Freezing And Denied

[Michellee]

Hey all,

Well that was pretty quick of a decision letter. I just had my SSD doc appointment on the 4th and the letter is dated the 10. It took them six days to deny me. I just dont understand that they say I am not disable enough not to work a job out there of some sort. I guess it would be ok by them to drink and drive as well. I mean its like they are saying regardless that I am on narcotics and taking psych meds that alter my consciousness that I should get in my car and drive off to work. The VA says I am unemployable and they say go to work. I am so upset right now and the darn furnace went out for good. The heating guy says the coil has rusted out and some other problems and it cant be patched up that we need a new furnace. So my husband and daughter have been burning wood in the fireplace to keep us some what warm but I am freezing at the moment and upset. We just cant afford a brand new or used furnace this winter. We will probally have to buy some heaters and burn wood. This is such a slap in the face with SSD I know its not uncommon to have them deny deny deny, but its still just seems so wrong. I will definetely put in an appeal for reconsideration. I wonder what additional info I could give them and how to I ask them to look at the additional info. I havent worked in a few years and I am in a wheelchair most of the day and have alot of spasm, pain, lack of concentration, depression, anxiety, so I guess according to the SSDI none of that means a grain of salt to them just go find work and pop my pills on the way. ;)

[Michellee]

I like the electric radiator heaters too. They are pretty safe to heat with compared to some of the other types. I use four in my house. I would rather use several at lower temps than have one or two cranked up to full force. My house is early 60's and the wiring is not new. And again, one of my friends loaned me a portable furnace to try out this winter.

I would agree that these types of heater would most likely be very sufficient for heating needs in Georgia. I am in the St. Louis area, and these heaters do a very good job of keeping the house pretty comfortable (even set on medium) until the weather stays cold for several days. I have a brick house - and as long as the sun can warm up the bricks a little each day, it helps. But if the temp stays low a few days at a time - those bricks can stay really cold.

I actually used two of these heaters even with the furnace. We have a tri-level with vault ceilings in the living room - which is not the easiest type of house to heat efficiently. Using the furnace alone to keep the living room comfortable kept the furnace running most of the time and the upstairs blasting hot. So I don't really think just getting a new "energy efficient" furnace is the only answer to look into.

And we have spent so much on the furnace in the past several years, I hesitate to put much more money in it. Actually, last year, I thought I had pinpointed the problem - the draft inducer fan. But they keep replacing everything else. Last year the guy who used to run the business (but has retired) was filling in one day and he said - Of course it isn't working, the draft inducer fan needs replaced. (Aha! I thought so). He just wired it up to hold it steady - to see if it would get me through the winter. And it did (except there were times the furnace wouldn't come on and I had to go down and move the fan around a bit).

But I think it has died now. And every time I consider calling someone to get it replaced, I worry that they will start replacing everything else too – and I don't know how many more $200 - $500 parts I am willing to stick on an old furnace. So I start considering the possibility of getting a new furnace, but comparing those isn't easy for me. And it is cheaper to replace both the furnace and AC at the same time. But my AC is still working. Agh! I don't make these decisions well. So I keep looking for information.

But I am leaning more toward zone heating. I think that might work better in this old tri-level. And am looking into using more than one type of heating source. I am not comfortable using the fireplace. My husband knew how to use the fireplace, but I never learned. And I am hesitant to start fires within my home without knowing what I am doing. But I am considering getting a gas insert or pellet insert for that – which would give us a source of heat during power outages.

As I am only using the electric heaters now, I am keeping an eye on my usage throughout the month – and reading my meter pretty often to make sure I don't get hit with a bill MUCH larger than expected. But so far, I seem to be doing okay.

But I have so much to learn about heating, and insulating, and efficiency, and wiring, etc. etc. etc. before I can begin to make an educated long term decision about what I want to do about heating this house.

