Before you read this post, you might want to read my first post from last month, when I went to the Social Security doctors that the judge asked me to in the middle of my disability trial.  It has been over two months since my trial and I am trying to believe that no news is good news, but honestly, those on trial for murder have received speedier verdicts!

I received the results of my medical exam last week.  The first page was a letter from my lawyer which I took to be a rebuttal of the results, saying that you cannot compare two 20 minute examination to years of reports from my treating doctors.  Oh, God, I guess I did not do as “well” as I thought I did!  Here are some highlights of the results.  Read back to my first post, compare and you can decide for yourself:

There was a lot of “she claims” and “she says”, instead of “she has”.  They felt the need to tell the judge that I was overweight and 159 pounds and 5 feet 5 inches tall (I have already lost an inch from osteoporosis), I guess to say, “Well her problem is that she is fat and that is the cause of her pain.”

“…Physical examination…Neuro:  Mental status, cranial nerves, pinprick, vibration, reflexes, muscle strength, position sense all normal.”  Say what, now?

“Range of motion of hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, normal.”  Excuse me?”

“History of Lupus.  I would strongly suggest that we get documentation for this including a SED rate, rheumatoid factor, and anti-DNA looking for evidence of Lupus…Bipolar disorder.  Today she appears to be extraordinarily manic.  I suspect that her major illness is Bipolar disease and Mania.”  I think if anyone was waiting four and a half hours for their exams, anyone would be manic.  I do not have Bipolar disease but if you want to say I do, I’ll go with that.

What followed were charts that said things like I do not need a cane.  I told the doctor that I cannot use a cane because of the hypermobility and pain in my wrists, and that I need to use a scooter or wheelchair when faced with a supermarket, mall, zoo, etc.  But all it said was that I did not use a cane.

The doctor also said that I would be frequently able to climb ladders or scaffolds, although he never asked me if I could.  That I would do well with unprotected heights, humidity and wetness, dust, odors, fumes and pulmonary irritants, extreme cold (I have Raynaud’s Disease), and vibrations.  He said that I was able to shop, travel without assistance, prepare a simple meal, and care for my personal hygiene, even though I told him I could not.

The other doctor only proved me to be more crazy than I actually was so I am not going to take issue with any lies that are favorable to me in my case.

How does this doctor sleep at night??  How does he even have a medical license??  How can he lie, every single second of his job, how can he violate his Hippocratic Oath on a daily basis?

I now see why 86% of New Jerseyans are turned down for Social Security Disability on a first time application.  I now see how people whom I know needing lung transplants, in comas, having morphine pumps in their backs, are turned down all over this country every single day.

I have now lived it.  I have been called a liar, even though I did not do anything that day except tell the truth.

I was devastated.  It was one of those sedate myself, see you tomorrow days.  This stuff is not for the faint of heart of or mind!

The next day I called my lawyer and yelled and screamed and he took it from me and then he told me that I should also write a rebuttal letter to the judge, along with the one he had already sent her.

Here are some excerpts from my letter to the judge:

“…Upon receiving these reports I must respectfully say that I am more surprised not by what is there, but by what is not there.

…As part of my examination, a tuning fork was touched to my body.  When he did that I jumped and started to scream and cry, ‘You hurt me!  You hurt me!’  I observed a look of shock and horror upon his face.  ‘I am so sorry!’, he said.  ‘This part of the examination is not supposed to hurt!  Please stop crying, I am sorry!’

You may therefore imagine my surprise that despite the tuning fork examination producing grossly abnormal results…my neurological examination was “Normal” with a major part of the results being completely overlooked.

During another part of my examination the doctor examined my flexibility and range of motion.  I told him, ‘I am hypermobile’…and the doctor said to me that I was indeed so hypermobile that I ‘could work in a circus!’

To not note that this exchange took place and to dispute my residual functional capacity when my treating doctors agree that I can barely walk or use my hands due to my hypermobility is again, to me, surprising.”

I also wrote that although the doctor noted that there was no swelling anywhere, that he never even gave me a Rheumatological examination and that my bandages that I wore on my wrists and knees were never even removed.  

“…I received my Lupus diagnosis in August of 2008…the blood work states that I do indeed have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus by the indication of a positive ANA.  It also named my Lupus pattern and titer, all indicating that I was positive for the disease.  This was included in both my records and the doctors’ records when I first applied for disability in October of 2009 and can be provided again to you if requested.

…I respectfully ask that you take into account MY report of my physical examinations, as well as the years of testimony given to you by my four treating physicians, one who has known me for over ten years, when you consider the medical reports given to you by the doctors who are employed by the Social Security Administration.  Most sincerely…”

My lawyer sent my letter to the judge last week and we are now waiting.

Who do you believe?  Am I so crazy that I hallucinated those exchanges with the doctor?  Is that what the doctor will say?

What do you think?