pixiepoodle

I'm in the process of waiting to get a hearing date myself. Right after filing my claim at the beginning, I was scheduled for exams by SS's medical dr. and shrink, both of which were the biggest joke.

The medical dr. wouldn't let me say anything and when I did, he ignored me. I have Fibro, OCD, ADD, an impaired shoulder from rotator cuff surgery, and chronic bladder infections. He only checked me by giving me what I want to call a "drunk driving test", by having me walk across the room a couple times, once on my tippy toes. He had me try to touch my toes and a few other things. He also tried to make me look like an idiot when I tried to mention, I can no longer walk up stairs, he immediately asked, "well, how did you get into the office by yourself today?" I then asked him what he meant by that and he said "there are stairs outside leading into the office". I had to really think about it and then I remembered that there were 2 steps, I repeat 2 steps that were far apart from one another. So I told him there are only a few steps to get in here and I was referring to the typical stairs in an office bldg. When I went to the shrink visit, the office was closed. After making several calls to see where the dr. was, only a girl showed up about 15 minutes later with several sheets of paper and the office had a small table and 2 chairs. She asked me a bunch of questions and mentioned towards the end that I seemed like a very happy and very well adjusted person. I told her the antidepressants did help me not to be depressed all the time and I had a great husband, so that made for a pleasant life at home.

Both drs. reports were submitted before I received my denial back. They mentioned the reports were reviewed in the denial. I'm positive the reports didn't help my case one bit, but I was told I would not get a copy of them until after my case was over.

Of the 2 main drs. that treat me for Fibro, one never responds to quests for a written summary/narrative and the other, who is my pain mgmt. dr. doesn't know anything about my physical abilities because all he does is ask me how much pain I am and then gives me my prescriptions. He has never given me any kind of physical exam or ordered any tests, like an MRI, cat scan, etc.

I stopped seeing my rheumotologist years ago because he monitored my liver enzymes on every visit and when they shot thru the roof, he refused to give me Soma and Ultram anymore. My family dr. would prescribe the Soma, but not the Ultram (which can cause seizures in some people) since he had a dr. friend who took it and had a seizure while driving and was killed. At that point, I sought out a pain mgmt. dr. who put a pain pump in my stomach, as well as giving me oral meds for breakthru pain.

Since I don't have any medical reports or written summary about my physical limitations, I got a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) done by a physical therapist. It was 4 1/2 hrs. long and cost me $500 out of my pocket. I consider the money well spent because its an exam used by employers and ins. companies when their is a workman's comp injury and the patient either wants to get their job back or to prove the employee is faking their disability to drag out their time off and/or up their settlement if the injury was due to company negligence. There are certain ways they can tell if you are faking the test and you don't want them to write on their final report that you did not perform consistently by showing self-limiting behavior.

For me the test was the best thing I could have done because it shows just how limited I am with my physical abilities. I took the test without any oral meds (only my pain pump going continuously since I have no control over it) and my pain was hovering between a 7-8. When they ask you to rate your pain before starting the test, it indicates a level of 10 means you need to be hospitalized. When I was done, my pain was at a 9 (only in my mind, it was really a 12). Even though I was hurting badly after the test, its nothing compared to how I have felt for the past 5 days. Basically, it caused all my muscles used during the testing to go into a flareup, but I don't mine since the test tells better what my condition is than a dr. can.

Good luck to everyone who's still waiting. Hang in there.