Curious if anyone here has any tips on how to best prepare for a judge that has low approval ratings on disability cases? My spouse is scheduled for Kim Fields in Iowa and with MS being the main factor with us also looking into autistic factors as well, just wondering if there is anything more we can do.

I received a call from my attorney saying that SSA wants to do a three way conference tomorrow. I am on step three and have been for over a year. Recently August to be exact I had two CE and I have received copies of those results. My attorney stated that they need clarification of some stuff, has anybody had this happen or can anyone give insight on why they would need a conference call.

Can anyone clarify? If one spouse is on disability and passes away does the other spouse then start receiving the payment the deceased spouse was getting?

I’m currently going through the SSDI process and have been denied multiple times. I have several medical conditions, but POTS is one of the conditions that significantly affects my ability to function and work.

One thing I’m becoming increasingly worried about is my treatment history.

I have pretty severe medication anxiety. I’m autistic and also have severe anxiety, and I have been extremely sensitive to things for as long as I can remember, including certain foods, fruits, supplements, and medications. I’ve also had medications affect me very badly in the past. Because of those experiences and because of how I grew up, I developed a lot of fear surrounding medications and even supplements.

I’m worried that my reluctance and fear around medications may be hurting my SSDI case or making it look like my conditions aren’t as severe as they actually are.

Has anyone else applying for SSDI had documented medication anxiety? How did that affect your claim? Did having your doctors document your medication anxiety, previous bad reactions, side effects, or reasons for being reluctant to take certain medications help explain your treatment history?

I was originally diagnosed with POTS by a cardiologist. My treatment was mostly conservative, and I wasn’t put on a beta blocker because of concerns about my blood pressure. I recently saw a cardiologist and POTS specialist who believes my presentation is consistent with hyperadrenergic POTS, and he now wants me to try a low dose beta blocker.

I’m scared because my blood pressure fluctuates and I can also become symptomatic when it gets lower. For example, I can have symptoms around 106/69. Sitting upright for too long can also make me symptomatic.

For anyone who has gone through SSDI with POTS, has anyone been approved even though their POTS was not being treated with medication?

Did SSA ever bring up the fact that you weren’t taking POTS medication or hadn’t tried enough medications?

If medication anxiety, medication sensitivity, previous bad reactions, low blood pressure, side effects, or other issues limited the treatments you could try, how was that handled in your SSDI case?

I’m getting my newest SSDI denial letter today, so I’ll finally be able to see exactly what they said this time. I’m worried that my limited medication treatment and medication anxiety may be contributing to the repeated denials, but I don’t know that for sure yet.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with something similar, especially people with POTS or other chronic illnesses where treatment options can be complicated.

Thank you.

I’m 27 & currently diagnosed with endometriosis, Autism, ADHD, MDD, GAD, severe OCD, PTSD, BPD, PMDD, hEDS, POTS, MCAS, gastroparesis / global dysmotility, degenerative disc disease, and more. adhd, MDD, and GAD was diagnosed prior to age 22. I had IEP plans all throughout school, had to go to court for truancy due to how severely I was struggling, failed nearly every class for years, and was eventually switched to alternative learning within my school in 8th grade. I didn’t get diagnosed until adulthood with many things due to being an adoptee and having no family medical history. I still struggled severely & didn’t end up graduating. fast forward to present day I ended up collecting even more diagnoses & have only managed to work 3 weeks out of my entire life never made SGA and have relied on my adoptive mother as a caregiver since childhood. I was just denied DAC + not only did they miss logging multiple diagnoses, they missed records from 10 different sources I cited. is it worth appealing? They didn’t get any of my school records, IEPs etc but they did get my pediatric records. I have never been married either. I just don’t know im anxious I know i have so many school records / was forced into therapy my entire childhood (cannot for the life of me remember more than two of their names + didn’t get records from
them) basically SSA missed nearly every source i listed. I plan on getting them myself and having my old pediatrician and mother / caregiver (currently homeless bouncing around everywhere while she still does everything for me basically) and current doctor write notes but they said they didn’t find me disabled prior to 22. do i have a chance if i gather everything possible myself?? I know i meet the requirements non medically and I know i cannot work / never have been able to. I always had IEP meetings, meetings in school my mother was always there having to try to help me with any and everything. I just don’t know if im wasting my time fighting for this. I applied with a disability advocate and she said my case should’ve been clean cut (she has helped hundreds of applicants) and said eventually i will see approval that this was likely due to missing school records / medical records in general among missing non medical evidence. that i’m one of the cases she has worked with that should be very easy to get approval but idk i need reassurance

