed out etc.... Usually

teachers bring in a movie for the few students that attend regular classes and

get to work on doing their grading . As I said in my particular class I always

had all of my children because their parents quite frankly did not want their

children at home. I broke up a fight in the early morning- blew two discs out

and was totally paralizeed from the knees down by lunch. An ambulance had to

come to the school and I had to be wheelchaired and then taken out on

astrecher. It was one of the most frightening experience of my life , but that

is

another story. To make this very long story a bit shorter I will get to the

point

now. The school did not complete a incident report EVEN THOUGH I WAS ATAKEN ATO

THE HOSPITAL IN AN AMBULANCE! I thought that they had of course filled out

the necessary incident report for me to get workers' compensation. I was told

that night that I would have to have both my discs removed ( L5-L4 and S1-the

lower back was completely out. I went to my GP for follow up and luckily he

kept the records of my visit which included all of the informataion of how this

happened. Because the school in last day of summer school confusion neglected

to issue an incidenr report and so I was ineligable for worker's comp or my

paid insurance that would pay all medical expenses and would stop [aying 80% of

my salary after I had missed 6 monyhs of not being able to work. I had my

mother and my child to take care of all of the bills to pay since I was the only

bread winer and of course I could not live on nothing. I aspplied for disability

immedietly but had no choice to continue working . In the meantime I got so

bad that I had to use a cane and worked in excrutiating pain for about 5

months. I also began a law suit aginst the school system and especially towards

the

administration of the school I had been working in when I blew out my lower

lumbar disc. it got so bad that my school transferred me to the region office in

March and the accident had happened in August ( the 14th of 1998) Finally in

March of 1999 I could no longer function at all and had to underego two

emergency operations. After the operations I did not get better and found out I

had

post lamenctomy syndrome and RA ( which I diagnosed myself and asked the GP to

test for it etc. It was confirmed and then I started seeing a rheumy while

still having to see my neurosurgeon and GP. I used up all of my sock and

vaacation time and just before I was going to get evicted from my home ( which

was

foreclosed) I took on offer from the school board and won the law suit but it

was a bitter win since I had to accept their first offer and could not afford to

take it before a judge or trail by jury. I was paid a mere 41,000 dollars and

$7000 went to my laywer and the rest went back paying back people that had

loaned me money to survive through all of the months I was out of pay after my

surgery.I lost my pension and now can never work in Dade county since we are

not to sue the school system no matter what.

During this period ( aND THIS IS REALLY WHAT YOU ARE CONCERNED WITH ) i

APPLIED FOR DISABILITY . I sent them all the required medical reports including

the

ones from my rheumy stating I had RA, My pain management specialist confiming

that I had severe degenaritive diSC DISEASE PUT ME ON oXYCONTIN AND WAS ONE

OF THE DOCTORS THAT HEPED GET ME MY DOSABILITY. iT IS ESSENTIA THAT YOU SEND

ALL THE MEDICAL INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE IN YOU R FAVOR. aLL DIAGNOSITIC TESTS

ETC. iF YOU HAVE MORE THAT ONE DOCTOR THAT WANTS TO DISABLE YOU EVEN BETTER

HAVE THE WRIRTE A LETTER THAT EXPLAINS YOU DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS, YOUR

LIMITATIONS, YOUR TREATMENT AND THE REASONS WHY YOU CANNOT WORK IN ANY JOB. I

RECEIVE

1450 A MONTH AND THEN 750 FOR MY THREE YEAR OLD AND 16 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER BUT

WHEN SHE TURNS 18 i WILL STILL GET THE SAME AMOUNT BECAUSE ONE CHILD IS ALL i

CAN GET PAID FOR SO IT DOES NOT MATTER AND IF EITHER OF THEM GO TO SCHOOL THEY

WILL STILL RECEIVE THEIR DISABILITY UNTIL THEY ARE 21. OR FINISH COLLEGE.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GETTING DISABILITY AND SSI DEPENDS ON THE LAST FIVE

