How Sweet Pea Got Approved in Four Months

Art: Robin Mead

Finally my tears are happy ones!!!

I was approved on the basis of neurological Lyme Disease, encephalopathy, chronic head and neck pain, chronic fatigue, and cognitive difficulties.

Thank you to those who have helped me through some very rough times lately. I will share some things that I did that may have been helpful to my case.

Getting a Good Doctor’s Letter

Thankfully, my doctor wrote a good letter, which I truly believe was a HUGE help in my case. To request the letter, I wrote my doctor and politely asked him to write a letter to SSA, proving to them that I meet their definition of “disabled.” I gave my doctor three things:

1. A brief overview of my situation, symptoms, limitations. 
2. A sample doctor’s letter
3. Social Security Fact Sheet: Providing Medical Evidence for Individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) 

Please don’t assume that our doctors are knowledgeable about Social Security and know what to do. Our doctors have so many patients and can’t possibly remember every detail about each of us.

I have found that giving a doctor all the info is really helpful. It’s rare when a doctor will take the time to do this themselves, so we need to be our own advocates.

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Other Things That Helped: 

Reading

I did as much research as I could and tried to learn about the process. This gave me a lot of good ideas about how to approach

Collecting Medical Records

Before I applied, I gathered all my medical records and I brought copies of all of them into my first interview. My file was HUGE.

spreadsheet that had all the doctors I had seen since getting ill, all treatments received, all laboratory tests, and all important medical information.

Staying in Touch

Over the next few months, I kept in frequent contact with my Social Security Disability Examiner (not in an annoying, pestering way though) and helped him gather all he needed.

I kept on top of my doctors to send in the info that was requested of them.

When I wasn’t feeling well enough to make even a simple call, my boyfriend would call and inquire for me.

Adult Function Form

After applying, they sent me a function form to fill out.

Rather than focusing on the diagnosis, I went into detail about what I cannot do and why, with answers like: “I cannot stand in one place longer than 4 minutes because…” “I cannot sit at a computer for longer than 20 minutes at a time because…” “I cannot walk around stores because…”

In explaining my symptoms and limitations, I focused on the frequency, duration and severity and was completely honest about everything.

Even though it was not my main issue, I included psychological symptoms in my application. I was told that it’s sometimes easier to be approved for mental impairments than physical. Providing both could possibly give them an extra avenue to approve you on.

Asking for Help

I am blessed with an amazing boyfriend who was willing to collect medical records, create a spreadsheet and make phone calls for me.

Due to my neurological symptoms, I could not have done this by myself and I made sure to let Social Security know that. I wrote down how long it took me to complete forms and the help I had gotten.

Woo Hoo!

I hope this helps someone else. Now I can finally take a deeeeeep breath and relax! (And finally get back on some treatment!!!) Wooooohooooo!!!!!

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Learn More

How to Get a Great Letter from Your Doc

How to Tell what is (and isn’t) in Your Social Security File

How to Collect All Your Medical Records (Keyword: All)

“How I Got Approved for Disability QUICKLY”