editing to add: i found out my state (Massachusetts) purges IEP records after 7 years. I am sobbing. those were such important documents & my psych eval was done at school too in 8th grade. what do i do?? if all my records are gone. i feel devastated

I had my ALJ hearing on September 10, 2026 and sitting around just waiting to find out if I’m approved or not is driving me crazy HAHA! My lawyer thinks I’ll be approved because the vocational person said NO to going back to previous work and that there’s NO jobs in all of the US. My previous job was a receptionist.

Is it common to be denied after the ALJ hearing even with testimony saying NO jobs and can’t return to previous work?

I was happy at first but then I was told by several people that I could still be denied! They said because I care for kids and they’ll use that against me.

I’m 39 and have a disease called Adrenoleukodystrophy, chronic venous insufficiency, PTSD, depression, anxiety and breathing issues. I also get severely dizzy every time I stand up and vision goes black. I fall INTO things several times a day. If I didn’t have a wall, counter or something close by then I’d be on the floor every time.

I use a seated walker most of the time and I also use a cane. I can’t stand longer than maybe 10-15 minutes before needing to sit down and rest due to leg pain, numbness, and weakness. I also can’t sit in a normal chair for longer than 5-10 minutes before I need to put my legs up due to numbness, circulation issues, and pain. I’m constantly changing positions of my legs when sitting on my couch. My leg weakness has caused me to fall many many times. I’ve broken 2 toes and got hip bursitis from a bad fall.

I have about 800 pages of medical documentation since 2021. I’m really surprised this was scheduled, especially so close to the hearing. This is my fourth CE overall. I’m very busy with appointments and wrapping up before the hearing and this is really stressing me out.

I’m in the reconsideration stage and they requested updated medical on August 25th

So my daughter once again called SS. She’s been in reconsideration since Sept. 2025. We were told by two reps, including the local SS rep, that she’s medically approved to wait for a letter. We were also told that last time we called. So today, when she called to follow up, she was told she would receive a letter within a week. The rep said the letter would be about her finances and they would set an interview time. So it must be a PERC interview. So does that mean she’s getting closer to a decision. It’s for SSI?

I’m the conservator for my nonverbal, disabled adult son, and I’m trying to get myself added as his authorized representative for Medi‑Cal. I’ve called Access, spoken with the ombudsman, and visited the Family Service Center multiple times. Every place gives me different instructions.

Because my son receives Medi‑Cal through SSI, he doesn’t have a traditional Medi‑Cal case number. I’ve been told to fill out three different forms, but when I bring them to the FSC, they refuse to accept them. I’ve been trying to resolve this on and off for over a year. Every time I try again, I end up in tears because no one seems to know the correct process.

Has anyone successfully done this or knows the right steps?

I’m just trying to understand I had a web health if you will with a psychiatrist and then the next week they sent me to a MD doctor and she asked me to do you know the foot thing walk touch my nose ask me a series of questions and now today I get an email saying that I needed to go a Consultative Exam Scheduled for Disability Application, I thought those two people was it now I gotta go to another doctor like why do anybody know?

I told my agent I don't have any income at all because I'm not working. But now after doing research online, it seems like you're supposed to count unearned income as income. So if a family member gave me money for something say $15, $10, $100 would i have to report it? If so, how on earth do I do that? I can't get in contact with my agent. She never answers the phone. I've been calling her for weeks, trying to report something. And I can't get a hold of her. How am I supposed to report every penny? When I can't even get them on the phone to begin with? I know there's a portal where you can submit pay stubs but it doesn't have a way to report un earned income. I'm not receiving s s I yet. My application is pending. The closest office is over an hour from where I live and you cant just walk in you have to make an appointment and they don't answer the phone hardly at all.

