Disability or not

[Sammantha]

Right now I am on short term disability but ofcourse its been a month because they are going over my records with a fine tooth comb....I just saw my doc and he recommended that i go on long term but i really want to try to work...My mom says no way, so does my husband....I think i can try, although when i went to my psychiatrist appt i laughed hysterically at a man who kept reminiscing about killing people in Afghanistan.....He was like I am glad you think its funny, he was trying to jump in and get the doc to give him klonopin....doc said no, in his case it was for short term sleep aid.....my neuro and psychiatrist say god no when i mention going off of klonopin! Ive been on it for four years. Anyways has anyone gotten disability due to psuedobulbar affect? Trust me when i say this for others that dont have it, it can be extremely embarassing and cause bad work reviews (trust!)

 

[Ms. Pie]

Hmm...if you want a vote, I vote for taking the long term disability. I'm going to start the process in the next week. Good luck Sammantha!

 

[cubcake]

We did. I called the Disability group who handles our claims for our employer on Thursday, received and had the doctor fill out the necessary forms on Friday, faxed them into the group on Monday and got a call on Tuesday saying that we had approval for Permanent Disability and we had no further obligations. It should be noted that we don't have State Disability but Voluntary Disability. Same benefits but the group handles it for us. Also, I didn't have our Neurologist from his medical provider fill out the paperwork but the ALS clinic that we go to. I think that made a world of difference. Good luck to you and please let me know if you have any further questions. I don't know much, but I'm learning more everyday!

 

[Katie C]

Glen stayed on short term disability until it was used up, then went to long term. His company allowed about 6 months of long term disability then he was considered "terminated due to medical issues..." This allowed his benefits to stay in place and his retirement, so I am able to get "surviving spouse" medical coverage and collect his pension. It's not big but it's something! After the 6 months he would have transitioned to SSDI. We literally received his approval letter and Medicare card in the mail on the day he died. One of Glen's benefits was that the company paid for a group that handled all the Social Security issues for us... love them!

 

[halfin]

My experience was similar to Glen's. Short Term Disability automatically rolled over to Long Term Disability after six months. At that point the company terminated me but the LTD will continue. SS and Medicare started 5 or 6 months after I stopped working, because I had been diagnosed long before.

 

[Will]

My PALS went STD for 12 weeks, then long term.

The LTD Company will make a final determination in 2 years, which puts us in the absurd situation of wanting the disease to progress (his progression is slow so far), but fighting with everything we can to slow down the disease. I have not idea what we will do if the LTD is actually denied. He as diagnosed almost a year ago.

 

[Miss]

Will, he won't be denied. That's what my husband's company did, too. I was told by the LTD company (Prudential) that there is no way someone with ALS would be denied. Think about it. It isn't even logical that it would be denied after being approved during the first two years. Unfortunately, ALS is progressive. It might not get worse for awhile, but it certainly isn't going to get better.