clw4514

spoke to my therapist yesterday. she sd i should get documentation from my current psychiatrist. problem? i only see that person for med management. and i was also informed that she suddenly retired and i have not been assigned to anyone new. my therapist went ahead and got me set up for first avail which is june 2. i do believe i am just gonna get an IMO at this point and proceed fwd w/ the NOD. Jbasser - thank u for that info. i will be utilizing it! :)

it says regional commissioner so i assume it is state level. first time ive tried to apply.

im on it!!! i also talked to the vp of the al for this region last nite. but, he didnt tell me anything i havent learned on here ;)

and the SSDI decision came this morning.....DENIED! im so glad that SSA and the VA think im capable of returning to work when i cant even maintain a thought process long enough to finish a task at home. who the hell would want to employ me? as a rule, i prefer to be kissed b4 i get screwed at valentines ;)

i keep thinking she is an MSW. can she still help?

u know what....im honestly not sure. i *think* she is a social worker. for sure not a doctor of any sort. the way i was understanding that i had to be a min of 60% for one or combined total of 70% for more than one. plus not be able to maintain substantially gainful employment due to my sc disability. is that correct? if so, then they clearly stated in my denial the following which would seem to indicate it is not possible to maintain employment: "you experience persistent symptoms of increased arrousal manifested by difficulty with sleep, irritability, outbursts of anger, intermitten difficulty concentrating, hypervigilance and exaggerated startle response. the disturbance has impaired your social and occupational functioning."

dr xxx is in memphis and we are now in virginia beach. i had tried calling her before and after we left memphis. she never calls back. i am going to talk with my current therapist about it and see if she can do anything. and you are correct. i am 70% for ptsd.

i filed for SSDI at the same time i did for TDIU. SSA made a decision last thursday and said it could take up to 2 wks to get the decision letter. this denial is from the original request for IU. i had an intern doing my prolonged exposure therapy. just before i started that, i had also started voc rehab. when the voc rehab lady gave me an RTW form for the intern to sign off on, she (the intern) lost it. i repeatedly asked for it and she finally said, "ive discussed it w/ dr xxx and we have decided it is not good for u to go to work at this point in time." i asked if she would at least email the lady in voc rehab and she never did. nor did she put this in my file. i was communicating w/ voc rehab and letting her know what was going on and eventually i got the notice i was being pulled out of the program. but, she put on the first notice "i stopped action on your claim because you reported that you are not currently able to work and you will soon begin intensive therapy to help with PTSD. You will decline further services at this time and will reapply when your health is more stable." on the second notice from her dated a month later, she put "I stopped action on your claim because you didnt complete your evaluation." i even called and questioned her on the wording of these two notices. she told me not to worry about it. soooooooo, i feel all of this impacted my IU because in the denial letter, they stated there was no evidence in my file from a dr stating i was not able to work. whew! i may have rambled on but i hope that helps you understand. let me know if i need to clear anything up.

thank u, pete....im compiling my documentation now. i will start w/ my primary care w/ tricare and go from there on IMO. i hope i am as lucky as the others who bounced back.

yes sir! i will have that done here in a few. thank u so much!!!! ive already started my research. ive licked my wounds now im ready for battle ;)

mine says: While you would not be able to perform executive level functions any longer you would be able to perform simple and repetitive tasks in a structured environment. Im sure it varies depending on the person's situation. hope that helped.

thx, carlie.

thank u, sapper. gotta lick my wounds for a bit and think thru things. my head is swirling right now.

i got my decision today. it was heart wrenching to say the least. the memphis VA screwed me. the intern and her boss never put in my records i was not able to work due to on going prolonged exposure. i feel as if the va blew thru my claim and gave no regard to it at all. they sd i was able to "perform simple and repetitive tasks." it would cost me more in gas to go to work at a job like that. im going to retreat to my bed for an indefinite amount of time now. i am completely heartbroken over this.

thx :) at least SSA tells u its gonna be 2 wks for a letter to arrive. im still waiting on my decision letter from the VA. it was mailed last tues. lol

well, now im more than just pissed. im frustrated. a decision was made on tues this past wk. they couldnt tell me over the phone citing law. then dug a little deeper on here and someone sd they can fax it. i call, she says yes. never rcvd the fax. i call back next day and was told no, they cannot fax it. again, they cited law. i asked for another letter to be sent out and no, u have to wait 10 days. i ask what my current rating is and she sd unless the letter says otherwise, its the same. wtf??? so, she directs me to the regional AL since they helped me on the initial claim for benefits. mind u, that was in memphis,tn and i didnt use them this round. didnt think there was a need. it was pretty cut and dry. she goes on to say, they will still get a copy of the decision. i call them, the woman had no freakin clue what i was talking about. she sd that i am not in their system and she cant help. so, she gives me another # to call. wanna guess what it was?? the main VA 800#. so, here it is the following saturday after the decision was made and still no letter. our regional office is only 250 miles and there wasnt any of the bad wx between there and here. there was no call for delays on that mail route. and just to make it that much more frustrating, the tags for our van were sent from memphis,tn on wed/thurs this week and we got them today. i just do not understand why it is taking so long to get the letter. all this mayhem makes me think it was declined and nobody wants to tell me. deltawife - hang in there....

SSA made a decision yesterday. said i should have the letter within 2 wks. hoping for the best on this and/or TDIU....

nevermind. ive managed to answer my own questions.

still no letter, no answers. nobody is able to tell me anything on the phone. i should have rcvd the letter by now. what do they do if u never get the letter?

called again today....they sd it was actually illegal to inform of the status over the phone. who knew! policy or law (dont remember) states it must be done via letter. but, when i was awarded my initial claim in 2009, they told me over the phone. :(

just today. it was sent to the supervisor on friday last week. bad part?? the computers havent updated the "status" so they couldnt tell me yay or nay. poo! the anticipation is killing me and my mind is running wild. did he really know and just didnt want to tell me it was declined? he could see the letter was already mailed out. shouldnt it show if it was awarded or declined? how long will the computers take to actually "update" the status? gahhh.....a million and one questions.

finally got ahold of my case worker @ SSA and asked her about this. she sd it is *not* uncommon for Dr's to ask about other conditions even if they r not evaluating u for it. i was really taken back by that and let her know how uncomfortable it made me. so.....just a friendly FYI for others. dont get blind sided by this like i did. :(

after what seems like forever, my claim has now moved to the decision phase. since i am 70%, i am hoping for a positive outcome. *thinking good, positive thoughts* :)

*GREAT* advice....thats what i did w/ mine and it was approved extremely quick. TDIU - not so much. been at the rating board since 27 oct and they just put hands on it this past tues. oh well, still quick by VA standards ;)

thats what i was thinking, too. wasnt sure if it was just my paranoia or what. i was really uncomfortable in that office with him.