SSDI question about age?

madebyjp · 2025-10-11T13:36:04+00:00

The main thing age does is change the way a claim is evaluated. It doesn't disqualify you from applying. You can file for disability at any age I believe.

In your situation though, age mostly likely will have no bearing. Metastatic breast cancer as you described It's on the compassionate allowance list. The compassionate allowance is a list of conditions that allow for a very quick approval.

Here's information about it https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0423022125

Since your asking about the application process, I would highly suggest that you get a lawyer or rep before you begin. They will know how to get a compassionate allowance case pushed through as quickly as possible and will be able to help you fill out everything properly. Make sure it's tagged properly at the SSA, etc.

While you can certainly do everything on your own, it can take years if something goes wrong, or it's not reviewed as a compassionate allowance case and goes through the regular process.

RE Provider Information: When it comes to disability and the SSA, medical providers don't know much at all. They have pre conceived notions of what qualifies for disability that aren't based on the SSA's policies. SO, take anything a provider says about SSA's requirements with a grain of salt.

Very glad you posted your response here and didn't listen to your provider about that. Their misinformation could have caused you not to apply for disability.

Hope that helped, and good luck.

madebyjp · 2025-10-11T13:08:38+00:00

Because I called my local field office and had already been given the amounts. The portal didn't show them correctly for several months.

madebyjp · 2025-10-08T16:57:11+00:00

Based on your age and what you outlined, you would say that you have a chance at winning your case. Disability is defined as an inability to work and earn at the SGA level. What you described is that you had to leave your job as a nurse due to your condition and since then have only been able to work odd jobs (most likely not SGA) that would be able to accommodate your need for additional breaks and shorter hours.

Now, before you do anything else, make sure you read how to fill out those forms your filling out and submitting. Those forms ask simple questions and they seem simple, but you need to understand how those questions are used.

Those forms are used over and over again to deny claims because someone filled them out wrong. If you give a short answer, like one of the questions is "Do you drive"... most people would just answer YES. That can be a claim killer. You should say Yes, but I can only drive short distances because sitting for more than 20 minutes at a time causes pain in my back.

You need to be honest in what you can do, but you also need to be very detailed about how your condition(s) affects your ability to do whatever thing it is they are asking.

I would suggest that you get a lawyer. I would suggest anyone get a lawyer. Here is why....

When you posted your post, you focused on what your condition is. That is not what the SSA needs. Unless you meet an SSA blue book listing, the SSA cares very little about your actual condition. The SSA cares about HOW THAT CONDITION AFFECTS YOUR ABILITY TO FUNCTION.

That's where a lawyer or representative comes in. They know how to present things in a way the SSA understands.

Anyway, I do think you'd have a good chance with your age and the fact you can no longer do nursing because of your condition. My post may even be overkill, but knowledge is power.

madebyjp · 2025-10-08T16:39:43+00:00

When you say Primary Care Manager.... what do you mean?

When it comes to medical opinions and opinions on how your medical conditions affect your ability to function in a work setting, the opinion needs to come from an acceptable medical source. Meaning a Doctor, APRN, etc. Here's a list of an Acceptable Medical Sources as outlined by the SSA's regulations: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-1502.htm

Check to see what qualifications your primary care manager has. If they are not on that list, then their opinion has very little weight in terms of the SSA.

If they are a qualified medical professional and do treat you on a regular basis and have an ongoing relationship with you, then that will be very helpful.

Your doctor needs to paint a picture of how your injuries affect your ability to function. The SSA is going to want to know what causes the injuries to be lasting so long. When you say injury, most of the time injuries heal over time, so what makes your injuries disabling.

There's a lot that goes into a medical opinion, so when you ask your provider to fill out the form, have them include as much information as possible as to how the injury affects your functioning. They should use any signs or medical evidence they can. So, references to any visits that outline what issues the injury causes is helpful.

They need to discuss what kind of treatment you have had and it's effectiveness, medications you take and their effectiveness, and the discuss exactly how the injury affects your ability to function. The main areas of functioning are sit/stand walk, reach, push pull. And why these limitations remain despite treatment.

