Has anyone had to go on disability or work fewer hrs in relation to fibromyalgia?
I think that most of us who have had it a while do reduce our work hours and/or apply for disability. My first application was a huge disappointment, and I even lost the hearing due to everything going wrong, and I mean everything. My second hearing will be next year. I have been working 10 hrs/week, sometimes not at all, since 2007. Remember that the system tends to dismiss your case if you're working even a few hrs. Some court systems are better than others but in any case you should study up on it if you're needing disability. Good luck, take care.
I was on complete disability for 6 months. I have gradually increased my hours that I can work over the past several months. I have been told I have one of the most severe cases by multiple doctors. My doctor does not believe I will ever be able to work full time. However, I want my career back and wish to eventually go back full time.
I am at the onset of applying for disability. I have only recently been diagnosed with fibro, for the last four or five years I had been having very strange symptoms. Severe depression, memory loss and depleted sleep.My family Dr sent me to an orthopedist and he said I had tennis elbow. I had cortizone shots in both arms for two years and he ignored all other symptoms until the severe pain moved to my shoulder, lower back and behind my knees. I met with a rheumatolagist who, after shooting me with more cortizone, realised that I had fibro and referred me to a neurologist. My ahha moment, finally someone that understands. My Doctors sister suffers from fibro and she actually explained the disease and what I should expect. I am currently on a variety of meds, testing the dosage and the level of pain I am in.
I was not at all pleased to find out I had fibro but it was a huge relief to find some one that could help.
thanks Sharon for reply, Every time I read a response I learn more,My symptoms have only been the last 3 years,It has progressed to all over body pain, but what is so strange is that over the past 6 months I have constant pain in my elbow, certain areas hurt more than others but this whole elbow thing is very weird,it hurts to just lift a gallon of milk, and my lower back is constantly hurting despite the negetive MRI. What the heck !!
sharon said:
I am at the onset of applying for disability. I have only recently been diagnosed with fibro, for the last four or five years I had been having very strange symptoms. Severe depression, memory loss and depleted sleep.My family Dr sent me to an orthopedist and he said I had tennis elbow. I had cortizone shots in both arms for two years and he ignored all other symptoms until the severe pain moved to my shoulder, lower back and behind my knees. I met with a rheumatolagist who, after shooting me with more cortizone, realised that I had fibro and referred me to a neurologist. My ahha moment, finally someone that understands. My Doctors sister suffers from fibro and she actually explained the disease and what I should expect. I am currently on a variety of meds, testing the dosage and the level of pain I am in.
I was not at all pleased to find out I had fibro but it was a huge relief to find some one that could help.
Hi SarahW, I was wondering if ur disability was social security disability ? How often do they review it? Can u work at all or would you for sure loose it if you did? I have not applied yet, trying to decide between working part time, or just going on disability, I have been paying for long term disability for 20 years and it would pay me 60% of my salary, which is what I would make if I went part time. However if I go part time my salary will decline and if I need disability in the future I would get less than I would if I applied now now. I worked 20 hrs in 2 days and I feel so sick, not sure how much longer I can do this. I am down to 3- 10 hr days and i am struggling for sure.
SarahW said:
I have been on disability for 10 years. It originated for chronic severe depression though, not the Fibro. However, when they got around to wanting to review my case a year ago they sent me a one page questionare first asking if my condition had improved. I said that the depression was better managed but I had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. They decided from that that they didn't need to review my case at that time. I am hopeful that when I do come up for review again they will accept the Fibro diagnosis. There is no way I could work right now. it's all I can do to get out of my apartment for 2 hours on any given day. Are you applying or just considering it? If you are applying, I hope it goes well.
Sunflower72,
I certainly understand wanting to keep your career, what do you do ? what does your dr. consider a severe case? How can you be on disability for 6 months and then go back ? I would loose my job if I left for more than 3 months, Maybe I should try taking a few months off and then decide ??? I don't want to give up my position or my career, but even 3 days, i feel like is making me worse.
Sunflower72 said:
I was on complete disability for 6 months. I have gradually increased my hours that I can work over the past several months. I have been told I have one of the most severe cases by multiple doctors. My doctor does not believe I will ever be able to work full time. However, I want my career back and wish to eventually go back full time.
Thank you so much, Your reply really sheds some much needed info, I will keep researching the whole process and hopefully make the right decisions to go forward.
Katha (Katherine Shade) said:
I think that most of us who have had it a while do reduce our work hours and/or apply for disability. My first application was a huge disappointment, and I even lost the hearing due to everything going wrong, and I mean everything. My second hearing will be next year. I have been working 10 hrs/week, sometimes not at all, since 2007. Remember that the system tends to dismiss your case if you're working even a few hrs. Some court systems are better than others but in any case you should study up on it if you're needing disability. Good luck, take care.
Hi Marie, I replied to you from my I phone, but now on my computer I do not see it, so I guess in the US its a bit easier, my PCP, told me to let her know when I am ready, she told me she put a mail carrier on disability for fibro and it was not difficult, perhaps every case is different. I don't want to go on disability, just not sure how much longer I can keep this up. Thank you for reply
Marie said:
Hello Dee ,
I was told by my Primary Care Physician that I would never qualify for disability ......I did not ask him why ...I knew it was because I was still breathing !! lol
In terms of work,I agree with Katha, for those of us who have had FMS for a while most of us need to reduce our working hours. As for me I had to cut back to 2-3 days per week , my advantage is that I am self -employed so it permits me to be more flexible .
