Shoulder pain and the social security administration...

I had to sleep on my stomach last night so that my shoulders would not hurt so badly while trying to sleep. Now the shoulder is still quite sore this morning and my back feels like I have been kicked right in the middle of it. My leg and foot are at there "normal" level which is to say that they are numb and freezing, but the meds are controlling it pretty well this morning. Looks like I will have to figure something else out for sleeping. I thought abut sleeping in the recliner but I need to get the sheepskin that Saija mentioned in one the comments. She has had some great ideas to offer as she has is traveling this road with her husband for many years. I am glad that we have found each other because her advice had helped me to look in new places for relief as well as it has led me to ask some different questions of the docs. Thanks Saija!!!

I also called my case manager for Social Security yesterday. I wanted to check in a and see if there is anything that she needed from me to keep this moving along. So far the process has been smooth sailing and I would like to make it stay that way. You hear horror stories about some claims taking years and I do not want that to happen.

Based on the questions I answered on the original application she had some things for me to do such as see their doctor and psychologist to make sure that I have the problems that I say I have. I told her no problem and I just needed advance notice by a few days so that we can adjust my wife's schedule accordingly. The manager was very pleasant as well she said she was glad I called. Apparently there was some confusion on my medical records and they did not have all of them from 2002 through 2004. They basically only got the ones from Aug 2004 and on so I gave her specific dates so that she could get the more complete records.

What I gathered from her on the phone was that right now she was leaning towards a denial at that time but like I said she did not have all the records. She did not realize that there should have been more so she is going to make sure that she gets them all.

For the appointments she said she was thinking of holding off until she got more of the records but then changed her mind since they are hard to get and can be a month or so away. She said she was going to set them up and if the records arrive and have the info she needs then she can cancel the appointments.

I am hoping that she gets the records soon and then I have the appointments ASAP. I figure if I stay on top of it all she should be able to make a decision soon. One of the biggest factors in a slow process is that people do not return the paperwork they send out or return calls on time. So far I have tried to keep it to 48 hours turn around on all paperwork sent to me and calls, well since I am home all day I usually do not miss them.

All in all I was very surprised with how the call went. She is a very nice lady and unlike some of the people I have dealt with at the Social Security administration she did not talk down to me like I was 6 and she was quite candid with her answers to my questions. All in all I think I have a very fair shake of the stick here and that it will be favorable.

Hopefully it will be soon too! :D