I was interested in the comments about the VA not covering some drugs. I am in the process of getting John VA benefits. His only diagnosis at the moment is memory and cognitive impairment. He is on:
I think there are lawyers specializing in this sort of thing. My SIL had a lawyer when he applied for SS Disability and she got him through the process in record time.
Foster's first neurologist put him on Ritalin - to sharpen his focus - and the Grand Guru of all Neurologists had a FIT. She insisted I cease and desist the Ritalin immediately. Jeez, lady! Like..it wasn't my idea, right? We're not on VA, but our insurance has covered (so far) all the drugs he takes. (Not ONE of the above is on his list.)
Jim, the sad thing about Alzheimer's Disease is that it causes health problems to occur that they might not otherwise have had. It's a vicious disease and it picks no favorites.
m-mman-- You are doing fine and on the right track. SS often send people to their Dr. for eval. at their expense (not yours). Generaly not an extensive exam, more to update and verify. Letters from Dr.s not so useful. SS will (or already did)have her(you) sign releases and contact all sources you've provided, themselves. They want the data straight from the Dr. to them--not through your hands. Stay the course with this. The biggest keys (worries) are DO NOT MISS ANY DEADLINES and KEEP ALL APPOINTMENTS. Even if you are initially turned down--file an appeal immediately. As long as you meet all deadlines they have to go back to your initial application date in your award determination. It took my sister 1 1/2 years to get her approval but it started immediately once apporoved and was retroactive, so she had 1 years worth of benefits coming (6 mo. disabled to qualify). Give them every stitch of information on her condition/history you can. I've been there and done this for myself, for DH, and answered questions for both a brother-in-law and sister-in-law when they applied. All 4 were approved on first try. In my sister's case, she was told that there had been such a huge load of applications coming in that workers were denying cases, unexamined just to clear their desks. When the appeal judge looked at her file and then looked at her, the only questions he asked were to verify her identity. He said her case should have been approved from the get-go and he wasn't at all happy that it hadn't been.
I consider the paperwork and hoops they demand from us and put us through to be the way we earn our pay.<grin>
Stick with it. She worked and paid into the program and she qualifies to draw on it. It is worth the effort. You may not NEED the money now, but there's more than just the monthly check involved. Medical coverage, Prescription coverage. All can be coordinated to cover what may yet come to be.
One more thing, once you get SSDI, they go all the way back to the first application as long as you do what carossi said.
My daughter's friend has a child who's father finally got on SSDI. The check for back payments for the child was so big that they were finally able to move into an apartment with two bedrooms. It paid for the first and last month's rent and the actual move. The move was way overdue since the child is now a teenager and needs to have a bedroom of her own. There had been no child support for years since the father was so sick he could not work. The mother works and pays for all the basics on her own, but not for an "extra" like a second bedroom.
My point being that you need to stick to this. You might not need the money now, but as your wife gets sicker, and they all do, you will need it.
This is a follow up to my earlier posting so that my experience will be somewhere in the archives for anyone who might search for it.
Recap: Should I stop my MCI wifes' Aricept before going to a the SSDI third party evaluation? Aricept has a half life of 70 hours. I DID decide to go for broke and stopped it for 6 days before her eval.
Before I stopped it she had been having a lot of 'good days'. Without meds her symptoms did become 'very acute'. She began making a lot of errors that I could see and the Senior Center participants even asked if she was OK.
The results of the eval will go the SSA and we should hear from them in 2 months(?) but I think there should be little question that she is 'disabled'.
So, were her losses perminent? No! I gave her the magic pill again the night after the eval (she normally takes it at night) and she came right back to her 'normal' baseline within 2 days :-) She is now back to her old MCI self.
Did I cheat? maybe, but my real concern was whether she could bounce back. She did. No professional would ever advise stopping a viable threapy just to increase symptoms, but in our case it worked.
m-mman, Nah, I don't think you cheated. Social Security's official definition of disability is "a physical or mental condition that is expected to keep one from working for at least one year, or terminate in death". Hmmm, accordidng to that definition maybe we should all file for disability....after all life is terminal. :-))
My DH, with Lewy Body Dementia, was denied the first time for Social security disability but approved fairly quickly once we appealed, despite pretty decent cognitive testing results.
Art had his evaluation with the SSDI doctor (who told us he was our advocate for SSDI) on 10/11. He keeps asking when we will hear and I keep telling him it could be 2 or more months. I also remind him either way his SS starts next month. Then if approved, when do they start his disability date? 2 years ago when dementia was a diagnosis? 11/08 when the neurologist said AD? 1/09 when the neuro in Vanc. said MCI? or 7/09 when she changed it to EOAD?