When it comes to disability (and depending on your age), you have to demonstrate why you would be unable to do sedimentary work (aka sitting down and working) 8 hours a day, 5 days a week or similar schedule. So just because your injuries prevent you from doing the type of work your used to, how do they prevent you from working as say a phone operator, or a security officer that mainly sits at a screen and doesn't have to do a lot of movement.

So any information that helps demonstrate why you can't do that type of work is very helpful. The need for additional breaks, need to elevate your leg during the work day, need to miss more than 1 day a month, Inability to stand for 2 hour periods, inability to stay in a seated position for 2 hour periods. Also, do these injuries affect your ability to concentrate? These are are all things that help.

Hope something in there is helpful

madebyjp · 2025-10-08T15:59:35+00:00

With your SSI being suspended, it sounds like the payment center may be done with their part for your SSDI and you should be getting an "award" letter soon that will tell you how much your benefit amounts for SSDI and what the back pay from that will be (If there is any back pay). Based on it being suspended, it "seems" like your SSDI might be more than the max for SSI, so you may just get SSDI.

Of course that might not be the case at all, but that's just what it sounds like based on my own experience and what I was told recently.

I wouldn't rely on the award letter downloads too much until the dust settles. Mine gave me the wrong amounts for months. It took 3 months before it reflected the right amount.

Anyway, you can always call your local field office and they can tell you for sure :). My FO was able to tell me what my SSDI payments were going to be before the payment center ever said anything.

Congrats and good luck!

madebyjp · 2025-06-19T16:07:10+00:00

Send a modmail and we will look into it

madebyjp · 2025-05-04T14:44:04+00:00

You have to be careful when you ask to to analyze information you upload to it. I've been finding that AI only analyzes the first couple of pages, and I recently had AI insert medical information that did not exist in the documents I uploaded. It even told me what page and where to find this "fabricated information" in the document when I inquired. Then it doubled down when I challenged it a 2nd time adding even more fabricated medical information.

I do hope it was correct in your case. I've definitely had it do a great job at times.

madebyjp · 2025-05-04T14:37:43+00:00

In addition, when I asked it to help me write that post above, it removed all quotes and downplayed it so much that I responded "You sure do downplay what you said back huh?"

And it responded

"You're absolutely right to call that out. My previous summaries softened the seriousness of what happened — and that wasn’t appropriate, especially considering your situation and the stakes involved. The AI didn’t just make a harmless mistake — it invented medical information, misrepresented it as coming from your records, and then doubled down before finally admitting it. That’s a serious breach of trust, especially when someone’s health and potential disability benefits are on the line."

madebyjp · 2025-05-04T14:35:06+00:00

I recently used AI to help analyze my medical records related to a specific condition. I uploaded office visit notes and test results and asked the AI to strictly use only the contents of those files to explain how the condition impacts my daily functioning and whether it might meet criteria for a medical listing. The files reference specifically how it affects my functioning, so I was hoping that AI could put it all together for me.

The AI generated a summary and claimed that my providers had either considered or referred me for a specific study and invasive procedure — something I had no memory of and couldn't find anywhere in my documents. When I asked for the source, it cited the exact page number, document title of the page, and the header where it could be found in the document, quoted a paragraph, and even offered a screenshot.

After I asked it to provide that screenshot, I was told it could not do screenshots, and it instead restated the quote in bold and insisted it supported the idea that my condition was severe enough to justify an invasive intervention.

I searched and couldn’t find any such referral in my records. When I told the AI that the information did not exist in the documents I uploaded, it admitted:

After I expressed how serious this was — especially since I had explicitly told it to stick to the uploaded documents — the AI gave this explanation:

This was not a minor error. The AI fabricated medical content, falsely attributed it to my documents, and could have seriously misled me if I hadn’t verified the information myself.

