Be careful on the marijuana issue. I recently considered edibles to ease a chronic GI issue. I have a naturopath but she treats me virtually and isn’t licensed in my state so I was going to see someone local. Then I happened to hear about a study revealing decreased vascular function in marijuana smokers, and believe it or not, an even higher rate in those that consume edibles. So until more is known, I think for those of us with aneurysm histories it’s a scary undertaking. I don’t think my brain can take another stroke. Now that marijuana use has become legal and more acceptable in so many states, medical issues associated with its use are becoming evident.
I recently went to a new specialist ENT that I haven’t seen yet. He stuck a camera up my nose that I haven’t had done before.
He determined that I should have my tonsils taken out and do a procedure called Expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty (ESP). Which opens up my airway more and will help me sleep better and in turn feel better. I have not had success with trying the nose pillow mask with sleep apnea… I do feel I’m sleeping better, but that has to do with going to the gym and taking melatonin and nortriptyline. We are looking at doing this procedure in June as they say it will be a very tough recovery for someone in their 40s.
Other than that, my lawyer told me there has been no movement on my appeals to my denial which is depressing and not surprising.
I am also as of yesterday went back to work part time. Tomorrow is my day off looking forward to sleeping in!
Thanks for sharing Rick! How long is the backlog for hearing appeals in your State? When you know that length of time it may help with your depression. Have you tried reaching out to your Federal Senators? They should have a health aide. Perhaps one can help you out, it’s how I was able to get accepted before having to go to the Judge. It does no good to reach out to your federal Congressman in the House of Representatives in my experience. I may have already shared that with you, if so, I apologize.
So they’re waiting for June as you get the Summer off, is that correct? How long will recovery be?
I have no idea how to look at their backlog, my lawyer said it was about 15 months when we submitted the appeal…
You did mention you reached out to someone in the government, but I don’t know how to do that either.
As for June, you are correct with that. Also get approvals from insurance, my drs and the team at that hospital since it’s different …. But my mother is worried that I could bleed from it as we both have Factor 5 Leiden. So I don’t know.
I will be home laid up for at least a week then a couple weeks I should be good.
Another question today I had is I talked with my tax lady. I took $ out of a Roth IRA this past year to pay off my car. I do have more $ in it and a couple small 401ks…. I don’t know how that affects my insurance and disability when we do get the appeals… anyone have ideas about that?
Thanks as always
I’ve talked to 4 different friends that have social security disability. And the only thing they all have in common that is not true for me, is that they all had no retirement (IRA/401K/stock options) when they got awarded their disability claims… they either never had one or they cashed them in before the claim was settled as they needed the $ to live on …
I could use the money from mine but also I am contributing to my 401k at work as they are as part of my pay so it’s a benefit I want to keep.
Anyone got ideas about that?
That doesn’t hold true for me. When I was finally awarded SSDI, I still had my 401k with the county I worked for, had already started a ROTH and had stocks through a financial advisor. Remember SSDI is based on work history. We had diligently put 20% of our pay checks into investments. BH’s company matched the employees 401k up to a certain amount.
As far as my experience, SSDI doesn’t factor in anything but work history and how much one made in the last few years (forgot the exact length) to see how much you’ll be awarded on a monthly basis. Somehow I received Medicare although we didn’t know it and had been paying for private insurance after COBRA expired. I found out when I went to see my PCP and they said I couldn’t see her. I offered to pay cash. I got confused and upset. They had to talk to BH who explained it to me. Blue Cross Blue Shield was refusing to pay until Medicare paid their share. Would have been nice for BCBS to have let us know.
BH picks what I need covered and that’s taken out of my monthly check, before they deposit the rest in my account. Medicare cost to me is about 20% or so of my monthly SSDI check. I know we have to make sure I’m covered for any future brain or spine surgery.
To contact your Senators in DC, you’ll have to send them an email requesting help in obtaining your disability. I don’t know which one of yours is active in healthcare issues. Aggravating to me since I don’t know how to keep a copy of the email I send to them through their website. I usually end up using my phone and taking a photo of it. Maybe another more tech savvy member knows. You might also want to visit their office in your area.
I was fortunate enough to have met the young man who was hired by our new Senator back then when we went to DC for Lobby Day with the BAF and The Bee Foundation. He gave me his card and I had kept it. Called him up when my lawyer said it would be another 21 months because of the backlog in NC. I’m not sure it was my rupture that fit all the check boxes in SS formula, it may have very well been my lumbar surgery to be able to continue walking. The lumbar surgery would prevent me from returning to factory work. I barely passed the PT test to return to work. She said she wanted to fail me. According to the disability lawyer I had, age and education plays a significant part in being approved. He said they (SSA) figure a higher educated individual can take a job that doesn’t require a college degree. NC is notoriously behind on appeals.
You can check the backlog by doing an internet search for your State. But your attorney knows so I’d suggest going with what he told you. There’s no reason for him to mislead you, if he doesn’t think he will win, my guess is he would have never taken you on. Disability lawyers are given a set amount they can receive if they win your case. I believe it’s 25% of your back pay, there’s also a cap to what they can get.
Thanks as always for the info especially on the IRA/401k.
That is a relief to hear. I was told today that I am getting a raise. I know it was going to happen because minimum wage went up. I am grateful to get it. I finally told my supervisor about my disability case. She is younger than me and knows about my health insurance dilemmas. And I feel comfortable with her and trust her. She told me she wouldn’t tell anyone but I partly told her about the process and that I feel confident and hopeful this will all be resolved this year. I told her when it is I can talk to them and I’ll have in writing what I can make in a year to qualify for insurance and financially, which was what I was told from a friend.
I was told my employer would benefit from me continuing to work part time as they would have a disabled employee.
I got another thing in the mail from Fidelis, my insurance… said I may qualify for supplemental income based on the fact that I am single and have a disability that will last longer than a year. It is a federal program that I’ve never heard of. It may be new. I am going to make an appointment to show it to my lawyer and talk to him about all this.
Thanks again, fingers crossed this will be resolved this year