Need advice. Insurance company taking away my income. Read MOD note Post 35

delthedriver · 23-02-2015 2:17am

Folks, engaging the services of an Employment Law Specialist should help your situations. A Solicitor who is expert on all things involving employment matters like Permanent Health Insurance is a must.

Insurance Companies are getting away with murder in these cases, get a specialist solicitor.

imokyrok · 13-03-2015 11:33am

Cathal Niamh find out what fibromyalgia support group is operating in the Cork area and get recommendations from them. I now attend the Pain Consultant in St. Vincents Private Hospital in Dublin. I have all those procedures you mention and then some. None helped the Fibromyalgia but a neuro stimulator implant has helped the daily migraine that accompanies my fibromyalgia. However you really want to be suffering severely with headaches to go down that route. It has been grueling but ultimately worth it for me.

With regard to the firbro pain after trying everything under the sun I found that simple daily walking, pacing activity, stress reduction, and a combo of tramadol and solapdeine keeps my pain at a bearable level for having some quality of life. But I have had to accept that I can't work and do all the activities I would wish to do if normal and this had been one of the most difficult aspects to come to terms with. I recommend finding a good cognitive therapist to help with the latter.

I would respectfully suggest you don't waste your time, money and hope on so called 'alternative therapy'. I used to. Probably spent thousands on them in the nineties especially. But with the advent of the internet and access to peer reviewed studies I came to realise that they were all little more than scam artists trading of an ability to charm their clients into thinking they were sincere. Not one of them has something worth offering and most of them will charge you more than a qualified doctor for the privilege of their con artistry.

I'm not sure about your specific insurance plan. I had permanent health salary protection insurance through my place of work and I claim on that. It is not much as I had already gone part time to try to cope with my illness so just get two thirds of a half time salary but it is better than nothing. If you do qualify on your insurance for ongoing salary the insurance company will torment you with reassessments sending you to a different person every year or so until they find someone who will dismiss your condition. This is when you will need a good strong minded professional consultant in your corner willing to send them a strongly worded letter supporting your inability to work. Generally they back off as long as you fight your corner. I did get my income stopped once but was reinstated after about three months probably thanks to my consultants strongly worded letter and my determination to fight. I'm told that after ten years they are obliged to stop this harassment but I haven't been able to confirm that fact. An acquaintance did have recourse to this ten year rule but she had the powerful teachers union fighting her corner so I'm not sure it applies to everyone. You may need the help of a good consultant for social welfare assessments as well although I have found the medical social welfare assessor for my area to be very ethical and understanding. Best of luck with managing this life changing circumstance. It won't be easy and I hope you have some family to support you.

looksee · 13-03-2015 1:55pm

imokyrok wrote: »

I would respectfully suggest you don't waste your time, money and hope on so called 'alternative therapy'. I used to. Probably spent thousands on them in the nineties especially. But with the advent of the internet and access to peer reviewed studies I came to realise that they were all little more than scam artists trading of an ability to charm their clients into thinking they were sincere. Not one of them has something worth offering and most of them will charge you more than a qualified doctor for the privilege of their con artistry.
.

In some ways I don't dispute what is being said here, there is some arm chancing going on. However I don't think you should easily dismiss all alternative therapy, especially for a condition that has only recently been accepted by the medical profession.

I have seen a couple of very genuine good results from alternative therapy, one for someone with 10 years of ME and the only relief she got was from herbal treatment, eventually it was cleared up by this treatment and she is now well and strong. The other is for a child who was too young to be influenced by emotional reaction to someone, who has a very serious disability and was recently helped considerably by what I think was a 'laying on hands' situation. Actual physical improvement.

I am very sceptical about this kind of treatment, I too have spent money on various things to no avail, and I totally agree there are some con men out there. I prefer a medical and scientific approach to medicine, but just sometimes there are things that work. How you sort which is which, and how you avoid giving money to chancers I am not sure, but no harm in being a bit open minded, while avoiding being gullible.

Boronia · 16-03-2015 9:23pm

Cathalniamh wrote: »

hi there I have been out of work for last 12 months and received a diagnosis of fibromyalgia just this week.a gp in passage cork diagnosed me.i have two questions
1 can somebody recommend a consultant who specialises in this area,I have seen a neurologist and a rheumatologist who skirted around fibromyalgia but did not want to rubber stamp it.private message me if it is not allowed to name actual persons
2 can I claim on my illness protection insurance even though I have been out of work for a year alllready.
This past year has been disaster scans,mri scans,2 nerve blocks,2 sacroiliac joint blocks and epidural,never mind all the combinations of medication that does not work.i am starting a new therapy with Dr in passage cork which involves quantum integrative medicine.it sounds bonkers but frankly after 20 years of constant pain and finally getting a definitive name for my condition I will do whatever it takes to be me again.sorry for ramble ,all suggestions and help appreciated.

Ask your Illness Protection company for a copy of the policy document or scheme and see what their wording is. Mine needed the magic phrase of "totally disabled from carrying out the duties of your current profession". If you can claim on the Illness Protection then you need a Consultant who will put the Fibromyalgia diagnosis on paper for you, with all the reasons why you can't carry out the different aspects of your job.
I went to a Consultant Rheumatologist in Galway who gave me the diagnosis, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but would not write the required report...this seems to be quite common unfortunately. Hopefully someone can PM you the name of a good consultant. I applied for mine under the Chronic Fatigue tag. Another piece of advice I got was to get a report from an Occupational Therapist outlining in detail how your physical difficulties affect your day to day living and working especially your limitations. Best of luck with it. Feel free to PM me.

mille100piedi · 20-01-2017 12:05am

I have been requesting to do the same test, can anybody tell me what type of exercises are in the CPAD (chronic pain abilities determination)?

