Friday, December 09, 2005
Updates and advisories.....
On Sunday afternoon, Dan and I made an obligatory appearance at the union hall (we're both on the Executive Committee), but there was no official business to discuss. Unofficially, though, I told the union president all the problems I'm having with my long-term disability insurance company. I don't think he really has the power to do much, but I wanted someone affiliated with the union to know I've been screwed out of the benefits due me. We didn't have a quorum for the union meeting, so Dan and I left after about 45 minutes.
Then Sunday evening, we met my dad and stepmother, my stepbrother and his wife and their baby, and my sister and her husband for dinner at Red Lobster. It was my first dinner out since October (and since my digestive problems got worse). I had taken an Erythromycin earlier hoping it would help. It did seem to. I had broiled lobster, mashed potatoes and even a few bites of salad with Perrier to drink. Since it had been my sister's birthday on the 30th and would be Dan's birthday and his and my anniversary on the 5th, we had a gift exchange. We got season 4 of the "Dick Van Dyke Show" on DVD and a gift certificate to a Chinese restaurant called P.F. Chang's.
After dinner, we went to my sister's for about an hour and everyone except me had birthday cake. I looked at my sister's wedding pix while everyone ate. The photographer did a great job.
After we got home, I was extraordinarily fatigued and had trouble keeping my eyes open the rest of the evening. At midnight, Dan and I did our own gift exchange (Dan likes to celebrate holidays right after midnight). Dan gave me a DVD of the 1947 version of "Miracle on 34th Street" and a $15 gift certificate to iTunes! Yayyyyy! I was particularly excited about the iTunes because I hadn't downloaded any music since June due to our tight budget.
On Monday, I was so exhausted from the day before that I couldn't get out of bed for aquacise. I think I finally came to life about 2pm. We went to Media Play once I was decently awake so Dan could exchange a duplicate DVD he'd gotten. I stayed pretty close to the entrance because I didn't have the energy to walk far. I did find several movies that interested me as well as some music-themed books like Rolling Stone's 500 Best Albums of All Time. Dan bought "Crash", "Shaun of the Dead" and "Under the Tuscan Sun".
We had reservations for dinner at P.F. Chang's, but we arrived too early, so I convinced Dan to let me go across the parking lot to J.C. Penney to see if they had any nice coats (I remembered that the coats were close to the entrance) since my current coat fit me like a circus tent (I've lost 60 pounds since I bought it). To my surprise, I found the perfect coat: purple of course, made out of that new material that looks like suede but is more durable, with a fur-lined hood. Large enough to wear over a sweatshirt but nice enough to wear to church. The best part was that it was half price! I very reluctantly left the store to go eat.
P.F. Chang's is a cool place. They have a gluten free menu upon request. All of the food is reasonably healthy, free of the usual pitfalls of Americanized Chinese cuisine such as MSG, heavy oils and breading. We had the lettuce wrap appetizer; Dan got the usual sauce with his, and I got a gluten free version with mine. For the main course, Dan had the spicy chicken, and I had lemon scallops. I felt a little weird ordering white rice instead of brown and not ordering any veggies at all, but I knew my stomach would be happier that way. I had tropical green tea to drink which was delicious. I let Dan eat my fortune cookie.
After we got home, we watched "Miracle on 34th Street". I hadn't seen it all the way through in probably 20 years, and Dan had never seen it. It's a very charming movie. I got so sleepy afterward that I ended up going to bed at 10pm and sleeping 12 hours.
Tuesday was also busy: I had inadvertantly scheduled two appointments that day. First, I had a massage and chiropractic appointment, and then I went to the sleep specialist. I had lots of trigger points in my shoulders as a result of putting up the Christmas tree, so I kept the massager therapist busy. The sleep specialist decided that I still wasn't getting restorative rest even with the Lunesta since I was still waking up during the night due to pain. So he decided I should try a few solutions and decide which one had the best results. I'm to up my dose of Lunesta for two weeks, then try Klonopin for two weeks. The higher dose of Lunesta is intended to get me to sleep through my pain, and the Klonopin is intended to get rid of my constant night-time muscle twitches. I'm to check back with him in four months.