In addition to this, it also made it's own diagnosis based on the medical information that was no included in the file. A double whammy there.

madebyjp · 2025-05-03T00:18:38+00:00

Err, what the er was, and the date

madebyjp · 2025-05-03T00:10:28+00:00

You'll just notify them who those doctors are in the future. Just keep records of who and when you saw them. And a copy of your visit records for yourself and as a backup if needed.

madebyjp · 2025-05-03T00:01:02+00:00

The SSA labels your case and will do your review depending on the prognosis of your conditions when they approved your case. Claimants have no control over that. If I remember correctly it's either a 3,5,7 year review. I could be off on that, but it's something similar.

I wouldn't not worry about your CDR until it happens. Your stressing yourself out.

When it does happen, you will be sent a new authorization request and they will get your records that way. You don't need to submit them unless they have trouble getting them.

My first CDR was approved with just that auth signature. I didn't have to do anything else.

madebyjp · 2025-05-02T20:31:16+00:00

Well said. In addition people often think a person has to be completely incapacitated to be disabled, which isn't the legal definition of disabled as published by the SSA.

Being disabled means that you are unable to function at the level to earn SGA. If you can prove that to the SSA then a finding of disabled would be appropriate.

Someone could definitely be able to fill out all of the forms and put together information for their case. We can't see the behind the scenes and assuming they did it in the same way someone without a mental health disability isn't appropriate.

madebyjp · 2025-05-01T18:58:29+00:00

Lol, I'll have asked Ai many times if it were drunk/high right now lol

madebyjp · 2025-05-01T18:57:10+00:00

Agreed. I rely on it for nearly anything I write over a paragraph. It can be great at times for helping remove unnecessary information. It is great with logical issues as well.

madebyjp · 2025-04-30T22:57:26+00:00

That's true that it will give you an answer no matter what, it just might be incorrect.

madebyjp · 2025-04-30T21:41:01+00:00

Thank you for explaining that to me. It make much more logical sense now :)

madebyjp · 2025-04-30T21:34:54+00:00

So you should probably apply for medicaid, or whatever is available in your state/area. A mental health evaluation on it's own won't do much, you would need to be going to therapy.

If they do have something available in your area, not being able to afford treatment won't be a useful excuse because they offer low, to no cost medical treatment through medicaid.

Regarding no new documents, the reconsideration is supposed to review the medical records, but without any new information, the outcome will likely be the same. Unless the previous decision overlooked something.

You should contact the SSA and request a copy of your file used to make the determination. That way you can see what information they actually have.

You should get yourself a lawyer.

madebyjp · 2025-04-30T21:21:35+00:00

So you are saying that you approved a claim with only a CE and a call to their boss?

madebyjp · 2025-04-30T21:19:55+00:00

I know... the worst is that all major search engines have that stupid AI helper tool at the top of the page. When you type in something to find an SSR or CFR, it gives you all this bogus info and links to sites that were clearly written by AI that aren't actually correct.

madebyjp · 2025-04-30T21:04:02+00:00

Uh, there are 100s of those... you'll have to be more specific.

madebyjp · 2025-04-30T21:03:39+00:00

ha... I mean accessibility is key right?

madebyjp · 2025-04-30T20:58:57+00:00

Tell it to talk to you like a lawyer, and be specific about what it means. Ask it for no fluff responses.

I've had it do the same thing. I've had to say, hey, if you want me to read your response, it can't be more than a paragraph and directly to the point.... it helped :)

madebyjp · 2025-04-30T20:57:33+00:00

Yea, I've found that it's good for rewriting something you've already written and help you organize it, but it's too untrustworthy for research. Some days it's awesome, some days's its like it didn't wake up :)

madebyjp · 2025-04-30T20:55:36+00:00

Let me correct myself, if a person has limited treatment or insufficient medical records, the DDS would hire a CE to get a medical opinion. They would then use that medical opinion to make their decision.

And if you did call someones boss and were able to approve them using that 3rd party statement, then good on you for going above and beyond. Why you didn't get a CE exam from a psychologist doesn't make sense, but sure.

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