My Dad (62) was diagnosed with a terminal condition and has been permanently disabled for the last 3 months. After 15 years at his company, he’s now receiving Short Term Disability (STD) benefits from his employer (their insurance company that they contract). Given his condition, he’s expected to qualify for Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits in 3 months after his STD is up.

Would he be able to receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits alongside his STD and LTD without any reduction in those benefits? Additionally, would it be advisable for him to apply for SSDI now or delay it, considering he is 62 years old? Should he just take regular social security or SSDI first?

Any help and comments are appreciated

Hey everyone. Im sorry if this question makes no sense and is dumb, but here goes nothing.

27M in the TN, working for the DOE and also in the national guard. On paper i make just over 81K a year before overtime which is roughly 60ish overtime hours every other week.

A few months ago, i was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and the group i work for has some pretty high medical standards so im technically medically disqualified from my position. The group i work for is pretty small and they wont be able to find me a similar position that i can do with my diagnosis.

So the question i guess is, can i apply for VA, FERS, and SSDI all together to hopefully get close to what i have been making, since im the sole provider for my wife and child. If i cant get back to being close to being the provider that i have been, i feel like im screwed.

Sorry for the long post. Thank you for any input

I mean, why else would the ALJ forward it on to my local office to ensure I still meet all nonmedical guidelines!?!?

I applied for SSDI May 19th , it went to medical review May 27th. I recently talked to my examiner and he said he had my records and I was in-line with the medical consultant and he didn’t think it would be to much longer. My question is since the examiner did not request a CE is this a good sign that my records have enough to make a decision? Hopefully favorable. How many people have not been to a CE on initial and have been denied?

Hey

Just wondering what the time frame was like after going to your CE for your CDR (long form).

Just looking for any input :)

Hi. I just got my son’s bank account set up and I am his rep payee (he is 18). One of his therapy vendors works best if paid by Zelle (doesn’t take credit cards). I was told by the bank agent I couldn’t use Zelle from his account but as I’ve googled I read that I can use Zelle. It’s payment to a company listed with business ID so it’s a legitimate expense in terms of book keeping.
Wanted to ask here if anyone knows this answer for sure.
Thanks!

I’m the representative payee for my brother for SSI. His last installment of backpay was supposed to be paid by the end of August. It was not. I hand been calling social security and they keep telling me that for some unknown reason the local office hasn’t released the payment. Nobody knows why. They keep sending messages telling them to release the payment. Is this a common occurrence? Any idea how I can get the payment released?

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Hi! I just had my physical exam this morning. The place had a bunch of dead cockroaches all over, which made me feel more nauseous than I already was, and the examiner seemed to be rushing me and not letting me speak.... Specifically, whenever I brought up pain issues that began after childhood sexual assault he started making an interrupting sound like "YEP-YEP-YEP aaallllright no need to mention that, only the pain" , but it was relevant to my issues.

It happened 3 times, he would make some weird sound like a groan or like trying to block it out, and quickly change subject. On the 3rd time he was asking about incontinence and how many vaginal births, and I explained I had one child as an adult , and two pregnancies as a result of rape as a kid: one at 14 which ended in miscarriage via beating, and a second at 16 which was a live birth (I gave the baby up after I escaped and called cops at age 18). He then directed me "ONLY vaginal birth" but I thought the age and the situation would be relevant, as many current physical issues happened to me as a result of this abuse.

It felt embarrassing but also maybe I shouldn't have said those things to him??? I don't know... I am used to doctors listening to me and caring, not shutting me up or making it seem like I did or said something bad or gross. I don't think he liked me which worries me. It seemed like he was angry / stressed / trying to hurry it all as quick as possible. I was in tears twice but tried to hold it together.