After the appointment, Dan made an unexpected detour: he decided I should buy the coat. I'd gotten some money as an anniversary present from both my aunt and my in-laws, so I'd use that for part of it. The rest was to be an early Christmas present from Dan. I actually wore it out of the store as the temperature outside was about zero. I think I look good in the coat, but I may just be biased because it's purple. It does go well with my purple scarf and my black pseudo-suede gloves. The sum total of the appointments and the purchase of the coat was sufficiently exhausting to make me fall asleep on the couch for two hours after I got home.
I did manage to make it to aquacise on Wednesday, but I was the only one because it was -11 degrees outside! Not arthritis-friendly weather. Luckily, the instructor was there, so he did the exercises with me. I skipped my usual nap after I got home because I'd promised the sleep specialist I would try to keep a more regular schedule and limit my sleep to 10 hours per day. So I took care of some business on the phone with converting my 401(K) through my former employer to an IRA. I really hope I don't have to resort to accessing that money before I am approved for SSDI, because the penalties for doing that are HUGE! Anyway, I should have just taken that nap, because I dozed off during "Lost" and didn't wake up for over two hours! Ended up going to bed at 3am when I'd promised I'd go to sleep earlier, but I did try the larger dose of Lunesta. Instead of taking a half hour to fall asleep, I think I conked out after 5 minutes!
Next thing I know, it's 12:30pm! I didn't wake up once, not even to pee! That hadn't happened to me in several months. Only problem was that I awoke with a headache and felt really spacey. I thought maybe the headache was due to the Lyrica wearing off, so I took one, but I stayed in bed for another hour and a half due to the spacey thing.
When I was able to get up today, I called my long-term disability insurance company. They had wanted an extra 30 days to analyze my claim, and their time was up and I hadn't heard anything. Unfortunately, when I called the automated system, it had no information on my claim. I went online and checked there, but they couldn't even find my account! Their web page did, however, have a number to call with problems, so I called that and got a live person. She told me that they had sent me a letter dated December 2nd explaining everything. I told her I hadn't gotten it. She said the letter requested an additional 30 days so their doctor could contact my doctor and they could further analyze my claim! I told her that it was ridiculous for their company to take 5 months to process a claim. I wanted to say more, but I know they record each phone call, so I left it at that. She wanted to know if I wanted to discuss this with my benefits coordinator. I did, so she connected me. The coordinator told me that the extension was because they had gotten the most recent medical records November 11th. I expressed my dissatisfaction with how long this was taking as politely as I could. She tried to make it seem that it was my fault my doctors didn't send their records immediately. I know that's bullshit because they try to get records without paying for them, hence the slow response. I kept that to myself, though, and said I'd be looking for a decision very soon. Then Dan got the mail before he left for work (we get it as late as 4pm), and wouldn't you know, the letter was in there.
Ok, from what I've been able to piece together, once they have all your data, they can only take 45 days maximum to make a decision, which would be December 27, not January 2 as they claim. I think they're stalling so they can find some loophole in my case whereby they can force me to go to an "independent medical examiner", some schmuck paid by them to make me run on a treadmill, lift weights, etc. to prove I am not disabled. If they do decide to go that route, they're gonna have to deal with my lawyer.
The most aggravating part in all this is that I will likely receive no benefits until February. I simply will not have the funds to do the holiday shopping I'd planned unless I charge it and then pay it back later. I may do a bit of that, but mostly, I'll probably try to figure out some homemade gifts, a challenge because I don't do crafts. I'm gonna let Dan do whatever he thinks is best. So be forewarned: my blog may be devoid of entries between now and Christmas while I work on some last-minute projects. I have lots of links and jokes to post, so all is not lost. Just no lengthy health-related stuff for a bit.