Is it easier in the U.S to obtain disability ? In Canada it is very dificult . Good-luck Dee.
I go back to my Dr this week, so I will have some answers from her as to my level of disability. I have gone from a very energetic mom who went sleding down the overpass in the snow a few years ago, to a mom that cannot pick up my newborn grandson from the pain in, I have to say my entire body, elbows,arms, shoulders, back of neck, lower back, behind my knees, just hurts all over.
Its raining today and this body shuts down. Thank God I have an understanding hubby.
Hello there - I purchased short and long term disability through my company. My fibro is severe because I have meet all of the criteria for diagnosis including all trigger points (18), extreme pain and fatigue, IBS, brain fog, etc the list goes on and on.
I think your job is protected through FMLA if you live in the US. Your company may provide short term disability which would allow you to stop work as long as your doctor fills out your disability paperwork and believes you are disabled.
When I went out of work I was bedridden. I would recommend talking to your doctor and your HR rep. Perhaps you could reduce your hours? I don’t recommend stopping work because I found it extremely depressing. Everyone is different so take care of #1.
dee said:
Sunflower72,
I certainly understand wanting to keep your career, what do you do ? what does your dr. consider a severe case? How can you be on disability for 6 months and then go back ? I would loose my job if I left for more than 3 months, Maybe I should try taking a few months off and then decide ??? I don’t want to give up my position or my career, but even 3 days, i feel like is making me worse.
Sunflower72 said:I was on complete disability for 6 months. I have gradually increased my hours that I can work over the past several months. I have been told I have one of the most severe cases by multiple doctors. My doctor does not believe I will ever be able to work full time. However, I want my career back and wish to eventually go back full time.
One thing i see going for you Dee is you're from a large city. Where the average income is higher, you're more likely to get good professional support. You must be lucky enough to see only supportive doctors, lawyer, and judge. In my experience if any of those 3 groups of people are against you (and yes, I actually had a lawyer who was against me), you will probably lose your hearing. (appeal; change lawyers if needed).
Oftentimes the doctors that SS sends you to for their examinations are the most prejudiced types. They tend to do the SS exams because they have not done well in their practice. Some are fair and just supplementing their practice though, but you never know what type you'll get.
It makes no sense when you see people who win with much less disability than others. For instance, if a guy has had a low back spinal fusion he may claim to still be in pain and that's often not the case; he's fine. But the judge will be impressed because he's been operated on.
It's too bad we need to study up on the whole disability process while we're ill, but that's how it is. I can fill you in on links and stuff if it's not posted on blogs here yet?? God bless, Katha
I don't remember all the details regarding FMLA but it is tricky. Don't quote me, but I believe to qualify for FMLA you have to have been employed for at least a year and have worked at least 2,000 (maybe it was 1,500) hours in the past year. When I was working full-time, I qualified for FMLA and could use up to 12 weeks a year. Most people use this for maternity leave, surgical procedures, sick family care, etc. But, with the proper physician documentation, it can be used on an "intermittent" basis. So, if you are just having a really bad day, you can use and FMLA day. You can't use more than 12 weeks (60 total work days) in a year. Later, I returned to college and reduced my hours to 20 per week. Since I was not working the required amount of hours then to qualify for FMLA, within 6-9 months I lost my FMLA benefits. Then, I started getting written up for absences, even though they were aware of my condition. I never lost my job (I quit and moved to another city to attend school), but I was always being reprimanded for being absent and accused of calling in sick when I wasn't.
If you qualify for FMLA by working nearly full-time, I would advise anyone to seek it. It prevents employers from discrimination and possibly firing you for missed time due to fibromyalgia problems.
I hope this help. One of the few things President Clinton did in office that I greatly appreciated.
i applied for disability and got denied the 1st time which i guess is normal. i have not worked in over 2 years thank God my parents have let me continue to live at home and help with my bills. i was fired from my last job cause i kept ending up admitted to the hospital. at the time i was not aware of the fibro all i knew was my health seemed to b going down hill and i didnt know why. my disability case is now being handled by a law firm that just deals with disability cases. even though i just stopped working and never tried to get a part time job i cant imangine working full time with this disease. we have so many ups and downs while each of us suffer from different problems with our fibro all of us suffer. i would contact a lawfirm that only deals with disability cases before u make any desisions they shouldnt charge u to come in and talk with them the firm handling my case i wont pay a dime unless i win and even then they will only take money out of the back pay i will recieve. so goodluck and best wishes. stephanie
Stephanie, I hope and am sure you told the attorney that they fired you due to illness. That doesn’t sound right. It wasn’t your fault for getting sick. It’s a constant battle to hold a job with this illness. I’m wishing you only the best of luck with everything you have going on-
I’ve been told recently that the company can fire me for making a mistake but not for being sick. So I try to do everything right and work less hours. With the commute if feels like I’m full time.
Gluck
SF
I have not tried to apply for disability but I sure have had to lessen my hours at work due to the pain!!! I dont know how much more of work I can handle cuz my hands are getting weaker and weaker...the pain is crazy!
Does your company offer short term disability insurance? If so, send me a note and I can walk you through it.
If you can get to a dr Meloxicam has helped my hand and foot pain. Rec that you try it if possible. I wasn’t able to put a blanket on my feet due to the pain.