And never underestimate the timing of heat generating activities on those cold days. I find the coldest days are the best ones to catch up on my laundry and bake cookies! :)

Thank you so much Free spirit this is really an encouragement, I def will be getting an attorney around the beginning of the year and I am going to appeal after New Years day. I will still be within my 60 days time limit. So I will be asking for reconsideration and then I will bring in the Attorney for the next phase. I am getting my docs to fill out the RFC forms to submit this time with my reconsideration with out an attorney. Then if that doesn't fly I will request hearing with ALJ and have an attorney to bat. I may not have communicated my disability very well with the first go around and it probally would not have mattered anyway even if I did. So I will say a prayer and keep going.

[free_spirit_etc]

Thank you so much Free spirit this is really an encouragement, I def will be getting an attorney around the beginning of the year and I am going to appeal after New Years day. I will still be within my 60 days time limit. So I will be asking for reconsideration and then I will bring in the Attorney for the next phase. I am getting my docs to fill out the RFC forms to submit this time with my reconsideration with out an attorney. Then if that doesn't fly I will request hearing with ALJ and have an attorney to bat. I may not have communicated my disability very well with the first go around and it probally would not have mattered anyway even if I did. So I will say a prayer and keep going.

Glad to hear you are doing better....or at least feeling better. Sometimes at the initial levels, the workers do not really work against you (though sometimes they do). Sometimes it is more a matter of how well your disability fits neatly into the box of what their rules tell them constitutes "disabled" for your category of disability. If it fits neatly into the box - they can grant benefits. If not, they often have to deny benefits even if they know that you most likely will be approved if your case is developed.

However, one of the reasons people with attorneys are sometimes granted benefits at an earlier level is that attorneys know how to properly develop the claim and so the needed information is in the file prior to the decision being made.

But it can sometimes be hard to get an attorney at the earlier levels because if you are approved fairly quickly, they don't make very much money. Not that they are greedy (though some of them are), but they do have to make a living.

Getting letters from your doctors sounds like a plan! I would warn that sometimes the reconsideration is like many of the VA's "denovo reviews" (i.e. they merely repeat whatever you were told the first time and add a couple sentences.) But some cases ARE granted at the reconsideration level - so you do have a chance! But if they just send you a copy and paste "same old same old" then by all means - get an attorney and start kicking STUFF!

Have you checked out SSA's listing of impairments and checked to see how closely yours fits into their boxes?

http://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/

[steveD]

This is for Michelle. I am a HVAC License holder and a veteran. I have never heard of anyone not being able to use the furnace because of the Coil, now the heat exchanger is another story. Sounds to me like a sneeky snake in the woods trying to make a sale. I would definitely seek another HVAC company. A good HVAC company will come to your house for free and give you a new system estimate for free. How old is your furnace? I live in the Atlanta area and am willing to help out a disabled vet if possible.

[Michellee]

This is for Michelle. I am a HVAC License holder and a veteran. I have never heard of anyone not being able to use the furnace because of the Coil, now the heat exchanger is another story. Sounds to me like a sneeky snake in the woods trying to make a sale. I would definitely seek another HVAC company. A good HVAC company will come to your house for free and give you a new system estimate for free. How old is your furnace? I live in the Atlanta area and am willing to help out a disabled vet if possible.

SteveD dont hold me to the details when it comes to explaining the mechanics. It could be the exchanger that rusted. If I remember right one of either rusted. We had a couple of estimates. The history behind the furnace started a couple of years ago when the water heater up in the attic flooded the house while we were away. It was a newly installed water heater and the company was at fault for the error the guy didnt even place the heater back into that little tub it normally sits in so and then he realized he left something undone to make a long story short that caused the flood. So the insurance company had to redo our ceiling and some parts of the floors, carpet and it was a mess and we still ended up paying out of pocket because labor cost took us over, when it was all done and never got reimbursed. Well the furnace and everything else got soaked but the guy for the insurance company that did the inspection told the company that it was fine so they would not replace our furnace then because it continued to work. At least it appeared to for a while the following year after the flood. Now it has completely shut down. We had two separate reprable companies come in here to inspect to fix it (what we thought) and both companies said it had rusted all the way and could not be fixed. So my husband has decided to take out a loan that we really cant afford. He had been looking at furnaces on the internet and mention something about this Bryant hybrid evolution model with some kind of blower or I dont know the thing that goes with it to replace the air conditioner I guess.. and he needs some more bids. We are still heating with wood and electric heaters. Those electric heaters keep shutting down the electricity and the lights. When I pulled the plug on the heater I noticed the outlet was hot and looks burnt. So I know we need to do something soon. My husband found out that the state of GA is offering rebates on the DOE website to people purchasing furnaces, appliances and after Feb 17 and you still can also apply for the federal exemption. So those two will help recover some cost of furnace that will run us thousands of dollars. Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks ahead of time.

