Not thrilled about this at all....I know that it's part of the deal, but the whole idea of talking to someone I don't know about the last 1.5 years, and how it's effected my life to the point of not working, seems like justifying that the E is really "that bad", and that I'm not some slug looking for a free paid vacation. I've had E for over 20 years (longer than my profession), and there have been some times when I've had to be off work, but they've been brief....after moving back up here to my hometown, where a lot of bad stuff went on, my whole body got zapped with the autonomic stuff being nuts, the E being worse, getting infections I've never had (pyelonephritis with sepsis- kidney infection so bad it infected my blood), repeated bladder infections, etc--- stuff that is JUST NOT ME, E or not..... I'm frustrated to be going to see this guy,and knowing that someone I don't know is having input on whether I qualify for SSD for seizures....why not send me to a neurologist? Just seems goofy, but I'm sure they have their govermental reasons. Just steamed tonight..... sorry to be so grouchy.... :confused: :eek: :mad: :blob_fire

Hey, vent away. SO sorry that you have to jump through this hoop too! I guess they figure you seeing a few different types of professionals helps insure that the people who really need SSI get it and others wont try? Who knows....government, who can figure it....


Hope it goes ok.

So sorry you have to go through this. I was just awarded SSi and don't recall (thx to the meds...) having to see a Psych. I did have to go before 2 ALJ's though.
Hope it all works out for you.
Keep the Faith.

I'm not eligible for SSI since my long term disability insurance is beyond the limits for eligibility- which is fine. This is for SSD, which pays a lousy amount, but the LTD insurance company makes up the rest, which will help a lot, especially if I can move where I used to live (and was doing SO much better), and the cost of living is a lot better. Just have to figure out how to get my stuff there- won't drive if the seizures have been nuts- have a friend down there who said he'd drive the U-haul...guess I could l fly if they rammed a couple of bricks into my head before getting on the plane- I hate flying. But I need to get back to where I have the best chance of getting back to work, and hope the SSD is a temporary thing so I can slowly start working again. Being home with no friends, little support, etc sucks rocks big time.

Watch out for what they say.

They tried saying my friend/neighbor had pseudoseizures (i.e. "it's in your head, you don't have 'real' seizures") he came back quickly at his Dr when he was told he was not having seizures and told the technical term. His retort was "then why are they called pseudoSEIZURES"! The doc couldn't reply. Also, his MRI showed white spots on the brain. So do the tests you need in order to prove your case.

I didn't need to see a shrink to qualify for SocSec in my 2 year battle. THEY (SocSec) may need to see psychs themself! Good grief!

--Travis

Hello, I saw their shrink when I was going through the process of getting SSDI. She just asked me some questions, had me count backwards by 7's (I got that wrong, plus a couple other math questions, after I left I wanted to call her and tell her I knew the correct answers now LOL) try to remember 3 words she says, asked me to talk about how epilepsy affects my daily living. She even said that she could see my problems with speach and cognitive and would put that in her report, but I still got denied up till the hearing stage where I requested an OTR decision and was approved. I think SSA needs to revamp the way they do things, it sure is a long process and a scrambled up mess. Even after I was approved they had me so confused about the back pay and starting benefits, but that is another story, sorry to get off track. Anyway it wasn't that bad for me, I hope yours goes well and that they can see what problems you are having so they can put it in their report.
God Bless,
Laura

Fortunately, my regular doc, neurologist, past test results- 24 hour EEG back in the mid 80s before video stuff, an EEG in May, and my therapist all agree about the seizures.....therapist said that there's a form they have to fill out (one she already did, but she's not an M.D.), and I did fair- did the counting backwards by 7 faster than she'd ever heard anyone do it, had trouble with the memory stuff, and forget those proverb things....I know what "a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush" means,but putting it into words just doesn't work....she said he's the only guy SSD uses in this area. My LTD company has a section just for SSD application support, so if it gets to the hearing stage, they send someone to go with me, which is good, since I'll be a wreck.

As far as I know, nobody has suggested pseudoseizures, and the home health nurses actually documented a total of 7 or 8 or them during thier visits when they were here a couple of months ago, so have RN documentation that recently. And, in the past year and a half, I've been hauled off by ambulance about 12-13 times (? more) after seizures at work, or if I was on the phone with someone and went out, or after keeling over at a neighbor's (that was mostly due to severe dehydration and shock, but still documented along with the EEG the next morning that showed diffuse slowing consistent with post ictal stuff, so possibly had a seizure in the middle of everything else- I woke up in the ER, like "oh, you guys again"...it was weird- one minute asking my neighbor to call me in the a.m. to see if I was ok (not the usual aura, but something 'wrong'), and she dragged me into one of her chairs, next thing I know it's about 2 1/2 hours later by her calculations and the time on the admit band to ICU...that started a whole string of problems...
....
I've had 2 seizures IN my doctor's office... there's a lot of documentation. At least it's not just my word, because I know that would be horrible, since many of my EEGs between seizures are fine. There was a state law passed recently that says that SSD has to move along faster.....and I applied june 19, and have received a bunch of stuff from them already, so know the application isn't sitting on the bottom of someone's desk....but I also know that denials are typical. I've been off work for 17 months....it's sucked. I'd much rather be working, and hope that if I can get away from this seriously nerve-wracking environment (wasn't this sick before moving back here after 17 years 1300 miles away), I'll gradually be able to get back like I used to be-- an employed, productive individual. I'd have seizures now and then, but never had to take 'medical' time off, or be on disability- this is all so foreign.

Thanks for your replies...helps to hear what others have been through