Re: disability and PA

September 4, 1999

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I am living in Canada and we have a system known as Canada Pension Plan. & nbsp;

It is possible to begin drawing on this pension before your pension years

if you are disabled and unable to work. & nbsp; There are criteria, of course,

and the most difficult of all is proving your disability when you have

arthritis. & nbsp; I have not personally requested this assistance, but I

know of several people who have had much difficulty in getting this program

to recognize some types of arthritis as a disability. & nbsp; Unfortunately,

it is the nature of the condition which confuses the issue, and there are

many doctors who do not understand the condition. & nbsp; Somedays you feel

great and can take on the world, and other days you can barely get out

of bed. & nbsp; Then there are the in between days that you tire easily and

need rest and relaxation. & nbsp; As a result, from an employer's perspective,

you are unreliable and unpredictable. & nbsp; And who would hire you in that

state? & nbsp; This has been my predicament, but I am so lucky in that a

second income is not required in our household, but I dread the day when

that may become the case. & nbsp; I certainly empathize with anyone who has

found themselves in this situation.

<p>Janet

<br> & nbsp;

July 25, 2012

My sad story is too long to relate again here, but while I am not on disability, and at the time in 03/2010 when I decided I HAD to find the answers to why I was so very sick and lost my high paying job over the consequences of it, I could not even get workers comp. But this was at the end of a vicious 7 or so years of struggling every single day against the tide of hypokalemia (they always blamed it on a med or something stupid so never had me taking it though I didn't have a normal K blood test between 2003 to really the start of 2011.) They also continuosly misdaignosed hyperthyroidism too, but found that in 04/2010 and the PA in 11/2010. It all fell apart for me though in 03/2010 and the medical board in AZ will still not allow me to recover my license.

So PA is absolutely the leading reason I am where I am.

From: msmith_1928 <janeray1940@...>Subject: Re: Disability and PAhyperaldosteronism Date: Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 10:44 AM

I worked full-time throughout the entire 10+ years I was sick and undiagnosed, and was a half-time grad student for much of that time. During most of those years, my diagnosis was "anxiety" and I did have several periods during which I was able to go on short-term disability. Basically there were times that the anxiety would get so bad that I was afraid to be in the workplace - even on my best days, my tolerance for B.S. is pretty low and I was concerned that I'd say or do something that I'd regret!Once I had a real diagnosis and I knew that the "anxiety" was really not that at all, I was able to handle things better. During the 8 months between my diagnosis and my surgery, I continued to work full-time but was able to work from home when I didn't feel up to actually coming to work.-msmith1928LEft laparoscopic adrenalectomy 10/13/11>> I was curious to know how many of our group are on disability vs working full time. I realize that many of us are retired. I am healthy enough to work full time. This happened almost immediately once going on Spiro. Just a couple of questions for the group:> > Has anyone been awarded disability due to PA? Was it hard to get approved? Did you have to have some other condition in order to get disability?> > One of the things I am realizing is that although I am able to work, I still have my good and bad days. As the disease evolves I am sure the bad days will likely increase. Even if most in the group are not on full disability, I can't help but think that many are

probably in lower paying jobs due to this disease. For example, maybe you could be a CEO, but you are a middle manager due to performance suffering on the "bad days". It is hard to quantify this, but something I am thinking about sitting here at work.> > BTW, my mind really wonders off the Spiro. More racing thoughts and anxiety now that I am not taking the meds. Blood pressure readings this morning were 124/86, 121,84, and 119/85 without meds though. DASHING and exercise works my friends!> > > 35 yr old. Diagnosed 04/2011. Scheduled for AVS 08/23/2012.>

July 26, 2012

Phil,

I was asking out of curiosity. My story has a happy ending so far. I have been

working for over a year. I was diagnosed April 2011 after two trips to Mayo and

over a year of being to sick to work. Spiro, DASH, and exercise will work.

Hang in there,

> >

> > I was curious to know how many of our group are on disability vs working

full time. I realize that many of us are retired. I am healthy enough to work

full time. This happened almost immediately once going on Spiro. Just a couple

of questions for the group:

> >

> > Has anyone been awarded disability due to PA? Was it hard to get approved?

Did you have to have some other condition in order to get disability?

> >

> > One of the things I am realizing is that although I am able to work, I still

have my good and bad days. As the disease evolves I am sure the bad days will

likely increase. Even if most in the group are not on full disability, I can't

help but think that many are

> probably in lower paying jobs due to this disease. For example, maybe you

could be a CEO, but you are a middle manager due to performance suffering on the

" bad days " . It is hard to quantify this, but something I am thinking about

sitting here at work.

> >

> > BTW, my mind really wonders off the Spiro. More racing thoughts and anxiety

now that I am not taking the meds. Blood pressure readings this morning were

124/86, 121,84, and 119/85 without meds though. DASHING and exercise works my

friends!

> >

> > 35 yr old. Diagnosed 04/2011. Scheduled for AVS 08/23/2012.

> >

>

July 26, 2012

Thx …it seems so far away!On 2012-07-26, at 3:06 PM, crzylnebkr wrote:

Phil,

I was asking out of curiosity. My story has a happy ending so far. I have been working for over a year. I was diagnosed April 2011 after two trips to Mayo and over a year of being to sick to work. Spiro, DASH, and exercise will work.

Hang in there,

> >

> > I was curious to know how many of our group are on disability vs working full time. I realize that many of us are retired. I am healthy enough to work full time. This happened almost immediately once going on Spiro. Just a couple of questions for the group:

> >

> > Has anyone been awarded disability due to PA? Was it hard to get approved? Did you have to have some other condition in order to get disability?

