Re: ANONYMOUS...please answer some ?'s about disability...
From: anonymous (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Tue, 13 Mar 2001 19:25:40 -0600 (CST)
Jenny I wrote to you before, about me with PCOS and being off work every
month Email me at
tracyetchells@virgin.net
Take Care Love Tracyxx
At Thu, 8 Mar 2001, Jenny wrote:
>
>I was diagnosed with PCOS, hyperinsulemia and hypothyroidism in December
>of 2000 and began taking synthroid, glucophage and an
>estrogen/progesterone combo. I have been sick for about 5 weeks now and
>have been unable to work due to constant nausea, horrible headaches, low
>grade fever and HORRIBLE cramping. My doctor doesn't even know what's
>going on. I've been going in every week so that he can test my insulin
>levels as well as my hormone levels. The only thing that has changed is
>my thyroid which is now in "normal" range. I don't know what the exact
>level of my PCOS related hormones are, but my insulin is around 40. My
>Doctor said he had really expected to see some change in the PCOS
>related hormones by now. He also noticed high protien levels in my
>liver (or was it kidney?) and changed me from Glucophage to Avandia
>(which is more expensive - of course!)
>
>I got an e-mail from work tonight (see below) saying that they denied my
>short term disability claim which means that, in about three weeks, I'm
>probably going to end up loosing my house. I've had enormous medical
>bills in the past three months and have pretty much been living paycheck
>to paycheck as a result. My HR rep says:
>
>>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Pike" <anonymous@obgyn.net>
>To: <anonymous@obgyn.net>
>Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2001 6:03 PM
>Subject: Your Medical Leave Status
>
>> We have reviewed the "Attending Physician's Statement" which we received via
>> fax from Friberg Medical Associates on Tuesday, February 27. Our assessment
>> is that this documentation does not support your inability to perform your
>> normal duties. If you disagree with this assessment you will need to submit
>> objective medical documentation to support your disability.
>>
>> You have indicated in a recent e-mail that you are under the care of several
>> doctors. Perhaps your condition, in fact, justifies your continued absence,
>> however, the documentation you have supplied thus far is insufficient to
>> demonstrate this. Unless you are able to produce such additional
>> information, you will be expected to return to work.
>>
>> If you believe that you are unable to return to work immediately, you will
>> need to have your doctor(s) provide the necessary documentation to support
>> this in order for your salary continuation benefits to continue. This
>> documentation will be required by Noon on Friday, March 9 to ensure
>> continuation without interruption. To assist you, we will send our form,
>> "Attending Physician's Statement" to your doctor(s) provided you supply us
>> with their fax number(s) by Noon, Thursday, March 8.
>>
>I talked to my doctor who said he doesn't know what else to do; he said
>that he indicated that my recovery time was "long" and my return date
>was "uncertain at this point". I am at a loss. My HR rep obviously
>doesn't believe that my condition is serious and I'm seriously about to
>lose it over this. I have a copy of the statement that my Dr. sent to
>my employer, and I don't think he could have added anything either. I
>don't know what to do.
>
>I thought that maybe I could enlist the help other PCOS sufferers who
>have been out of work for some period of time due to their illness.
>Obviously they don't understand how PCOS (and the related medications)
>can affect people. It also probably doesn't help that the HR department
>I'm dealing with is all male....probably makes them less receptive to
>"woman problems", but that may just be my anger at this situation
>speaking.
>
>If you feel comfortable doing so, could you send a statement to my HR
>rep? His email is george_pike@sbpt.com
>I know this is asking a lot, but I'm about to loose my house and my
>future over someone not believing that PCOS problems are real. Any help
>you could give would be appreciated!!
>
>If anyone has faced a similar situation at work - either with absenses
>or short term disability, could you please write to me? I would be very
>interested to hear how you resolved the situation.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Jenny
>
>At Mon, 15 Jan 2001, Lorrie wrote:
>>
>>I'm the "ANONYMOUS" that you are trying to get ahold of! I e-mailed you
>>in response but, you may not have gotten it! I was fired from my job
>>basically for "being too sick"-even though I always had doctor's
>>excuses. Is it hard to get disability? Absolutley! Impossible? NO! I
>>fought for 2 years and had TONS and TONS of medical evidence. I finally
>>had to hire an attorney and go to court. (after 2 denials from SSA) The
>>bad news is that my disability isn't even enough to cover a month's
>>rent. I live in Tennessee, by the way. I also have interstitial
>>cystitis, fibromyalgia, depression and several other things. If you
>>receive disability, your payment will be backdated to the date that you
>>were first disabled. (minus the first 6 months) If you have any other
>>questions, please feel free to e-mail me and I'll be happy to help you
>>in any way I can! Take Care! :)
>>>
>>>I posted to you earlier but I am not sure if you got it. I was in hope
>>>that you would not mind answering a few questions for me that would not
>>>reveal your identity. The fact that you posted about being on
>>>disability is what has moved me to post to you. I have been trying to
>>>get on disability for the reason that I have been getting worse and
>>>worse as time passes and have been told at the last 3 jobs that I had
>>>that if I kept missing so much time (no matter what the reason, even
>>>though I ALWAYS had Dr's excuse) that I was going to be fired. I did
>>>not want that on my record so I chose to quit. I was in great hopes
>>>that you could tell me if you had a rough time getting approved for your
>>>disability, what state you are in, and did you have to supply info on
>>>PCOS or just records from your Dr's. Thanks so much for taking the time
>>>to answer my questions. Diane
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