Dear Angie
there is a group on Ben's friends, that is just to help others with fibro apply for disability. Until just few months ago, fibromyalgia was not listed even as disease that could qualify people for disability. It fell under different set of rules like Chronic Fatigue since it also has no specific tests to prove it. They could get it but was very hard.
Also, just so you do not feel bad, majority of people unless they are getting near actual retirement age, are automatically turned down the first time they apply...so that is just part of game of getting disability.
Go to that group and look around at other sites that have support groups for fibro...i know i posted one that explained the new ruling for SSDI and fibro on it here on Ben's friends just few days ago. . Also now attorneys can ask 25% or $6000.00 , i believe it is which is the lesser but it was not specifically clear. Plus, attorneys now have the right to even ask for more if they can show their 'fees' are higher. This just makes me angry and sick!
I used an Advocate, he was a man who use to work for SSDI and was so angry at high numbers of clearly genuinely sick people who were turned down for SSDI. So he got approved to represent people...but the new law has changed where anyone technically can represent you....so be very careful about whom you hire.
Here is few main pointers..first all your doctors need to agree completely that you should be on SSDI, not state disability. Most people first go on state for a year..since it is just a matter of your doctor saying you must be off work.
Call SSI and speak to representative on the phone because there are other ways they can help depending on your income and disability etc. That most of us do not even know about.
Do not hire those online cheaper guys(non profit usually).....my advocate said first of all most of them are either law students or trying to pass the bar so they have no real experience about getting SSDI. I know some one who hired them and back than they charged 2% less than what was most others do. She went through all possible court dates and still after 3 years of hearing,' oh you should have it next month'...finally hired the fellow i used. Also he said to stay away from TV guys..though now that they can charge you for flights ...they might be a bit better than non profit ones. I use someone local you can speak with in person and get a feel about how honest and genuine they are. How much they charge...even phone calls etc. I guess easier to ask what is free from them? lol!
Just so you know...i got turned down like you than hired him since i just did not want the stress....he had agreement from SSDI for me jn less than 4 months that was more than fair in my eyes! All he did , he told me was find previous cases which SSI granted people SSDI that was exactly how i was sick or very close...since that sets precedence SSDI usually accepts it since most if not all Judges have to follow precedence in laws...or that is when laws start going up towards Supreme Court but first through all higher lower federal courts than on up..so waste of everyone's money if others won it for having like me, SLE, RA, Fibro plus other things wrong with me and I had been working since high school where SSI taxes had been taken out over 20 years.
Older you are ....that means about 56 if i remember right is first time it gets easier to get it than every few years up until 62/65 when you would qualify for SSI period it got easier is what he said to me. Most people after 58 and have some chronic illness plus all doctors agree they should be on it get it even first time they apply.
If your doctors do not all agree that should be on SSDI than you are going to have up hill battle and most people that i have head of when this happens end up not getting it. . I am sorry..hope that is not true in your case.
But go to the Disability and Fibromyalgia Group on this site plus go look on line at SSDI federal government page and read about your options.
I personally use to tell others to hire attorney or advocate like i got...person who worked for SSDI ..but now with cap off, and i seen how low attorneys can be...this is hard decision. Because attorneys and any person you hire now it is in their favor not to get it SSDI for you as fast as possible since they will make more money the longer it takes.
Oh there is even one more confusing thing now..most people will get settlement for time not being able to work until they get SSDI, Before they (attorneys etc) only made 5 or 6% of that amount..now you could still owe them money very easily if your settlement is less than $6000.00 plus it is could cost a lot more than that amount. BUT here is strangest catch...the SSDI people who are basically opposing you stating why you should not get it, can appeal the amount the attorney is going to make stating it is not a fair amount.
Instead of being something very easy for all to understand, sick or not since Attorneys got the laws changed they also made wording so confusing for most to even know what is legal or not so you have to hire Attorney or paralegal to just read it!!
here is saddest part...this all happen, because top bosses and managers working for state governments were applying for disability right before they were about to retire. That way the money would be tax free and saddest is their pensions were much better than most in private sector. So this came out in set of articles at the newspaper where I used to work. So of course all states made this not possible since it was costing them so much. Plus..most of the disability claims were bogus since they sat behind desks...lot of them claimed back injuries from on the job...sitting behind a desk. To get this they had to hire attorneys...so all the attorneys that made money helping these greedy creeps get state disability permanently lost their way of income when state laws made it much harder to to get state disability. So than they got congress to change Federal SSDI laws so they could make more than double and often extremely a lot higher.
Goes to show that if as group people organize and petition our Congressional reps to do something for us or we will not vote for them...it can get changed and fast. This all happen in matter of a few years. On flip side, people who already were comfortable in their incomes and pensions just got greedy and now made it so much harder for those genuinely ill.
Really irked me...when i found out recently a woman was being charge 25% by attorney to get her SSDI and thought something had to be not right ..she misunderstood etc. But she was totally right, the laws got changed. Just so sad.
here is link to basic American Disability Act...has some info than go to SSDI site..here it is i got it
http://www.ssa.gov/pgm/disability.htm
Also..if you are thinking straight you could very easily do this on your own. You might hire paralegal or if you are luck enough to have a college in your area that has legal courses, you might be able to higher senior to help you find cases that set precedence for your own case.
I do know of few people whom have done it themselves...but they had like shoulder injury so not the extreme fatigue and pain...main problem is there are not actual 'tests' that prove fibromyalgia. Just read about the new legal reason for adding it finally and how they looked at it in the past. In fact that law may not come into play until next year.
Sorry so long...just i do not want you to get taken or lose out plus i think many other people like I are not aware of how much attorneys can now charge clients. We, the people, need to get caps on what attorneys can charge like in this instance but also for divorces....after having dealt with divorce attorneys when both my husband and I said we do not want to fight just be fair to each other. They both assured us the would...Ha! my started saying how much i could get in alimony plus the house while my husbands basically said so what if i do not have health insurance and ended up living in a car...that is no longer his problem. I swear he said that...my husband just called me and said and this guy is supposedly the nicest guy in our area! Sad part...is that actually happen to friend of mine..she ended up living out of her car! Is same thing now going to happen to people applying for disability? now that fees are over the moon.
Oh...one last thing..if you do hire someone plus do this for SSDI people as well..keep notebook just dedicated to all conversations, mail etc from them. Write down dates and time you spoke with who...plus how long and about what. SSDI person tried to say that my case limit was up when i hired that guy...i had kept a notebook and had it written down more than once conversation about what my latest due date to appeal was...soon as they heard about my documentation they back down and granted it.
Something i learned at my job is useful tool for any type of company you think might be a problem. I am so sorry..and i am especially sorry that now it might be easier if all you have is fibro to get it but your fees are going to be so much higher than what I paid...just not fair to do this to sick people!