Friday, September 2, 2011

Disability Denied….Again

Filing for Social Security Disability is no easy task. This was my second time applying and getting denied….third time must be a charm. I hired a lawyer this time, however, so I am hoping that the 25% they will be getting is worthwhile.
Oh, Mr. Social Security, you say that you think I will be able to work in the next 12 months? Well, let’s see….I’ve been off work now for six months, the only thing that has gotten better is the eczema on my hands and everything else is getting worse. Hey Mr. Disability Examiner, why don’t you switch places with me for one day and THEN reevaluate my case!
Hmmm, let’s go through my wonderful day…
·         I have left ventricular dilated cardiomyopathy, so I am ALWAYS tired
·         I suffer from depression and anxiety disorders so some days I don’t want to see the sun and the days I do get moving I am so wound up and anxious that I should of stayed in bed
·         I have arthritis in my spine…my back always hurts or burns or throbs – I spend most my days either sitting in a chair with a heating pad on my back or laying down (on a heating pad)
·          I have vertigo(dizziness, room spinning) most weeks
·         I have numbness and tingling in my legs, feet, arms and hands in varying degrees of intensity
·         I have a herniated disc in my back
·         I experience memory loss or forgetfulness
·         Migraines
·         Oh, let’s not forget the asthma and COPD so I am short of breath
·         Cardiac arrhythmia – heart beat slows down and then speeds up, I feel like I’m going to faint
·         Undiagnosed is my widespread pain I have in my bones and muscles (going to pain management for that next week)
Okay, so HOW exactly am I going to be able to work? Let’s not forget how my medications make me tired and the two diuretics I take to control my swelling and high blood pressure make me pee most of the day. Again, I ask HOW exactly am I going to be able to work?
I am so out of my comfort zone. Should I have stayed at work and continued to take sick days(which I have no more of) or continued to constantly get up from my desk to go to the bathroom (which my boss didn’t like) or falling asleep at my desk (which I got caught doing) from my medication and then eventually get fired? Apparently…..
Today life is a bowl of the pits…..