Disabled yet Denied

I am a 37 year old female with fibromyalgia, hypocalcaemia, and pulmonary stenosis and I have a history of fainting without any cause. I spent many of my teenage and young adult years playing sports and a career in as many years waiting tables.

Approximately 14 years ago I had the first indication of trouble. I couldn’t walk due to the pain in my back and the all over body muscle cramps. I was rushed to the hospital where they could not find anything wrong with me. A visit to my regular doctor the next day required hours of tests and so much blood work the nurses had to give me sugar. A few days later the tests revealed that my ANA was extremely high as well as my calcium. They were currently at levels that were nearly toxic. This began a long journey to a diagnosis of Lupus.

All the symptoms were there including the butterfly rash across my face. It has been 14 years and because my results vary from visit to visit my doctors have removed the Lupus diagnosis and stuck me with fibromyalgia. My calcium is still high and I still have fainting spells that scare the daylights out of my family. The calcium in my blood has led to numerous kidney stones. I can no longer stand for more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time. My hands and feet swell so large they do not feel a part of me.

I have applied for disability at least 5 times, this last time being with a lawyer involved. They ask for so much of the same things that it seems redundant to answer the same questions over and over. It feels as if they cannot hear me when I speak. I gave up three times before a state attorney was assigned to me. I received my denial in the mail yesterday. I am not disabled according to the government standards.

My state says I am disabled and I am exempt from any laborious work according to their rules. They tell me I can get better in 12 months or less with proper diet and exercise. Two of my conditions are congenital which means I was born with them and they will never go away. Since I have been turned down, my county has taken me off state insurance coverage and I can no longer afford my medications. One medication costs more than $600 a month which is a big deal fro someone who cannot work. This has been the most frustrating thing for years.

There are not many jobs in this area and the ones available require me to be on my feet at least 10 hours a day. I have put in a request to my attorney to appeal the decision. My denial states that I am able to communicate on a higher level than most people yet I have no idea who will hire me to simply talk. It will be another 16 or 17 months before I can appear before a judge once my appeal is registered. I have such a long way to go. I feel as though the rules governing certain conditions are too specific to and do not include all that is necessary for someone healthy, without any major medical concerns to judge my case upon them.

This has also brought on severe depression which, according to their standards is a severe and disabling condition, yet, due to my superb communication skills, they do not see it that way.