Social Security Disability Advice Group

(saw ce pyschologist bc dx of depression/anxiety/personality disorders/panic)

I had my physical ce in feb and was sent for a psych ce last week. my mom brought me bc i had just had pain injections less than 24 hours before the apt...plus i was scared. i love having my mom with me even at 34! lol. we got there are there was a butt-load of folks in there with no where to sit. one person had like 6 people with them..which perturbed the doctor. anyway..the lady told me i could sit in my car and she would call me. so i hobbled to the car and 15 minutes later she called me in and when i walked in some lady was yelling at a man for something and i wanted to leave. but the doctor called me back immediately to my relief and my mom helped me down the hall. i was in pain but was trying to hold it in. he noticed me trying to get comfortable and tried to get me a chair that might help but i told him that i was okay and thanked him anyway. he was nice and asked about my pain and i told him that it has been 2 years now and still under care for it and he asked me about my jobs and explained that i tried to work with this but couldn't bc i was being sent home and missing work for doctors apts constantly. i told him when my hubby sold his car in march last year i put in my 2 week notice. i told him i did not want to be fired bc i didn't want to ruin that relationship. he was very understanding to that which surprised me. he asked about some other issues i had and said i seemed to keep trying to work no matter what i had going on..and i told him i did. but explained this pain and si joint injury was something i couldn't work through but i tried. he asked me about meds and also brought up anxiety which i didn't mention but he asked me about. he also asked me about my weight bc he said i was extremely thin and asked about how much weight i had lost. i told him about 10 pounds since last summer..but stress does that to me. he was very nice and understood that it is hard to get care without my income and especially since we dont know how long itll take before someone will fix me. he was very understanding...almost like i didn't have to say anything. i did excellent on memory test and the little questions he asked. he was very nice and understanding and almost sympathetic. of course i see a psychiatrist every 4-6 weeks so his notes support a lot of things..but im just wondering if anyone thinks that this apt went well and might be helpful with my case?

Post edited by: heatherj78, at: 04/29/2012 08:18 AM

Post edited by: heatherj78, at: 04/29/2012 08:25 AM

I was approved for panic, severe GAD, OCD, and moderate depression. I was approved in Aug. 2011 so I have been approved for approx. 9 months Heather. I was denied at both the application and reconsideration levels. I was approved OTR at level 3 (ALJ). In the approval letter, the judge did note the CE exam that was administered by the SSA CE but this carries very little weight unless you don't have other personal medical records to substantiate your disability claim.

I had been seeing a psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist, and a PCP for this condition for almost 20 years so I had a ton of medical documentation to support my claim. By far, what your mental health doctor says and your medical records will carry the most weight, altho it is important to go to all CE's that the SSA requests.

Do not be surprised if you are denied at levels 1 and 2. A few people are approved at these levels but most are denied. Just make sure you have a lawyer onboard after the 1st denial and you will increase your chances dramatically IMO if it goes to the ALJ level.

The main thing is don't give up and appeal any adverse initial decisions. It took me almost 2 years to get approved but after I was approved, I received almost 2 years of backpay. You can PM me if you have any specific questions or ask me here so that others might benefit. Good luck to you. It sounds to me like your CE with the SSA psychologist went well.

Im not sure now days if you would be approved on a initial claim it would have to come with a judge on mental. Now your physical alone should be what gets your claime passed. My phychological ce app went well also he didnt even ask me the question that he said he did, But he knew damn well how man cigrettes i smoked before coming into his office and knew how clean my wifes car was. He was watching me thru a window when I got there.

@ wolfmanpark , where are you at in the process? Have you been approved yet or still trying to get approved?

Lost I am approved why do you ask ?

Oh, I am sorry. I misread your reply I think. I thought you were still trying to get approved.

Lost had this funny feeling that your comment would not have been the same if I told you I was still in the process. j/k

Heather- it sounds like your appointment went very well. You should feel at ease for that.

All you can do is be yourself, and be honest. Which you did. So, just continue to wait, and hopefully you'll know something fairly soon.

Thanks for letting us know how it went! ~gentle hugs~

thanks all!!