Amazingly, though, even though I'm pissed at the LTD guys, I'm in a decent mood otherwise. I think the holiday spirit has snuck in. It is most welcome.
And iTunes, "Miracle on 34th Street" and a new coat certainly don't hurt, heh heh.
Then Sunday evening, we met my dad and stepmother, my stepbrother and his wife and their baby, and my sister and her husband for dinner at Red Lobster. It was my first dinner out since October (and since my digestive problems got worse). I had taken an Erythromycin earlier hoping it would help. It did seem to. I had broiled lobster, mashed potatoes and even a few bites of salad with Perrier to drink. Since it had been my sister's birthday on the 30th and would be Dan's birthday and his and my anniversary on the 5th, we had a gift exchange. We got season 4 of the "Dick Van Dyke Show" on DVD and a gift certificate to a Chinese restaurant called P.F. Chang's.
After dinner, we went to my sister's for about an hour and everyone except me had birthday cake. I looked at my sister's wedding pix while everyone ate. The photographer did a great job.
After we got home, I was extraordinarily fatigued and had trouble keeping my eyes open the rest of the evening. At midnight, Dan and I did our own gift exchange (Dan likes to celebrate holidays right after midnight). Dan gave me a DVD of the 1947 version of "Miracle on 34th Street" and a $15 gift certificate to iTunes! Yayyyyy! I was particularly excited about the iTunes because I hadn't downloaded any music since June due to our tight budget.
On Monday, I was so exhausted from the day before that I couldn't get out of bed for aquacise. I think I finally came to life about 2pm. We went to Media Play once I was decently awake so Dan could exchange a duplicate DVD he'd gotten. I stayed pretty close to the entrance because I didn't have the energy to walk far. I did find several movies that interested me as well as some music-themed books like Rolling Stone's 500 Best Albums of All Time. Dan bought "Crash", "Shaun of the Dead" and "Under the Tuscan Sun".
We had reservations for dinner at P.F. Chang's, but we arrived too early, so I convinced Dan to let me go across the parking lot to J.C. Penney to see if they had any nice coats (I remembered that the coats were close to the entrance) since my current coat fit me like a circus tent (I've lost 60 pounds since I bought it). To my surprise, I found the perfect coat: purple of course, made out of that new material that looks like suede but is more durable, with a fur-lined hood. Large enough to wear over a sweatshirt but nice enough to wear to church. The best part was that it was half price! I very reluctantly left the store to go eat.
P.F. Chang's is a cool place. They have a gluten free menu upon request. All of the food is reasonably healthy, free of the usual pitfalls of Americanized Chinese cuisine such as MSG, heavy oils and breading. We had the lettuce wrap appetizer; Dan got the usual sauce with his, and I got a gluten free version with mine. For the main course, Dan had the spicy chicken, and I had lemon scallops. I felt a little weird ordering white rice instead of brown and not ordering any veggies at all, but I knew my stomach would be happier that way. I had tropical green tea to drink which was delicious. I let Dan eat my fortune cookie.
After we got home, we watched "Miracle on 34th Street". I hadn't seen it all the way through in probably 20 years, and Dan had never seen it. It's a very charming movie. I got so sleepy afterward that I ended up going to bed at 10pm and sleeping 12 hours.
Tuesday was also busy: I had inadvertantly scheduled two appointments that day. First, I had a massage and chiropractic appointment, and then I went to the sleep specialist. I had lots of trigger points in my shoulders as a result of putting up the Christmas tree, so I kept the massager therapist busy. The sleep specialist decided that I still wasn't getting restorative rest even with the Lunesta since I was still waking up during the night due to pain. So he decided I should try a few solutions and decide which one had the best results. I'm to up my dose of Lunesta for two weeks, then try Klonopin for two weeks. The higher dose of Lunesta is intended to get me to sleep through my pain, and the Klonopin is intended to get rid of my constant night-time muscle twitches. I'm to check back with him in four months.
