Medication advice

[tpm]

(04-20-2012 07:48 PM)jayne Wrote:  you got me TPM I have no idea

Jayne I was counting on you
I'm finding out there is no end to the insecurity one feels being "part of the system"

[bronco54501]

TPM,

Thats what happened with mine, it was in mid to late dec of 2010 mine went in to review and the first week of feb 2011 they declared me mmi and stopped everything including meds... I hope this isnt the senerio for you......

[tpm]

(04-21-2012 11:23 AM)bronco54501 Wrote:  TPM,

Thats what happened with mine, it was in mid to late dec of 2010 mine went in to review and the first week of feb 2011 they declared me mmi and stopped everything including meds... I hope this isnt the senerio for you......

Bronco were you given a permanent rating? I was given a 75% rating by the judge. My doctors said 100% and the wonderful IC IME doc gave me a 50%. Anything lower than 75% will reduce my weekly check by 130.00
So according to your experience I guess I can expect a 3 month or so wait on a verdict. Great!
Were you able to appeal it or was that it?

Ps. My 75% rating was due to my MMI

[tpm]

Hello again
I received this email response from "The Insider"

Good Morning.

When you were determined to have a permanent disability, that ruling was done by a law judge. The IC had 30 days to appeal which apparently they did. Once they send in their appeal (within 30 days of the law judge’s decision), there is another 30 day wait for your side to send in a rebuttal. Then the Administrative Review Division (ARD) reviews the file and write a proposed Memorandum of Decision to be submitted to a panel of three Board Members/Commissioners for their review: affirm, modify, or reject it. This process, from the date the ARD starts until the commissioners sign can take four week to eight months, with no rational reason for the variance of the four weeks to eight months.

The review is to determine if the decision the law judge made was correct, based on the information in the file when he made his decision. No new evidence or testimony can be submitted.

As for your having been granted SDDI, SDDI uses a different set of rules and medical criteria to make its decision, a decision which is not binding on the Workers Compensation Board.

One the Board finally issues a decision, the losing party can appeal to (1) the full board, i.e. all thirteen commissioners or (2) the NYS Appellate Court. 90% of all appeals for a full board view are denied as are 90% of all requests for the Appellate Court. However, once the Board panel does make it decision, the decision goes into effect. In your case, if the Board panel affirms the law judge, not only must the carrier start to make the payments but must make them retroactive to the date original determined by the law judge.

As I tell all the injured workers who contact me, patience may be a virtue but it does nothing to help settle your anxieties while you want.

Good luck

[bronco54501]

TPM, our case is a bit different, mine wasnt decided by a judge, sorry for I didnt read a bit deeper... But in terms I thought it was the same but not at all.... As for your latest post, there is nothing worse then the wondering mind on how someone can controll your life with a decision.........I hope the best for you and hopefull thier apeal falls apart....

[jayne]

ahhh well I guess it does no good to worry....The good Lord is in charge TPM

[jayne]

ahhh well I guess it does no good to worry....The good Lord is in charge TPM

[jayc123]

We all wish you luck, hang in there

[bodybuilder1958]

I have spent several days reading thru this post and all the answers and finally I'm ready to give my two cents worth.

Pain management for those with chronic conditions:
Infusion pump, surgically implanted under the skin. Yes there have been problems but over all it is the best managed for those with chronic pain who don't want to be drugged up or have break thru pain. There is the stigma for those who get it because you get the instant 'junkie' rating. I met a nurse while doing clinicals at a major hospital who has a pump. She broke her neck years before at the same hospital when a patient thru her against the glass doors, he thru her nearly 8ft. She fought for years to go back to work. She has good and bad days but getting the infusion pump was her only way to go back to work. She carries a card, she has weekly blood draws, her meds are managed by a doctor and only he can change the dosage. She takes nothing else, the infusion pump manages her pain completely or perhaps she doesn't complain.

Her rating was 85%, she chose to go back to work. She gives breaks for those in surgery circulating, she fills bags for surgical cases, her lifting limit is 12lbs and she sticks to it. On bad days she uses an electric cart. She's not allowed to handle any meds and she understands that. She had to go back to court twice to get a ruling to go back to work, judge ruled in her favor both times both at local and state level.

I guess my point is that using an infusion pump gives control out of the patients hands into the medical specialists. There is less of a chance of an overdose unless the system malfunctions which has had happened and unfortunately people have died. But many more people have died handling their own meds.

I don't know why more pain management doctors don't recommend the infusion pumps, they've become standard for diabetics and well tolerated. Sure there is a stigma, but my friend can drive with her pump. I've tried to get my friend to join this forum but she declines. She allows others to write about her, she's got some B@##$ on her for sure. Once wore a t-shirt to court which said "don't tell me what I can't do".