This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I had hired an attorney to assist me with the twisted process of application, i was so fearful of being turned down, I felt better having help.
Well, the guy was a fool, and I had a difficult time getting input from him.
I signed the papers for another guy, missed 2 appts with him due to 'surprise' surgery. When we finally met I genuinely felt safe.
He figured a year and a half, as he was sure there would be an initial turn down, then an appeal. I wondered how we were going to make it. Every month is squeakier than the last.
Well surprise! I received my acceptance letter about 3 months after I filed my initial application.
What a relief. Unbelievable.
Now I just have the 24 month wait for medicare.

I get a little panicky thinking about that.

I'm actually considering asking my ex husband to marry me. He's a teacher and has GREAT insurance which will cover me until I die.

One panic at a time. SSDI is going to make a huge difference. I haven't even been able to pay my discounted Y membership...10 bucks a month!
I'm so happy.

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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle..

i thought theres no way id get approved for ssdi, im only 29, a lawyer said id guarantee get denied. i guess my dr and neurologist notes were good because i actually got approved first try

They never even asked my neuro or my PCP for their notes.

I had given them alot of medical records, and they sent me to a neuro psych whose eval took about 15 minutes.

It was the same ole same ole. Which president was assassinated in 1963, what surprise attack got us in to WWII, probly not the same ques for someone your age, I'm 55.
then again, I was told I would be turned down 1st time because I'm older, and there's a feeling that us older folks don't want to work anymore...if they only knew.

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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle..

jfk, pearl harbor attack(This one is easy for me since i live in hawaii)
interesting point you make, while i know the answer to those questions, i wonder how much of my same aged peers would know the answers

i was told that the older you are, the less chance youll get denied. i was also told it depends on the state you live in too

I'm in Illinois, I was told it's more difficult here because it's another bankrupt state, (it's a federal program though). The only people I met prior to applying were young, 20s perhaps.
Lots of misinformation yes? Did you wind up using a lawyer? i heard so many horror stories about once you get turned down you have to go thru heck to turn that around, that you then HAVE to get a lawyer anyway.
I have a couple of things I wonder about now though, perhaps you can help. I get my 1st check in feb, as that will be 5 months since my application, and you get a check after having been disabled for at least 5 months, do you get a back check at any time for the 5 months? The 1st check is for 1 month AND, I received no indication from the law firm that they had done any work on my behalf(copies of letters etc), so they don't get paid for no work do they, the letter from the gov't made no mention of them. Is all of this bad info being promulgated by the law community to get us to sign on the dotted line in panic?

Interesting article on the subject:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... %3Darticle

What was your agreement with your attorney as it relates to their responsibility versus yours? What did the agreement stipulate about how they get paid? Your attorney should be able to answer questions like if you get any back checks. Did the SS office send you something stating you have to be disabled for five months before collecting?

M

Interesting article, it did cross my mind as to whether I wanted to hire a lawyer in the city (chicago) or the burbs, feeling that lawyers would know which judges they were working with.
Both lawyers were asking for a 24% cut, and the 5 month time frame came from the SS administration. I filed online in Sept., leaving me to collect my 1st check in Feb. for Jan. They use 5 months to make sure it is not something that you're going to 'get over'.
I doubt I'll get back checks as the acceptance letter states a specific dollar amount. I think that the lawyer said that his money is taken out by the gov't from the 1st check(not sure).
Either way Feb can't come soon enough, I'm quite good at living close to the bone, but we had to REALLY scrimp to get the car radiator flushed as we filled it with water when we discovered a leak this summer. Didn't want to poison any animals 'til we were sure it was sealed. The man's getting that done this am.
Are you actually in the city? I'm northwest, C lake.

no i never used a lawyer, the lawyer info i got was from a presentation he gave to help people wanting to file ssdi with legit claims. i never had to face a judge. i never got back pay for those first 5 month waiting period.

yes the ss office sent me a letter saying i got accepted, when i would get my first check, and some medicaid info pamphlets

Man, the stats I read about being turned down with MS were so scary, I was terribly afraid to go it alone..which is what I did anyway as it turns out. I read an avg of 92% of MSers are turned down 1st time around.
I imagine the lawyer whom you went to hear speak was trying to drum up business, what did he tell the folks assembled there? Was it an MS group?

Is the time factor between when you put in your app online and when you were notified of the timing of your 1st payment equal to 5 months?

I went through Allsup as my representation and got approved in 4 months. They did all the paperwork for me. Highly recommended.

it wasnt an MS group, i believe i was the only person there with MS

the lawyer was talking about denial rates were very high and someone in their 30's would automatically get denied and they had someone who claimed to have worked for ssi saying if you were even able to get a job as a walmart greeter, youd get denied. my mom with FM whos 60 got denied. thats why i thought i would automatically get denied but somehow i got approved.

i filed in march and got my approval letter in april and i got my first check in october. it said i was going to get my first check in september but i didnt get it till oct, so i TRHINK it said 6 months. april to october= 6 months

i guess my dr hooked me up with his record keeping, not that i shouldnt have qualified or anything