Boronia · 21-01-2017 11:36am

mille100piedi wrote: »

I have been requesting to do the same test, can anybody tell me what type of exercises are in the CPAD (chronic pain abilities determination)?

Here is a link with the published information about the CPAD-
http://www.cfsfacts.org/2008/11/assessment-of-work-capability.html
Or this one, from the company that carries out the testing's website-
http://www.formhealth.com/Images/home/CPAD_Paper.pdf
I can PM you with more information about my experience of the CPAD if you like.

mille100piedi · 21-01-2017 4:24pm

Boronia wrote: »

mille100piedi wrote: »

I have been requesting to do the same test, can anybody tell me what type of exercises are in the CPAD (chronic pain abilities determination)?

Here is a link with the published information about the CPAD-
http://www.cfsfacts.org/2008/11/assessment-of-work-capability.html
Or this one, from the company that carries out the testing's website-
http://www.formhealth.com/Images/home/CPAD_Paper.pdf
I can PM you with more information about my experience of the CPAD if you like.

I sent you a pm

Cwalsh49 · 17-10-2018 7:21pm

Hi
I am new to boards.ie . I have been off work since October 2014 with chronic back , leg and shoulder pain , diagnosised with fibromyalgia , chronic fatigue syndrome and recent eeg showed sleep deprivation , constantly tired , no energy . I am under rheumatologist and neurologist and unfit for the type of work I was employed in . My wage protection have sent me a letter from the insurance company with a appt in my home for a CPAD assessment in November . Can anyone help me with what this entails or as anyone gone through the test ? What was it like ?

mille100piedi · 17-10-2018 8:08pm

I have done a CPAD test, but no matter what you do or what you say, they will always write down you are fit to work in their report!

Boronia · 17-10-2018 8:37pm

I have sent you a PM

Cwalsh49 · 17-10-2018 9:34pm

It’s unbelievable, I would not last a Day at work , I will be exhausted ðŸ’€, I work in elderly care and a danger to the patients . They should do a assessment of my work place first . It’s wrong a dr from the insurance company , they are being paid to judge you on a few hrs and to save money for the company . I will fight it if I have too , but , like so many , don’t know what to do at the moment . My CPAD in November

imokyrok · 18-10-2018 4:51pm

Cwalsh49 wrote: »

It’s unbelievable, I would not last a Day at work , I will be exhausted ðŸ’€, I work in elderly care and a danger to the patients . They should do a assessment of my work place first . It’s wrong a dr from the insurance company , they are being paid to judge you on a few hrs and to save money for the company . I will fight it if I have too , but , like so many , don’t know what to do at the moment . My CPAD in November

I had the CPAD a couple of times. It is stressful and the report implied I wasn't trying even though I did not hold back in any way. I found that slur on my honesty distressing and frustrating so be prepared for that. The insurance company sent me to a different doctor each time until they found one who clearly didn't believe in fibromyalgia and they then withdrew my funding. However my consultant sent them a strongly worded letter and the funding was reinstated after a visit to yet another of their consultants. Fight it all the way and if you are too ill get a friend to help.

NolieB · 12-03-2020 12:56pm

Could I PM you Boronia

Boronia · 13-03-2020 10:54pm

Yes, do

tarshaan · 10-08-2022 6:12pm

i realise this has been quiet a couple of years, but is anyone able to message me with advice on fighting an insurance decision re fibromyalgia & depression? I did the various insurance assessments but they claimed after review of everything i was fit for work.... i finally managed to get a copy of the reports out of them and it seems that CPAD is the main problem i think?, that essentially called me a liar from what i can gather although it's a very very long report and i can't really unnderstand all (or much) of it. (Which isn't surprising as i did not understand it at the time i took it either).

The occupational doctor they sent me to initially agreed i was unfit for work but then they sent her the CPAD and she changed her opinion. I have made an appointment with the rheumatologist who diagnosed me in 2017 (i have only been off work since last year when things go much worse) for an update but that is not until november.... in the meanwhile i'm supposed to go back and do a job i cannot do from september!

I want to fight this but i have honestly no idea where to even start.

imokyrok · 17-08-2022 1:00am

Do fight it. They cut me off once based on a report from a doctor in Naas they sent me to who clearly didn't believe in fibromyalgia at all. My Pain Consultant at the time took one look at her report and said 'she writes the same one for everyone'. He wrote a blistering complaint to Irish Life and so they sent me to yet another consultant. That one didn't belive in fibromyalgia either but he did recognise that my chronic migraine was an issue and I got my PHI back.

You must just keep fighting it with your own doctors. They sent me to so many consultants trying to find one who would knock me off. A different one every year or two. After 10 years they stopped. Seems to be a rule. Best of luck. I know how hard it is to fight when you're sick. Get help if you can.

Need advice. Insurance company taking away my income. **Read MOD note Post 35**

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Need advice. Insurance company taking away my income. Read MOD note Post 35