By the way this is where some of our stimilus money went to supposedly each state is suppose to be giving out rebates for all kinds of purchase of appliances and furnaces, air conditioners etc. The rebates for 2010 begin at different times based on what state you live in and you still get the tax exemption from the feds in addition to the rebate. Here is the site.

http://www.energysavers.gov/financial/70020.html

[LarryJ]

I like the electric radiator heaters too. They are pretty safe to heat with compared to some of the other types. I use four in my house. I would rather use several at lower temps than have one or two cranked up to full force. My house is early 60's and the wiring is not new. And again, one of my friends loaned me a portable furnace to try out this winter.

I would agree that these types of heater would most likely be very sufficient for heating needs in Georgia. I am in the St. Louis area, and these heaters do a very good job of keeping the house pretty comfortable (even set on medium) until the weather stays cold for several days. I have a brick house - and as long as the sun can warm up the bricks a little each day, it helps. But if the temp stays low a few days at a time - those bricks can stay really cold.

I actually used two of these heaters even with the furnace. We have a tri-level with vault ceilings in the living room - which is not the easiest type of house to heat efficiently. Using the furnace alone to keep the living room comfortable kept the furnace running most of the time and the upstairs blasting hot. Close the vents to the upstairs rooms, and the doors to the rooms that you are not using. Closing the vents to the upstairs will send more heat to the lower rooms, and, seeing as how heat rises, your upstairs rooms will remain warm, regardless. So I don't really think just getting a new "energy efficient" furnace is the only answer to look into.

And we have spent so much on the furnace in the past several years, I hesitate to put much more money in it. Actually, last year, I thought I had pinpointed the problem - the draft inducer fan. But they keep replacing everything else. Last year the guy who used to run the business (but has retired) was filling in one day and he said - Of course it isn't working, the draft inducer fan needs replaced. (Aha! I thought so). He just wired it up to hold it steady - to see if it would get me through the winter. And it did (except there were times the furnace wouldn’t come on and I had to go down and move the fan around a bit).

But I think it has died now. And every time I consider calling someone to get it replaced, I worry that they will start replacing everything else too – and I don’t know how many more $200 - $500 parts I am willing to stick on an old furnace. So I start considering the possibility of getting a new furnace, but comparing those isn’t easy for me. And it is cheaper to replace both the furnace and AC at the same time. But my AC is still working. Agh! I don’t make these decisions well. So I keep looking for information.

But I am leaning more toward zone heating. I think that might work better in this old tri-level. And am looking into using more than one type of heating source. I am not comfortable using the fireplace. My husband knew how to use the fireplace, but I never learned. And I am hesitant to start fires within my home without knowing what I am doing. But I am considering getting a gas insert or pellet insert for that – which would give us a source of heat during power outages. If you lose electrical power, you also lose the power that it takes to run the pellet heater, if it is the automatic feed-type, and, also, of course, if you have a thermostat controller.

As I am only using the electric heaters now, I am keeping an eye on my usage throughout the month – and reading my meter pretty often to make sure I don’t get hit with a bill MUCH larger than expected. But so far, I seem to be doing okay.

But I have so much to learn about heating, and insulating, and efficiency, and wiring, etc. etc. etc. before I can begin to make an educated long term decision about what I want to do about heating this house. One of the cheapest fixes, both winter and summer, is to install the little insulation foam do-dads underneath all the outlets and switch plates that are located on your outside walls!

And never underestimate the timing of heat generating activities on those cold days. I find the coldest days are the best ones to catch up on my laundry and bake cookies! :)

[Michellee]

Point taken...thanks for the reminder I have actually done some of those things that were listed and it has worked it much warmer than the initial days when I was freezing my ass off.