> >

> > One of the things I am realizing is that although I am able to work, I still have my good and bad days. As the disease evolves I am sure the bad days will likely increase. Even if most in the group are not on full disability, I can't help but think that many are

> probably in lower paying jobs due to this disease. For example, maybe you could be a CEO, but you are a middle manager due to performance suffering on the "bad days". It is hard to quantify this, but something I am thinking about sitting here at work.

> >

> > BTW, my mind really wonders off the Spiro. More racing thoughts and anxiety now that I am not taking the meds. Blood pressure readings this morning were 124/86, 121,84, and 119/85 without meds though. DASHING and exercise works my friends!

> >

> > 35 yr old. Diagnosed 04/2011. Scheduled for AVS 08/23/2012.

> >

>

July 26, 2012

I bet Phil, that we all "knew" and in hindsight thay instinct was telling us that something was wrong physically, that we weren't just stressed out. and maybe us men can relate a little better to each other in this sense because culturally we're kind of taught to tough everything out, even though it's not really better for the women who are sick too.

Because we could seemingly give the appearance that we still were who we were for a long time and went to work, did our jobs, etc, others just couldn't see or wouldn't see that we really were getting sicker. I thik back to the everday massive energy I would spend physically to do anything (I am an early bed/early riser since I was a young boy and I NEVER sleep in, but just getting out of bed was so exhausting I can't even describe it) , emotionally, psychologically, even spiritually, to get through a day also is beyond description unless one has been there. Every aspect of my life required everything I had, and when I had a day off I was so dead I could do nothing. And on top of that the headaches, brain fog, bowel issues, whatever, just made it all worse.

What made it THE worst though was that it seemed everyone blew us off as getting lazy, or depressed, or just "stressed out" and so on. I literally got in an argument once and walked out on a doc telling him bluntly "I am NOT depressed!" when they were offended I wouldn't take another round of the miracle sugar pills SSRI's (Here' my advice as a medical professional ANYTIME they say you have to take something for a few months for it to start working is crap and it means the pharmacy company basically knows that 2-3 months in everyone at least recoups their money back - the exception may be a medicine to shrink a tumor or something like that). But they never even slightly worked. EVER.

Now, in my case I know my symptoms were all from the low K and the consequences of that - then at the end there were some hyperthyroid issues mixed in. I had asked my docs more than once, "Why am I spilling my potassium?" and I have a vivid mental picture of asking one as I sat in his office that very question. They just shrugged their shoulders. I went in to ER's at 180/140 and they always sent me home at 160/120 and the only reason for the drop was probably some pain medicine to stop the roaring headache -AND they would always replace my K and I would notice feeling better for about 2 days (and sadly I would think to myself "am I just a pain med seeker?" "is that why I feel better for 2 days - because of some morphine or demerol? It wasn't till I got my records and saw I got toradol alot and always some K that I could put 2 and 2 together). No one ever put me on potassium. I NEVER heard of DASH (I read about it in the journals,

but guilty as I paid not much attention until I joined this list) .

And no one, not ever one time, in the hospital, in the ER's, in the clinics, ever thought of or tested for Conn's or PA. I even had multiple 24 hour urines once as an inpatient (for uncontrolled HTN) and they never checked renin and aldo.

That is what we're up against all the time. We need to make it so the others don't go through what we have gone through.

Phil,I was asking out of curiosity. My story has a happy ending so far. I have been working for over a year. I was diagnosed April 2011 after two trips to Mayo and over a year of being to sick to work. Spiro, DASH, and exercise will work.Hang in there,> >> > I was

curious to know how many of our group are on disability vs working full time. I realize that many of us are retired. I am healthy enough to work full time. This happened almost immediately once going on Spiro. Just a couple of questions for the group:> > > > Has anyone been awarded disability due to PA? Was it hard to get approved? Did you have to have some other condition in order to get disability?> > > > One of the things I am realizing is that although I am able to work, I still have my good and bad days. As the disease evolves I am sure the bad days will likely increase. Even if most in the group are not on full disability, I can't help but think that many are> probably in lower paying jobs due to this disease. For example, maybe you could be a CEO, but you are a middle manager due to performance suffering on the "bad days". It is hard to quantify this, but something I am thinking about sitting here at

work.> > > > BTW, my mind really wonders off the Spiro. More racing thoughts and anxiety now that I am not taking the meds. Blood pressure readings this morning were 124/86, 121,84, and 119/85 without meds though. DASHING and exercise works my friends!> > > > > > 35 yr old. Diagnosed 04/2011. Scheduled for AVS 08/23/2012.> >>

July 26, 2012

You just wrote the story of my life over the past three years. I have "been there, done that!". I can't emphasize enough how much it hurts to read your story knowing that it's a reflection of the crap I've been through…my empathy wasn't hard to find. I've been to hell and back…it sounds like you've travelled the same road. I have seen more "specialists" than anyone ever should. I have spent quality time in the psych-ward where they continued to pump me through multiple medications until they promised that they would bet the "right recipe". None of them EVER mentioned Conn's or DASH, or ANYTHING that resembled a qualified diagnosis. Nothing ever worked.Thanks for your note. It's given me solace not to feel alone. I'm in the process of what should be a full recovery, and for the first time - in a VERY long time - I may feel good again, a feeling I lost a few years ago.Phil On 2012-07-26, at 4:18 PM, Bingham wrote: