Hi from the warm south

[UndercovrAngel]

Sparkey,

RSD alone doesn't qualify one for SSDI. You have to be 100% disabled and unable to work in any kind of job in order to collect. However, if you do loose your job, you can apply for medicaid and would probably be accepted, depending upon whether your husband is still working and what his income is and if he has insurance available to him.

I posted somewhere yesterday about a foundation that helps you get your medications free or at a reduced cost..well there is a $10 administration fee per prescription and if they can't help you, they refund the fee. There is a lot of paperwork involved on your Dr and your end, but you get a 90 day scrip if approved and this can continue for the remainder of your life, even when you go on to medicare. I applied last night..am waiting for the email with my packet to come in (will have to find a printer I can use as ours took a dump) and will be sending in applications for 4 different meds just as soon as I get all of the paperwork filled in by my Dr's. I will let you know what happens. I also applied for medicaid yesterday morning as my personal insurance is gone as of the 28th of this month.

As for LTD..that is something you would have to ask your company about. No.. I didn't have to quit in order to qualify, aalthough I was termed back in October, but that was because they closed the call center entirely. I have been on STD for almost 6 months now and roll over to LTD on the 23rd. Generally what this means is that you are going to be unable to work for at least a year, and most companies won't hold your job that long or longer. I can stay on LTD until I am of age to start receiving social security and medicare. But each company probably has rules and regulations as to how you qualify for STD and LTD. I would talk to someone in there HR department or get a employee handbook and see what their's says.

Hope you have a good weekend. We are to be in the mid 70's with the slight possibility of showers tomorrow. Which we need desperately. Just like Bummer, we are under red flag warnings as everything is so dry and we are getting winds of 15 to 25 mph with our warm weather.

Angel ^j^

[Pooh]

Angel

Some other things that you may want to get for when you apply for SSDI is how RSD affects your life and your ability to do things. These statements can come from friends and family that know you well and see what you go through on a daily basis.

They also ask for your employment record for the past 15 yrs and what type of work you did at those places. Keep a list of your daily activities has well has your pain levels -- what makes it worse - what makes it better. (like cooking kills me and I sooooooooo love to cook)


Now of the bright side -- I am looking forward to the rain we are suppose to get tomorrow has my lawn needs it since I have had it sprayed already for the spring. Also those little tulips poking there green leaves through the ground may just need the added water has well. This has really been a dry winter for us - and even driving to the next town I have already seen several burn areas from ppl tossing out cigarette butts. Think we are actually suppose to have spring like weather at least through the middle of the month. However, is winter has been this warm -- how HOT is summer going to be this year????

[UndercovrAngel]

Rn and Pooh,

Thanks for the advice on the SSDI. I never knew it was so involved. Med records shouldn't be a problem if I can come up with the names of prior Dr's, as I can search for them via the internet..and my resume goes clear back to the time that I was in the military. However, as far as getting people to write how the RSD affects my daily life, I have only been around 2 others that really see what it has done to me on a regular basis. I never had many friends outside of work, and this goes to prove it. I guess that I will set up a log on the internet and keep track of daily pain and what makes it worse/better and what I can/can't do any longer.

I too, have more issues than just the RSD..diabetes (although I have that controlled with diet and exercise I never know what will set it off), lumbo-sacral radiculopathy, the injury to my right wrist from WC injury back in 2003 ( 8% whole body disability given on that) and still fighting the WC claim from last year on my right extremity. I do have an FCE, EMG/NCV and MRI that show not only damage to my right extremity but because I have been guarding it and overusing my left hand and arm, there is proof of damage there as well. My pain management Dr recently diagnosed the depression from the chronic pain and if things go as planned, I will have the SCS in my back permanently come the 26th. I still have plantars fasciitis in my right foot. I don't know if all of this will be taken into account or how it would be when I apply. But it isn't going to hurt me to try.

And of course, I am having another lumbar MRI Monday in order to make sure that there is nothing that will keep the pain management Dr from doing the SCS implant. Who knows what that might show..after all, it has been 16 months since I had the last lumbar MRI.

I just know that after sitting for more than 20 minutes, my lower lumbar, hips and thighs begin hurting..as they do if I have to stand for more than 15 minutes. Bending over for even a few minutes sets my back off as well. I can't sleep in the same position for more than an hour before the hip I am laying on starts hurting and wakes me up, and lately, if I am on my left side, my hand and arm will wake me up with those sharp, electrical pains of pins and needles of when it goes to sleep. The difference between it though, is that it takes a good half an hour before my hand and arm begin feeling normal again, where if it has just gone to sleep, it would only take a few minutes. I can no longer sleep on my right side because of damage to my right hand and arm, and when they put in the SCS, it will go into my right hip. I have never been able to sleep on my stomach..and sleeping on my back lasts for only about 30 minutes before the lumbar area wakes me up in spasms. I guess these are all things that I should write down as to how everything affects my daily life. And one thing that will really be fun..if I have the permanent SCS implant, I can't drive with it on. So running around doing job applications and interviews would be mighty fun, as I wouldn't be able to take my meds before heading out as they would consider me impaired if I was driving while on them.

Kinda makes one feel as if they were caught between a rock and a hard place.

Pooh, I am also hoping that the rain they have predicted for us tomorrow and tomorrow night happens. We truly need it here too. Things are so dry that we have been under red flag warnings all week. And yes, just about anywhere you drive around here on the highways, you can see where grass fires have been due to careless drivers. It's pretty scary. And of course, a few weeks back, they had to put down the scurry on all the highways when we had the ice storms..and that doesn't help the foilage along the roadways.. kills it off and makes it even drier.


Angel ^j^