I was approved for SSD January of 2004. I was on medication until I moved back from PA to OH. I haven't seen a doctor or counselor since I came back to OH. My disabilities are Major Depressive Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Agoraphobia with Panic Attacks. I know that I need to get back to getting help but I have been too stressed to even attempt it. My in laws keep telling me that I will lose my disability because of it. However, they are the people who don't understand the difference between mental illness and mental retardation or the fact that someone can be mentally ill without trying to harm other people.

I have tried to look the information up online but haven't been able to find out the truth of the situation. I just don't want to lose my only source of income because of my irrational fears.

I also have a second question. I would like to go back to school eventually. Can they take you off of disability while you are going back to school to eventually try to work again?

Hi, I am not sure about the medicine question. I just wanted to let you know that if you want to go to school or get back into the work force contact your local Department of Rehabilitation Services. They can help you. There is also the "Ticket to Work" program that SSDI offers, but I am not sure if it offers schooling or not. Go on the SSA website and click on Ticket to Work for more information on it. From what I read they will even give you medical for two years when you find or try to work. Good luck to you and God Bless

Terri,

Failure to follow prescribed treatment can be a basis for denial. If you have a disabling impairment and the prescribed treatment is expected to restore your ability to engage in SGA (work), you are expected to follow the prescribed treatment unless there is an acceptable justification for your failure to comply.

Acceptable justifications for failing to follow prescribed treatment include, but are not limited to the following:

--The specific medical treatment is contrary to the established teaching and tenets of the individual's religion.

--The individual is unable to afford prescribed treatment, which he or she is willing to accept, but for which free community resources are unavailable.

--An individual's fear of surgery is so intense that it is a contraindication for surgery.

--The prescribed treatment is cataract surgery for one eye, when there is severe visual impairment of the other eye that cannot be improved through treatment.

--Major surgery was previously performed with unsuccessful results and additional major surgery is prescribed for the same impairment.

--The treatment because of its magnitude (e.g., open heart surgery), unusual nature (e.g., organ transplant), or for some other reason is very risky.

--The treatment involves amputation of an extremity, or a major part of an extremity.

--An individual with a severe mental impairment is clearly unable to understand the consequences of failing to follow prescribed treatment.

--A duly licensed physician or psychologist who has treated the individual advises against the treatment prescribed for the currently disabling condition.


It looks as though you could be at risk for losing your benefits. You clearly do understand that this is possible or you wouldn't be asking the question. Therefore the statement above about having a severe mental impairment and not being able to understand the consequences of failing to take medication would not apply.

--kaylbe

It looks as though you could be at risk for losing your benefits. You clearly do understand that this is possible or you wouldn't be asking the question. Therefore the statement above about having a severe mental impairment and not being able to understand the consequences of failing to take medication would not apply.

--kaylbe

The only time that it came up was from my in laws. I have had some serious side effects from all the medications that I have tried. I have only been off my meds for two months. It actually takes time to get into a program because I can't afford my meds without assistance from the county. Going back to the county seems to be my best option. I can keep the documentation up to date. I have a lot of fears about the medications. I know which side effects that I have already been dealing with but I fear the long term effects. I will just have to figure out a way to get some help but stay off meds if at all possible.

Thanks for the information.

Terri

geesh terri, you are my situation......well sort of anyway. My dr's finally say no meds ok, but only after seeing how they effect me. Im only still "trying" for disability, and i KNOW i deserve it, but who knows. I too wonder about the schooling thing. My hubby has offered to try to take a class with me so as to get me to go out of the house, but then does that mean they will say........."uh huh!! she's fine" and refuse me benifits while i try my best to get help..(same disability as you, and with med fears and complications) It's so hard, it's still horrers to go to my psyke that i see every week, much less get started all over again like your gonna need to do. People just dont understand that it's not something you just dont want to do, it's something ya cant do......

I don't think a person should lose their Social Security if meds don't help the person at all. In Eccentric's case, I don't know if the meds helped her or not. But also, if a person doesn't want to be putting chemicals into their body, I don't think they should be practically forced to. There are more ways to deal and recover from mental illness then just using medication.