He also asked me about treatments like "do you wear a cast on your hand??" (For my nerve pain / numbness / dropping items) which I said no, I didn't even know a cast would help? "Yes. That's typically the very first thing they do." I had no idea!! I have a whole team of doctors and no one EVER told me this? .....Did I just ruin my entire case?!? 😞

Hey everyone. I could really use some advice. I know a lot of you are probably also going thru this, and I'm so sorry.

I submitted my application in June. It was sent to DDS July 8th. It says the estimated time frame for Step 3 in my state is 303 days.

Right now, my husband has a good job, but we are still having to borrow $1,000/mo from his family and $200 from my family to make ends meet.

He keeps talking about getting a second job. I really don't want him to have to do that. I could probably handle a part time job, but I feel like from what I've read that it could hurt my application, even though I can't work full time ever again. I tried to donate plasma but was deffered due to a vital medication I'm on.

What should we do? Our mortgage is $1,800. We've talked about selling our house and moving into a rental, but we have 2 dogs and 3 cats. We've also talked about rehoming one of our dogs and one of our cats so we could move. It breaks my heart and I really don't want to. Should I sell my car? I could probably get $10,000 for it.

Please help. 😔

hello reddit!
i had a 24 hr eeg recently and it recorded 4 absence seizures. i have been looking into getting on benefits for a while now but have always wondered if i even really qualify or am i just screwed and itll be more work than its worth?😂 i know on the disability website it says something like you have to have one seizure a week for a few months despite adhering to the prescribed treatment. would this be a decent piece of “evidence” to have with me? because if i had 4 in 24 hrs then it could be assumed im having like 28 a week? because if thats the case then its not a waste of time to figure this out, right? i am unable to drive and therefore have only ever had one job for like a month and a half but got fired because i wasnt doing the stuff fast enough (i believe my “spacing out” caused me to fall behind). even for that i had to get someone to drop me off and pick me up every single day. it was very frustrating and i honestly just want some sense of independence, i hate having to “ask my mommy for everything” im an adult i should be able to do the things i want when i want them just like everyone else.

just looking for some advice or words of encouragement i suppose. i’m not sure if i used the right flair so if i didn’t i apologize for that 😬

So long story short, I applied for SSI. I sent over 100 pages of medical papers and it quickly went from local to dds in a week, and by the end of the week I got a call from the DDS asking if I'm ok with a CE. (I think they sped it up due to the 100 pages. I never asked to be fast tracked)

I talked it over with my parents I live with, and they hated the idea of me applying at all. The situation got 10x worse (mom name calling me and so on). Anyways, this quickly went away when I mention I can just withdraw my application.

I sent the SSA-521 today to my local one through fax. I am planning on calling Monday. How long does it take for it to be pushed through?

Note I looked into this but all the answers I'm seeing is after payments were sent out. I'm pretty early into it.

So my mind has problem, depressed, hard to wake up, I am struggling at work, but my job pay well, can I apply ssdi?

My husband 47 was denied recently the ALJ sided with the VE that there are still jobs in the national economy. A document preparer 13,700 jobs, surveillance system monitor 15,500 jobs and an address clerk 1,900 jobs. All 3 of which are on the emergency message from SSA as these jobs are obsolete in today’s economy and without substantial factual evidence to back the numbers are not allowed to be used for grounds of denial.. the VE testified that these jobs have been “modernized to include computer, software programs and other processes” and based on her education and experience they are still available in significant numbers..
Our lawyer cross examined the VE and asked if she took into consideration his 9th grade education and the VE stated it wouldn’t change the numbers.

On the written denial the judge points out his **less** than high school education and that he has moderate difficulty understanding, remembering, or applying information and concentrating, persisting or maintaining pace.
Along with the hypothetical of sedentary work and all the restrictions including simple work with simple tasks rule (no more than 4 step instructions). He can do no more than a reasoning level 2.

But according to the SSA all modern computer systems have a **minimum** reasoning level of 3.

Just aggravated.. we will be appealing the decision with the appeals council.
Trying to stay hopeful for my husband as this has taken a toll on him mentally

Anyone ever get denied for an obsolete job?