After the appointment, Dan made an unexpected detour: he decided I should buy the coat. I'd gotten some money as an anniversary present from both my aunt and my in-laws, so I'd use that for part of it. The rest was to be an early Christmas present from Dan. I actually wore it out of the store as the temperature outside was about zero. I think I look good in the coat, but I may just be biased because it's purple. It does go well with my purple scarf and my black pseudo-suede gloves. The sum total of the appointments and the purchase of the coat was sufficiently exhausting to make me fall asleep on the couch for two hours after I got home.
I did manage to make it to aquacise on Wednesday, but I was the only one because it was -11 degrees outside! Not arthritis-friendly weather. Luckily, the instructor was there, so he did the exercises with me. I skipped my usual nap after I got home because I'd promised the sleep specialist I would try to keep a more regular schedule and limit my sleep to 10 hours per day. So I took care of some business on the phone with converting my 401(K) through my former employer to an IRA. I really hope I don't have to resort to accessing that money before I am approved for SSDI, because the penalties for doing that are HUGE! Anyway, I should have just taken that nap, because I dozed off during "Lost" and didn't wake up for over two hours! Ended up going to bed at 3am when I'd promised I'd go to sleep earlier, but I did try the larger dose of Lunesta. Instead of taking a half hour to fall asleep, I think I conked out after 5 minutes!
Next thing I know, it's 12:30pm! I didn't wake up once, not even to pee! That hadn't happened to me in several months. Only problem was that I awoke with a headache and felt really spacey. I thought maybe the headache was due to the Lyrica wearing off, so I took one, but I stayed in bed for another hour and a half due to the spacey thing.
When I was able to get up today, I called my long-term disability insurance company. They had wanted an extra 30 days to analyze my claim, and their time was up and I hadn't heard anything. Unfortunately, when I called the automated system, it had no information on my claim. I went online and checked there, but they couldn't even find my account! Their web page did, however, have a number to call with problems, so I called that and got a live person. She told me that they had sent me a letter dated December 2nd explaining everything. I told her I hadn't gotten it. She said the letter requested an additional 30 days so their doctor could contact my doctor and they could further analyze my claim! I told her that it was ridiculous for their company to take 5 months to process a claim. I wanted to say more, but I know they record each phone call, so I left it at that. She wanted to know if I wanted to discuss this with my benefits coordinator. I did, so she connected me. The coordinator told me that the extension was because they had gotten the most recent medical records November 11th. I expressed my dissatisfaction with how long this was taking as politely as I could. She tried to make it seem that it was my fault my doctors didn't send their records immediately. I know that's bullshit because they try to get records without paying for them, hence the slow response. I kept that to myself, though, and said I'd be looking for a decision very soon. Then Dan got the mail before he left for work (we get it as late as 4pm), and wouldn't you know, the letter was in there.
Ok, from what I've been able to piece together, once they have all your data, they can only take 45 days maximum to make a decision, which would be December 27, not January 2 as they claim. I think they're stalling so they can find some loophole in my case whereby they can force me to go to an "independent medical examiner", some schmuck paid by them to make me run on a treadmill, lift weights, etc. to prove I am not disabled. If they do decide to go that route, they're gonna have to deal with my lawyer.
The most aggravating part in all this is that I will likely receive no benefits until February. I simply will not have the funds to do the holiday shopping I'd planned unless I charge it and then pay it back later. I may do a bit of that, but mostly, I'll probably try to figure out some homemade gifts, a challenge because I don't do crafts. I'm gonna let Dan do whatever he thinks is best. So be forewarned: my blog may be devoid of entries between now and Christmas while I work on some last-minute projects. I have lots of links and jokes to post, so all is not lost. Just no lengthy health-related stuff for a bit.
Amazingly, though, even though I'm pissed at the LTD guys, I'm in a decent mood otherwise. I think the holiday spirit has snuck in. It is most welcome.
And iTunes, "Miracle on 34th Street" and a new coat certainly don't hurt, heh heh.
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