YEARS THAT YOU WORKED AND CONTRIBUTED BY PAYING TAXES. mY HUSBAND ON THE OPTHER

HAND HAS SEVERE DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE AND I AM SURE HE ALSO HAS AN AUTO

IMMUNE DISEASE AT LEAST I KNOW HE HAS SCHLERDERMA. mY DISABILITY TOOK ALMOST A

YEAR TOGET SINCE EVERYONE IS DENIED THE FIRSRT TIME, BUT APPEAL AND IF YOU

DON'T GET TIT ON THE FIRST APPEAL, APPEAL AGAIN AND YOU WILL GO IN FRONT OF AN

ADMINSTRATIVE LAW JUDGE. i HAD TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE BUREACRATIC GAMMIT BUT

SINCE MY HUSBAND HAD ALREADY UNDERGONE 4 SURGERIES HE GOT IT IMMEDIETLY. tHE

ONLY

PROBLEM WITH HIM AND YOU MAY HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM IS THAT EVEN THOUGHT HE

HAD WORKED EVERY DAY OF HIS LIFE, OWNED HIS OWN MASONRY COMPANY FOR ABOUT 21

YUEARS AND HADS WORKED SINCE HE WAS 14 YEARS OLD AS A MASON LABORER AND THEN A

MASON FOR 30 YEARS HE HAD APPLIED FOR DISABILITY YEARS BEFORE I MET HIM AND

WHEN HE WAS DENIED HE DID NOT APPEAL IT. I DID IT FOR HIM ( SINCE HIS PARTICULAR

DOCTOR DID NOT WANT HIM DISABLED BECAUSE HE WANTED HIM TO KEEP WORKING ON HIS

HOUSE AND HADS BEEN WORKING UNDER THE TABLE FOR YEARS ) SINCE HE HAD BEEN

WORKING UNDER THE TABLE FOR ABOUT SEVEN YEARS WHEN WE GOT TOGETHER HE WAS ONLY

ABLE TO GET 650.00 A MONTH AND HE USES THE 200.00 FOR HIS SON AND SENDS THAT

DIRECTLY TO HIM ( BUT THE BOY LIVES WITH IS MOTHER FROM A FIRST TERRIBLE 16 YEAR

MARRIAGE. eVEN THOUGH WE ARE BOTH DISABLEDAND HAVE A SON TOGETHER HE COULD NOT

GIVE OUR SON ANY MONEY BECAUSE IF BOTH PARENTS ARE DISABLED ONLY ONE PARENT

CAN GET THE CHILD'S DISABILITY AND MINE IS 750 FOR ONE CHILD AND OVER. wE

DECIDED ANYWAY TO SEND IT TO HIS 12 YEAR SON. HE GETS DISABILITY NOT SSI BUT

BECAUSE

HE IS GETTIGN SO LITTLE SINCE THEY ONLY COUNT THE LAST FIVE YEARS OF

EMPLOYMENT AND USE THE YEAR YOU MADE THE MOST AND THEN APPLY A SECRET FORMULA (

SINCE

NO ONE CAN EXPLAIN IT) AND BASE YOUR INCOME ON THIS BUT SINCE HE GETS SO

LITTLE HE ALSO GETS SSI IN THE FORM OF FOOD STAMPS AND MEDICARE AND MEDICAID.

BECAUSE I MAKE SO MUCH ?! I ONLY GET MEDICARE AND HAVE HAD TO FIND OTHER MEANS

TO

GET MY MEDS WHICH ARE OVER 3,000 DOLLARS A MONTH. I WANT TO MAKE THIS CLEAR TO

YOU WE ARE MARRIED COMON LAW AND SPIRITUALLY HE OS MY SOUL MATE BUT WE ARE

NOT LEGALLY MARRIED YET SINCE I NEED TO MAKE SURE HE WON'T LOSE HIS BENEFITS IF

THEY COMBINE OUR INCOMES. IT DOES NOT AFFECT SSD BUT IT AFFECTS SSI BENEFITS

AND I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU WILL GET SINCE YOUARE SO YOUNG AND IT WILL DEPEND

ON WHAT YOU NADE YOUR BEST YEAR OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS YOU HAVE WORKED AND PAID

ANW .