I think the key here is that if your doc agrees that meds are not for your particular situation from a medical standpoint,that would be accepted.But if you refuse to take them you better be doing SOMETHING to at least show that you are trying to help your situation.i can totally understand (to a point in some cases) just why they would deny someone if a certain med would make the difference in being able to work and not being able to work,you know what I mean?Refusing to take your meds so someone can actually 'get" on disability or to stay on it is just wrong.so i suppose that is why that particular rule is in place.I think that if you are not on meds for your condition if they are availiable and would actually help you,that you best be working hard at doing other types of therepys.if you cannot stay on a med because of obvious side effects,well thats a whole other story.But it would HAVE to be documented by your doc.For an example, my son has depression and was taking anti Ds for it.over the course of a year, he actually ended up reacting in an extremely manic way to any changes in meds or espescially raising the doses.His entire personality changed to this nasty, cold uncaring and very angry boy.totally the opposite of his normal personality.I knew it was the meds but getting his docs to believe it was immpossible.It was not until we had to place him in a mental health facility after yet another dose raise and the explosion of anger that followed that the wonderful Pshyc doc there finally Dxed him with what is called bi polar III.it is not a true bi polar but the patient will exhibit manic type symptoms,and get this,it is totally caused by his reaction to the ANTI Ds!!Sooo needless to say, he will never ever take another anti D ever as long as I am alive.This is all fully documented by his doc,the facility and yes, the police dept..We are in the process of trying to get him approved for ssd.My caseworker told me to do this,really.he also has many other medical problems as well.He can no longer take the anti ds but is now on Depakote and my 'son' the happy funloving boy, is back.he also gets other forms of therepy for the depression as well as for a brain injury he sustained this past july during a car accident where he landed on the pavement on his head.He is also a transplant recipient.this child DOES have nine lives,lol.sorry to ramble on there but I hope that somewhere in there I made my point.marcia

What if a person has taken just about all the anti-depressants, anti-anxiety, etc. type medications that are out there, and none of them have helped at all? Then I don't think it would make sense for a person be advised to keep taking meds. Not everyone receives benefits from taking meds. These types of meds don't help about 20 percent of the population.

I should explain that I have tried Effoxer, Zoloft, Paxil CR. Prozac, Trazodone, and something else. I have tried combinations of these drugs. They help for a short time but after a while, I start to go down hill. They increase my dosage or add a second drug. I get headaches, nausea, dizziness, irritability, horrid insomnia, forgetfulness and have more tendency to have suicidal thoughts. I don't have suicidal thoughts off of meds. Sure I get that whole world would be better off with out me thoughts. However, I don't get that over whelming urge to off myself. I have that nifty combination of Major Depressive Disorder, OCD and Agoraphobia with panic attacks. I don't want to be on SSD forever but I know that I am not ready to work. I am trying to eat better, exercise more, and some meditation. I hate the ideas of medications but for short periods of times they did work. They stopped working so I stopped taking them just a month or so ago. I am in the process of getting some help. I am going to see what options there are out there for me. I think that I will call SSA tomorrow and talk to them. I have to find out about school options. If I have to take drugs then I have too. I am not going to be homeless because of my mental illness issues and my medication fears. However, it is more than just a fear of medication. The last combination that I was on was 50 mg Paxil CR, 25 mg Zoloft and 200 mg Trazdone each one a day.

If you have tried the many types of meds out there to try and treat your depression and they have not worked for you.by all means, you have every right to not have to take them,mainly because they are not helping in any way.but the key here is that you DID try and as long as this is all documented by a doc,that would probably be acceptable.but you will then need to be doing some other type of therepy to show that you are trying to treat your depression in some way.thats all.even seeing a therepist like every few weeks of once amonth to discuss your issues is considered treatment and it does show that you are at least attempting to try and find some sort of help for your depression.You know what I'm trying to say??i would give anything to just 'feel' normal or even happy again.i have tried quite a few different anti Ds and Lexapro seems to be the best so far me.i also see my therepist about once a month(she has wayy to many patients so i can only get in about once a month.But there are other support systems that I use as well.showing the fine folks at ssd that you are willing to try other methods to try and treat your depression if you cannot use anti Ds will only help your case.Marcia

I think the rationale of a DDS examiner would be that if you were suffering that badly, you'd be getting treatment. There are free mental health svcs available in most places. Also, if you have the mental ability to go back to school, then you can definitely work a simple, unskilled job. There's seemingly a contradiction between being to panicked, unfocused, whatever to get treatment and being able to go to school.

Not saying that's how I personally feel about your situation though. I wouldn't sit on getting treatment if you need it.

eccentricterri (im sorry for misspelling) you have the exact prob with the anti d's as i do. It's a reliefe to hear someone else describe the simptoms. Whats really weard is whenyou said about the suisidal thoughts part. My dr seemed to think i was the only one with that simptom, (even though i hear it now on tv adds too) so i felt like he figured i must be faking it. For me, the drugs nearly alloud me to go ahead with my "thoughts" so they are finally not pushin the pills now but doing therapy once every week which is helping me cope. I wish they could understand that with mental illness, your 'issues" are your own and *if* there's a possibility that you can go to school but not work, it's your own set of simptoms. I know it may not sound right to them, but they (disability) should not be able to say your not disabled because you *may* (odds are against it but ya gotta try what you think you may be able to do) be able to go to school but not work cause it's way more complicated than the issue of school vs work. I guess all in all, if your dr understands and supports you, then disability should have to follow his wishes to help you until you can get the help you need. Ithink im just getting confusing, so will just again wish good luck to all.

The question as stated was can you get kicked of SSD for Refusing Medication. And the answer is yes. Kaylbe pretty much covered the law in her response on the first page. The precise regulation is found at Volume 20 Code of Federal Regulations Section 404.1530 which reads as follows:

§404.1530 Need to follow prescribed treatment.
(a) What treatment you must follow. In order to get benefits, you must follow treatment prescribed by your physician if this treatment can restore your ability to work.

(b) When you do not follow prescribed treatment. If you do not follow the prescribed treatment without a good reason, we will not find you disabled or, if you are already receiving benefits, we will stop paying you benefits.

(c) Acceptable reasons for failure to follow prescribed treatment. We will consider your physical, mental, educational, and linguistic limitations (including any lack of facility with the English language) when determining if you have an acceptable reason for failure to follow prescribed treatment. The following are examples of a good reason for not following treatment:

(1) The specific medical treatment is contrary to the established teaching and tenets of your religion.

(2) The prescribed treatment would be cataract surgery for one eye, when there is an impairment of the other eye resulting in a severe loss of vision and is not subject to improvement through treatment.

(3) Surgery was previously performed with unsuccessful results and the same surgery is again being recommended for the same impairment.

(4) The treatment because of its magnitude (e.g. open heart surgery), unusual nature (e.g., organ transplant), or other reason is very risky for you; or

(5) The treatment involves amputation of an extremity, or a major part of an extremity.

[45 FR 55584, Aug. 20, 1980, as amended at 59 FR 1635, Jan. 12, 1994]"

There is not a whole lot of wiggle room. A patient's refusal to take prescribed medication can result in the denial or termination of Social Security disability benefits.

Thanks again purplebill, i know i was going in the wrong direction, it's just what i do :o

I have a question though?
If the medication doesn't help at all, and the doctor agrees that that the person doesn't need to be on it since it isn't helping, then I assume that the person wouldn't lose their SSD?

I don't agree with a person losing their SSD because of non-compliance with the medication. I don't think a person should be practically forced to take chemicals in order to stay on SSD. There are other ways of treatment than chemical medication.

I know it may not sound right to them, but they (disability) should not be able to say your not disabled because you *may* (odds are against it but ya gotta try what you think you may be able to do) be able to go to school but not work cause it's way more complicated than the issue of school vs work. I guess all in all, if your dr understands and supports you, then disability should have to follow his wishes to help you until you can get the help you need. Ithink im just getting confusing, so will just again wish good luck to all.

I'm thinking part of the issue is that the initial poster is currently without a doctor to support her in her application.

I have a question though?
If the medication doesn't help at all, and the doctor agrees that that the person doesn't need to be on it since it isn't helping, then I assume that the person wouldn't lose their SSD?

I don't agree with a person losing their SSD because of non-compliance with the medication. I don't think a person should be practically forced to take chemicals in order to stay on SSD. There are other ways of treatment than chemical medication.

No one is forcing anything on anyone. Social Security is only protecting the giving of benefits to someone who could be rehabilitated but simply refuses for no good reason. There are in fact many good reasons (most reasons, in fact.)

Don't miss the main point here. If you are prescribed meds that would return your ability to work and you refuse them without justification, your benefits will likely be refused.

If the medications aren't helping and your doctor agrees, no problem. If there are intolerable side effects and you can't take them, no problem. If you cannot afford to take them and there is no assistance available to help with the cost, no problem. These are different scenarios all together and are not grounds for disqualification.

The bottom line doesn't apply to only medications. It's the same with other treatments, therapies, surgeries, etc. (not including the exceptions that have already been listed.)

I don't understand why anyone would have a problem with this....

--kaylbe

I just don't like how there are so many pill pushing doctors out there. Thanks for clearing that up.

I agree with your pill-pushing doctor statement, especially in the area of mental illness. We know so very little about the brain and it's workings. We know even less about the medications and their interactions.

--kaylbe