I filed in August and just received a letter/questionaire asking how my illness affects my every day living. Did anyone else get this questionaire before they were approved or denied?

That's just part of the process of SS I have been through it.



I filed in August and just received a letter/questionaire asking how my illness affects my every day living. Did anyone else get this questionaire before they were approved or denied?

Did you have to appeal a decision?

Did you have to appeal a decision?
Sounds like you need to fill out this questionare as it is part of the process I filled out one just like it and then that is when they will make their decision. Please answer your questions carefully. At the end of questionare I thanked them for their consideration for disability retirement and would make my life much easier etc.... Make sure your doc writes a very good statement for you it makes all the difference in their decision. After this they will say yay or nay or their decision and then you can appeal it. If this happens you will need a lawyer they are not easy to deal with. Friend of mine it took her 3 years. It only took me about 6 months very unusual for 6 months to be approved. Good Luck. Also once I was approved and stayed home for years now it's been very depressing. If I had my way I would go back to work but still not well enough. Anymore questions let me know.

Do you know if they will help with any of my medical bills aquired while waiting. I don;t have insurance and have been to several ERS

You cannot get any kind of help with bills on SS. There is medicade/medicare can't remember which one it is you would get through them. But you have to be on SS for 2 years before your eligible. Also if you are not approved and appeal and then get approved you will get that back pay. There may be other help but I don't know your situation. I am married and had health insurance before I got approved for SS. SS to me is the most difficult thing to deal with. There are so many ins and outs it gets confusing. Have you tried looking on their website for more info that may help your situation also. If you are currently working you may be able to get disability from them also.


Do you know if they will help with any of my medical bills aquired while waiting. I don;t have insurance and have been to several ERS

It's just one of the many steps they go through to determine disability. DO NOT be surprised if they send you one more before they decide, about any changes since the date you applied. it is 2007 and I first filed in 2002, I finally was approved june 2006. 1st check was Dec, but I got only SSI . Everyones experience is different. Not everyones is as long as mine either.

I agree completely with your statement. I was one of the lucky ones and got SSD in less than 6 months. I had a friend it took her 3 years because they denied her. I was told they always turn you down first time was not the case for me and someone else I know.

I got that same questionaire. I was lucky. They denied me the first time, then the second time, when I appealled they sent me to one of their doc's. Then I got a lawyer, that I never saw. And boom, I was approved a year later...strange. And I never even went to court! It's medicare that you'll get after 2 yrs on SS. Which confuses me, because I was told Nov. of 2007, which would be this year. Maybe from the day you filed maybe? Good luck.

During my process I received 3 different versions of this form to fill out. They love paperwork!

I got the form too. The thing to remember is to include all of your limitations caused by your symptoms even though you may have different limitations and different symptoms on different days and cannot predict when you'll have what. So think back several months about what your limitations have been - not just what you're dealing with when you get the form.

I applied in late 2006 and was approved last week, before my doctor even had a chance to complete the form they sent for me to have him fill out. My best guess is that I was approved more quickly and easily for two reasons - first - the social security medical exam doctor was nice and he also caught me on a very bad day. I basically keeled over on him, though it was unintentional. Second, last year social security finally added a new Blue Book category of illnesses evaluated for SSDI - called autoimmune disorders, and the category spells out the criteria for disability based on systemic lupus. Before that, lupus patients had to basically compile a hodge-podge of symptoms that were the functional "equivalent" of having a disorder listed by social security as causing disability. The equivalency test is a longer process and harder to prove. Now there's a category. Do a web search for the social security blue book and encourage your treating doctors to describe your symptoms using the same key words and phrases as stated in the social security blue book, because that's what your social security evaluator will refer to.

That being said, don't be surprised if you get sucked into the vortex. I hope you don't and are approved right away! But I kinda think that if I had not been so very sick on the day social security examined me I might have had a different result and been very miserable, fighting for benefits for years.

Jennifer