Sleepless in Salt Lake, turned in retirement papers, scared

[Doxie]

Thanks for your support Lucy.  How's your new knee holding up?  Is it feeling a lot better?

[slccom]

Find a local independent living center, or disability advocacy group to help with the paperwork. No sense paying a lawyer. Take your time filling out the daily living part, and try not to be emotional. Be sure to include ALL your issues. The feet you can't stand on for more than an hour, the throbbing ache your joints let you enjoy, the depression, the anxiety, the brain fog, everything! Ask family, friends, coworkers and supervisors, and loved ones for examples of things you couldn't do, silly mistakes you made (the iron in the freezer, the keys in the laundry, mixing up days and appointments. Just make a list, cry a little, make more list. Organizing it into pain, fatigue, brain fog, stamina (lack thereof), part of the body, whatever makes any reasonable sense. If you get help doing this, tell the disability folks who, and what they did for you.

I always hate transition times.  But once you are not working your energy will be freed up for things you want to do instead. Hang in there!

[slccom]

Oh, and if your dogs are important to your emotional and mental health, get a doctor's letter to that effect, and see about getting or making a vest for the animal (s). You can buy inexpensive support dog badges online, but the vests, I've heard, are very expensive.  You can't take the dogs everywhere, but you are entitled to the animals under the Fair Housing Act. And, you can deduct the veterinary, food and other expenses for the dogs on your taxes.

[Doxie]

Slccom, thanks so much for all those tips. I'm realizing that I need to start now to plan when to make my doctor visits as it can take months to get in to them, even my pcp sometimes.

You've really given me a breakdown on how I can start, which is awesome so it seems so overwhelming. I'll just start working on it bit by bit.

In some ways I think you need to be well enough to be able to prove your sick!

I'm having surgery next week, so I'll have 8 weeks off work where I can think about some of this stuff and make a plan.

Everyone has been awesome and so helpful. I'm grateful to be a member of the forum!

[soycoffee]

The biggest mistake most people make is that they don't really describe their average day in the SS application; they describe a good day, and you need to be honest -- with yourself, first. also, keep a copy of all your papers. When they re certify you they are looking at consistency, so don't mess up in the future.

Applying for and being awarded disability is depressing, quite literally. Just because you get a disability award it doesn't mean that you are now worthless. You are still the same person, and very important to many people!

I'm chiming in to add/stress a couple of points:

1. Start writing a description of your "typical" or "typical bad" day NOW.
2. Write it in terms of "activities of daily living" -- get out of bed, use eye drops, scrub eyelids, rinse mouth with special preparation, shower using products or shower aids or shower hose, wash hair with special product, perhaps.
Go back to bed for two hours.
(I go back to bed and use my CPAP machine for another two hours)
Perhaps you go back to bed and use your iPad, because of aches and pains sitting at the computer -- something like that.
Fix breakfast; What do you do if on a bad day you just look at what you need to do to fix breakfast and walk out of the kitchen? Write that down.
Walking the dachshunds: is someone available to help on a bad day? Include that. If you always/almost always are able to walk the dogs, leave that out.

I may not really have described your day, but you can keep alert to descriptions of the ways people on this forum describe their activities, and if it fits, add it to your description of Activities of Daily Living.

It helps if the total picture makes the case that you could not do your usual and customary work, because of the difficulties in sitting at a desk or using equipment involved or standing in front of a class, or talking to a class -- dry mouth interferes with me. (Not because of the aids you would need, because the Americans with Disabilities Act {ADA} would allow you to use them at work.)

You've had lots of great advice here; I'm just refining the task.

Best of luck with your surgery, and your last months at work.
Soycoffee

PS I see now that slccom has now posted a lot of this. Take what works for your situation, and start now to note things and write them down.

[Doxie]

Yes, I have had lots of advice and help. I really appreciate it.  Soycoffee - what you mentioned is not redundant, they are great tips.  I actually started keeping a log of my day today.

I found some disability tips from the SSF, which has some of the same things y'all mentioned (but your descriptions are better).   http://www.sjogrens.org/files/brochures/disability_benefits.pdf

Last night I was reading the newest "The Sjogren's Book" fourth edition on my kindle. In the back they list some more tips too.

Hopefully all the tips given will help a lot of other people too.