Hello,
I had a 2.5 cm AN removed from the right side in Jan. of 2006, since then I have had severe headaches balance issues and neck pain. The Doctor who performed the operation has been telling me wait 6 months and it should get better, well it's been a year and a half and I still have the same issues. I have been put on Topomax, Lyrica, Paxil, Gabapentin and several pain relievers.Nothing seems to help and I have been to a Neurologist who tells me he can't find any reason why I am getting headaches, he sent me through MRI's,EEG's,nerve tests. He says the nerve is working on the side I had the AN removed on but can't tell me why I can't hear anything from that side.sometimes the smallest things set of major headaches
- hot weather, body position or exertion, sometimes just getting up and walking across the room will cause me to lose my balance. My Gp has told me to look into going to Strong Medical center in Rochester NY so I guess that is my next pursuit. My question is this, Does anyone have the same issues and does anyone know a good Doctor at Strong Medical?
I haven't been able to work and we are running out of our rainy day fund,is disability an option or do they not consider this a good reason to be on disability?Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Hello,
I finally got disability (according to my lawyer but I haven't seen any money yet) but it took orever and it seems that socail security doen't even follow their own rules. In my case a blood vessel broke Nov 2004 causing me to be dizzy ever since. A CT scan showed I had a tumor which I suspected but didn't get a scan earlier due to no insurance. The first sin was hearing loss, then a couple years later facial numbness before the blood vessel broke. What followed was tumor surgery march 2005 after which the doctor said it would just take time (probably for liability reasons) . The dizziness and headaches were worse after the surgery along with total elimination of hearing (even though they didn't cut the nerve). Since i did'nt have insurance the doctor that operated would not see me again in his office.
The wound never healed and was draining. I was put in the hospital Dec 2005 where they suggested plastic surgery to repair the wound but they wouldn't see me w/o insurance and I was discharged with nothing done. To bypass this I was told to go to the ER at another hospital. The surgery was scheduled until they found out I had no insurance and I was kicked out of the second hospital. Eventually I was refered to the hospitals plastic surgery clinic and in Oct 2006 surgery was performed to close the wound. The dizziness and headaches continue. All together I was in the hospital or seeing a doctor about 65 days in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.
I applied for disability in Jan 2005 and was denied the first time, then denied on reconsideration based on "While the records show you are dissabled now your condition is not expected to last 12 months". While they were saying this I had already been dizzy over a year. I then got a lawyer and filed another appeal. What I found was that disability depends a lot on age and education. Some disabilities are on a list and are automatic but not acoustic neuromas. Turns out if you are an immigrant who speaks little English and has no education its easy to get disability. Also its easier if you are older. Their age breaks are 50 years old, then 55, with it being easier if you are older. Its harder for someone under 50. I was only a few months under 50 which essentially means they consider you 50. Unfortunately I had more than one college degree (and could be retrained) so where they would normally have found me disabled, they decided I could do desk work. If I had only a high school degree I would have easily been found disabled since I was 50 years old. The difference in my case was that I told my mew doctor i had difficulty concentrating due to the dizziness, so when the lawyer sent the doctor a questionaire he checked off on the statement that I had difficulty doing even simple tasks due to my difficulty concentrating. At the ALJ hearing I provided examples of my difficulty concentrating. My lawyer told me I won but I am still waiting for a letter from social security. I think the key was the occupational expert stating that my lack of concentration would change his opinion about his opinion that I could do a desk job.
It took about 2.5 years and they pay back dissability. You should at least go to the admin law judge hearing (ALJ) since the judge statistically rules for the claimant about 60% of the time. Maybe more in some states. There is a big differnce between states.
As for my headaches, they seem to be lessening, but not the dizziness.
Hope this helps.
Juliotamu
