Hi,
I am at wits end. I have lupus and fibromyagia. I applied for SSI & SSDI in April of 2009. I was denied and got an attorney. Then the appeal was denied. Now they tried for a on the record review and was refused. Now the wait for the ALJ. I am in dire need. They say the wait can be a year. I will be homeless by then. I have been surviving on oatmeal and cheerios for months. I am in my 50's and scared. My family members cannot financially help me anymore. And I just feel like a burden to them and society. I want to work, but the pain is horrendous. I am on several pain meds which just barely take the edge off the pain. My health insurance is going up sixty dollars a month and I am so scared. I cannot even sleep 5 hrs a night without having to get up and take meds. Now the stress of all this is excaberating the pain and diseases. Can anyone give me advice before I am homeless. Never, have I been in a position like this in my life. I need a hug, but even that hurts. Thank you

Have you applied for Food Stamp assistance? At least you'll have something to eat on a regular basis.

I know how horrible the pain you are in can be. I have a neurologic problem caused by an accident I had 25+ years ago. I don't rely on the pain meds any longer as my liver would have been extremely impared if I had continued taking the meds.

I worked for a disability attorney for many years in Florida and I know the utter stress this is causing you waiting for the hearing and then after the hearing waiting for their decision to come down.

I am happy that you did get an attorney as soon as you could when you where first turned down. That is a very important step right there.

Unfortunately there are a lot of deserving people like you who have to wait a very long time to get approved. I could tell you many a story from when I was in that attorney's office of clients who waited years before they were approved. Basically, at this point it's just a waiting game and the government has time on it's side - something that you don't have.

You may wish to contact someone at the county where you live and see what other aid you can get from them other than the Food Stamps. Maybe you could get the Supplemental Income stipend to at least help you with some money each month.

Also, you need to check with your attorney's office and see if they have every single medical record from your doctor(s) and are up to date with the information and they are forwarding this medical info along to the Administrative Law Judge.

You may have to refile your claim if your appeal is denied. Don't get discouraged - that's exactly what they want you to do. The government routinely denies 96% of all first time disability claims and hope you go away and not refile. Just keep refiling. That's the real key to winning. Keep on your attorney as well to be sure that they don't forget you. Keep in regular contact with your attorney - call them at least once every two to three weeks and be sure that they get those up to date medical records down to the Social Security Office as well.

Here's a BIG HUG for you as well. I know you really, truly need it.