hello my friends. i am needing advice to write a letter to the appeals council. i have all this information and have taken notes from the web that i have found. i think i have written about 10 letters but i none of them seem good enough. my anxiety is driving me nuts doing this. i feel this is my last chance to make them realize what i feel and with this brain fog it is so hard. i have found so much useful information on the web that i truely believe will help me in my case. just need to find a format on what to put and what not to put but short enough to get the point across but not too long to lose their interest. at first this whole ss thing was not such a nerve wrecking thing but now has become such a nightmare. i do not want to give up though because i truley and deeply believe that i am doing the right thing for me and my kids. besides i think thats what they want you to do is give up. believe me if i could go back to work i would've by now. the pain is just to bad and it is getting harder to get the medical treatment i need on medicaid. they are even taking forever to approve my antidepressants now after i have been taking them for 3yrs now. i have been waiting on my lexapro and effexor for 1wk now and for anyone who knows about effexor withdrawls knows how bad it is. thankgoodness my mom is able to get some samples of that for me but not the lexapro.
i hope everyone is doing good and in good spirits. i miss yall so much. once i get this letter out i think i will feel a little better. i think having dealt with this whole process has made me more anxious and depressed. i wonder if they realize how much stress they put some people applying for disabilty through.
hope to hear from yall soon, love, robin :wave:

I don't think they really care how much stress they put people through. This is just a job for a lot of the people handling the cases and they just go through the motions. I hope you have great luck with your letter, I'm sure TK or someone will have some great ideas for you.

thanks glojer, thanks for your reply. your right, it is there job. i just get a little upset sometimes and say ugly things i don't mean. i know now once you start this whole ss thing you have to be willing to be in it for the long haul thats for sure. its alot of work for some of us especially if you are young.
have a goodnight,
love
robin

Your welcome robin, I would agree to never give up. Have you read the disability board, I think they talk about ss and things to do.

girl,

Do you have a lawyer? Or are you going this alone? I'm here to tell you that having a lawyer is the best thing in the world for you. They take care of everyyyyythingggg!!! You almost have to have one if you get turned down the first time. I had a lawyer, after I was turned down the first time and she worked her butt off for me. I did not get turned down the second time. She was wonderful, of course, they take their fair share but, that's one of the things you have to weigh in on when going thru this process.

Good Luck,


a :)

hey aaronon, i had an atty from the beginning, and after the hearing, after the judges decision of unfavorable i recieved a letter that there was nothing more they could do to help me. it was one thing to be denied by the judge but then to get the letter from my atty, that really made me mad. i was so dissapointed. i called the attys office and talked to one of the parralegals and she said that the atty does not let them know why he turns cases down he just has them send the letter. i thought what i am i suppose to do now.
i decieded to get as much info as i could and write the letter to the appeals council letting them know why i disagree with the judges decision myself. i have found so much info on the web and did not know where to begin so i called the ss office and asked them who i could call for assisantce on writing the letter. i got the ph number for the legal aid office and the person i talked to said they could not help me since i had a private atty at the beggining. i told her what had happened and she said that i should call and talk to the atty and ask him why was my case good enough at the beginning but not good enough now. that really made sence to me and made me feel good that she said that. so now i have a phone appt with the atty on monday morning.
i have to figure out what i am going to tell him. i need to let him know that i feel that i have a really good case and alot of information that might help me win. and you know i have always believed in attys. it didn't matter that i needed to pay him if i win either.
it is so hard to do all this especially when i am having a flare and am having bad fibro fog. i have notes everywhere.
hopefully my experiance might help someone else out there. believe me i have learned alot.
well everyone have a good day!!!!!
love,
robin

I have also heard that getting an attorney at this point is the best. What needs to be in the letter is every reason you cannot work.

Meds keep me from concentrating and focusing. Achey in the morning keeps me from being able to keep a regular schedule. Fatigue hits and I have to lie down. It is painful to sit in a chair (CMP). Fibrofog causes short term memory loss and inability to memorize instructions needed to do job. Depression and mood swings inhibited my ability to interact with others.

These are the main things that applied to me. I put them in my initial claim and received benefits. I am so hopeful to be able to go back to work though. Will be trying part-time and then if ok, full time. I also had a PCP, Rheumy, Psych, Social Worker all send documentation. My diagnoses were FMS, CMP, ADD, Bipolar Disorder

Hope this helps.