Filing for disability due to AS
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Hi all,
? I have not worked since taking an early retirement from work in March 2015 because of the AS and other things. I had a personal bias against filing for disabilty and had some income from a pension, IRA and annuity that I was drawing from. In late 2016 it became obvious that that approach wasnt working so I gathered my medical records together and filed here in Texas. I was cocky since my problems included two of the conditions that social security specifically lists as permanently disabling - AS and severe degenerative disc disease. To make a long story short they took over four months to process my claim and came back with a denial. They told me that my condition was "well managed" and there was no reason I couldnt go back to my old job which included consuting and travelling. I am no longer so cocky and I have engaged an attorney to fight that decision. We are pretty sure that we will eventually win this but I was told that it could take up to year more to process.
? I guess I'd like to hear any other experiences with people who were filing for disability with AS. I was told that because pain is so subjective it is the easiest thing to "fake" and consequently the easiest thing for social security to deny. But to me the frustrating thing is that there is so much more to this disease than just pain and stiffness. This disease is such an insidious monster that effects your body in ways that are sometimes hard to describe to someone who is not famliar with it. I personally see five different specialists in addition to a primary care doctor. I see a rheumatologist, gastroenterologist, hematologist, cardiologist and a pain management doctor. And since I have had three spinal surgeries and am looking at a fourth you can add a sixth one - a neurosurgeon. I recently joked with someone that I spend so much time in doctor's offices that fact alone would make it hard to hold a job. Add to that the constant pain, stiffness, nausea, lack of sleep, constant fog of living on narcotic pain pills and all the other joys of AS, I couldn't imagine being able to hold any full time work.
? Anyway, enough of that. I'd like to hear about your experiences with applying for disability in the U.S.A. Did you have better success than I have so far or did it go better for you?
0 likes, 25 replies
peter21326
Posted
Hi Gloria,
? I sincerely hope this morphine gives you the pain relief and comfort that you need. Without experiencing it, nobody really understands how it is to live with constant driving pain. Take it wisely and it should help.
?Some time ago I read a book called Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. Marcus is an American Navy Seal who was badly injured and left to die in Afghanistan after a fierce battle. He was picked up and nursed back to health by one of the local tribal leaders. What was interesting is that he, like all soldiers these days, carried small packets of morphine to use if injured in battle. He was so badly injured though that the morphine hardly even touched his pain level. The Afghans had something that they gave him which was like a gift from God. He was never specific about what it was but he said it gave him a complete and total pain relief and he thought it was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen. Its effect absolutely dwarfed the effect of morphine. I guess my point is that there is so much we still dont know about pain and ways to alleviate it and sometimes it can come from the strangest places. Hang in there and we'll pray that this does you a lot of good.
ginam6661 peter21326
Posted
peter21326 ginam6661
Posted
ginam6661 peter21326
Posted
Boy, I could sure use some of that now. Between the pain from my knee replacement and AS flare. My feet, knees, hips and lower back are stinging me. I can' take my steroid because it would inhibit bone healing. I took celebrex, but probably not good either because I'm on a blood thinner. I need a field of poppies!
tony68114 peter21326
Posted