icthus Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 You guys are great, and I am so thankful to come back "home" and hear from you. My situation has been difficult since I bought a foam "medically-approved" motion bed and had a toxic phenol reaction to it, causing POTS and dysautonomic stuff. I still have lots of weird arrythmias and am overall very weak, needing bedrest around 12 hours, and otherwise unable to do housework or shop except in 15 minute increments. Also now have a cough I can't shake. Who is disabled, who makes that determination, and if you are disabled, what do you do with that information? Aside from the disability parking sticker, which I already have, are there any other "benefits?" Just wanted to know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfish Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 sorry to hear that you've been having such a rough time.others will i'm sure chime in and i only have a minute now, but re: gov't benefits you may want to check out www.ssa.gov. it has TONS of info re: disability benefits, but in short you either have to have a certain quantity of work history to qualify for SSDI or be below a certain very minimal level of income/assets (not just you but others in your family are included, as are savings, etc.) for SSI.sorry to be so brief... melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poohbear Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 "Who is disabled, who makes that determination, and if you are disabled, what do you do with that information?"I'm a little confused by this statement. Can you explain more what you mean?In terms of other "benefits" there are, depending on where you live other services that you may qualify for.These vary greatly from state to state and even county to county so you would have to check with local resources but some of them may include:Post office-letter from Dr may qualify you to receive mail at your door (this is helpful is you have a long walk to your mailbox or live in an apt where the boxes are not close to you)Library-Many libraries have what they call "ADA" status which usually allows you more time to have books checked out. Some regions have volunteer who will drive to your residence and drop off books, some will mail books to you others will allow you to designate someone else to check out books on your behalf. Call your local library to inquire about resources. If you are blind or have several vision problems you may qualify for the federal assistance program where they will mail braille or books on tape to your residence.Depending on county rules you may or may not qualify for Meals on WheelsYou may qualify for bus or shuttle transportation to and from Dr's appointments, grocery store and other similar errands. Sometimes there is a small fee.These are the ones that occur to me off the top of my head.Hope this helps in some way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icthus Posted January 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 "I'm a little confused by this statement. Can you explain more what you me?"Thanks for the info. I'm just a little confused. I can function like a perfectly normal person if I just sit, albeit I cannot use my eyes for close work (get blurry). But I cannot do any physical work, stairs, or be exposed to anything stressful to the autonomic system - like watching an intense movie or laughing a lot. It just seems to me that I would therefore be "disabled." Yet who makes that determination, and once it is made, what can I do with it? -- I hope that better explains what I meant to say the first time around. Again, thanks for all your info. You guys have been so helpful because I can research other entries and thereby determine if a random symptom is typical dysautonomia stuff or is something needing to be addressed by the doctor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Belinda Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 You can look up info. on www.social security.gov. As I am getting ready to apply for disability, and learned a few things from this site.Good Luck,Belinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dionna Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 sorry to hear that you've been having such a rough time.others will i'm sure chime in and i only have a minute now, but re: gov't benefits you may want to check out www.ssa.gov. it has TONS of info re: disability benefits, but in short you either have to have a certain quantity of work history to qualify for SSDI or be below a certain very minimal level of income/assets (not just you but others in your family are included, as are savings, etc.) for SSI.sorry to be so brief... melissaThe best advice that I can give is talk to as many people as possible and ask many questions. There is help everywhere. Churches, Government, Charities, and other Organizations have all types of things that many people don't know about, simply because they don't ask. I am 20 years old and am about to be out of the Marine Corps because of my illness, obviously. But I am still going to go to school. There is a program that is going to shuttle me to and from school. I also researched on the net about at home jobs and as soon as I get set up in my future house I will begin work. Since I need a wheel chair, I found a local organization that is going to build one to my size. Just ask around your area. I'm sure there are good people around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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