Any SSDI success stories?

SSD is an amount awarded to a disabled person based on the number of quarter hours worked & the amount is based pretty much on what one was making. SSI is for those who have low income eligibity & not many assetts. That being said, the main thing is that your doctor, preferably your neurologist, is willing to state or write a letter to the effect that you are unable to work at all for at least 12 months. If you were a construction worker, that does not mean that you would get disability just because you can no longer do that kind of work (as many so-called healthy people can’t.)

Let us know more about what kind of work you did before, as well as for how long. We would also need to know how the CIDP has affected you in order to help you out. For me it was easy, as I had rapidly become a quadrplegic in a few weeks time, & was refractory to all of the standard treatments. Usually a significant amount of disability must be present in order to qualify.

Mac,

The criteria for Social Security Disability is fairly simple. Can you do any productive work? Will this condition be permanent for at least 12 months into the future?

The money you receive is a portion of your income, mine is a little less than 40 % of what I was making.

You can go to the Social Security website for additional information.

I applied by myself, filed my own forms, and was approved.

I did my homework, checked and double checked everything before mailing, and was in fact disabled when I applied.

Since then my condition has continued to deteriorate. I know I will have to be re-evaluated at some point in the future. It is not forever, you must continually meet the requirements.

All of this is available at the Gov’t website.

Good luck
Dick S

Mac,
I did just like Dick did.I never had to leave my home-it was all done by mail or phone.I have several Drs for different conditions.It took 9 months to get my first check.After three years they did a review and decided I probably was going to get worse instead of better and there’s no need to review as often.My neurologist and my vascular Dr.both wrote letters for me.Wish you luck.

Mac,

Even with a lawyer and multiple serious illnesses it still took me nearly 2 years to start getting monthly checks, and got my retroactive at about year 3. I recommend a lawyer if you want someone to do most of the work for you. I didn’t have the energy to do the paperwork, make calls etc so my lawyer did the work for me. They do take a percentage of your settlement but I think it was worth it.

Jerimy

I filed for Nate 2 mos after he was diagnosed. He got his first check 5 mos after that, no rejection.
Get all the docs to fill out what SSA asks for quickly. It really helps a lot if they don’t wait.
You have a real disability, not imagined and not something that heals quickly.
I’m very glad SSD is available.
Trudy, natesmom

Hello – I am new to the forum. My son has CIDP, he is 21. He has had it for about one year now and has become quite disabled from the illness. He applied for SSD in mid February and was approved in six weeks. It was all done via telephone and mail. It helps a great deal to have all of your physician information, meds, and hospital dates, etc together. Also it is very important that your doctors are aware of filing and are supportive. SSD is very important, not just for the financial aspect but also for the eventual Medicare Healthcare benefits. We are also looking into the benefits that the State of Connecticut can provide to my son. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any questions. The only thing I would say is that we attempted to file online but it was too difficult to do so. The phone application, while lengthy, was easier.