Short term disability question

[Waitingindreams]

(I wasn't sure what category was appropriate here)

I am trying to keep this brief.

Back last year, I was feeling really sick, despite sticking to the gluten free diet and never cheating. In fact, I was even doing the SCD diet and STILL I had plenty of health problems. I also was under a lot of stress - I had a HORRIBLE UTI that lasted for over a month (and caused me to pee out all of my nutrients, my legs would buckle when I walked)  my grandma died in April, my dog died in August, and then my uncle died in September. I worked full time at a very high stress job, and often had to skip breakfast and lunch most days to get through my work day. I had FMLA coverage as well as PTO, but I was draining through my time fast because I just never felt good. Even with skipping breakfast and lunch, it was hard for me to get through my work day. My job was very strict...I worked for a call center for a large company and they tracked our "adherence" and "compliance" to our schedules and monitored my time in the bathroom. I was often stuck sitting at my desk, on a call I couldn't get off, nearly jumping up and down because I had to run to the bathroom and I couldn't. The idea that I could possibly have an accident (again, despite skipping meals) was very real. I saw one of my doctors numerous times, and after talking with him and co-workers, I began to entertain the idea of short term disability JUST for a few months so I would have the time and money to start getting numerous tests done. I explained everything to my doctor and he agreed this was a good idea, and that he would write notes supporting my need of some time away from work. (I felt sick like this away from work as well, this was NOT just a work issue, and I did tell him this) The plan was I would be out from October and I would return in January, so it would be 90 days, unless I felt well enough to return before then. At this time, I had used all vacation and personal days because I felt sick. 

Flash forward, I was allowed to stay out of work for the 90 days for an FMLA type leave, but they denied my pay (officially) after I was already back at work in January. (This was after an appeal that I sent in explaining exactly what was going on - that I was adhering to the gluten free diet and even trying alternate diets, such as the SCD, dairy free, etc)  They said it was because my doctor said it seemed like it was mostly a stress situation due to my job, where I explained, AGAIN, to them that the job wasn't the CAUSE of my symptoms, that it was merely exacerbating them and I didn't have time to go see a doctor. (I worked 8.5 hours, but I also had an hour commute there and back) and no more PTO to go to the doctor. They said that they wanted me to go to a therapist because of the "chronic stress" diagnosis, but totally ignored the celiac disease. I also sent all of my medical records to them leading up to my time being off. I didn't want to be on permanent LTD, I just wanted to have a few months to try to get my health in order before my PTO was reinstated.

It  was to the point where I was barely eating, everything I ate seemed to make me sick. I am still dealing with that now. And, that job that I had ended up laying everyone off...they closed all of the call centers in my state, I'm not sure if that had anything to do with their decision or not...but they paid me for the first 10 days and then made me pay them back for it. Are there any rights at all for people with celiac disease if they are adhering to the gluten free diet and have an official diagnosis? AND have notes from a doctor agreeing they should have short term leave? Should I have tried to keep fighting? Just curious if I had any options at all.  Thanks in advance! 

 

History: Diagnosed with celiac disease and IBS: July 5, 2013. Have been gluten free ever since. Tried SCD for 2 years with some success. Seem to have either histamine intolerance or mast cell issues. 

[cyclinglady]

Hi Waiting!  It has been a long time!  I am so sorry that you are ill.  I can not help you.  I have only been on short term disability when I had my daughter and that was a long time ago!   I hope someone with an HR background can provide some assistance.  

[Ennis-TX]

40 minutes ago, Waitingindreams said:

(I wasn't sure what category was appropriate here)

I am trying to keep this brief.

Back last year, I was feeling really sick, despite sticking to the gluten free diet and never cheating. In fact, I was even doing the SCD diet and STILL I had plenty of health problems. I also was under a lot of stress - I had a HORRIBLE UTI that lasted for over a month (and caused me to pee out all of my nutrients, my legs would buckle when I walked)  my grandma died in April, my dog died in August, and then my uncle died in September. I worked full time at a very high stress job, and often had to skip breakfast and lunch most days to get through my work day. I had FMLA coverage as well as PTO, but I was draining through my time fast because I just never felt good. Even with skipping breakfast and lunch, it was hard for me to get through my work day. My job was very strict...I worked for a call center for a large company and they tracked our "adherence" and "compliance" to our schedules and monitored my time in the bathroom. I was often stuck sitting at my desk, on a call I couldn't get off, nearly jumping up and down because I had to run to the bathroom and I couldn't. The idea that I could possibly have an accident (again, despite skipping meals) was very real. I saw one of my doctors numerous times, and after talking with him and co-workers, I began to entertain the idea of short term disability JUST for a few months so I would have the time and money to start getting numerous tests done. I explained everything to my doctor and he agreed this was a good idea, and that he would write notes supporting my need of some time away from work. (I felt sick like this away from work as well, this was NOT just a work issue, and I did tell him this) The plan was I would be out from October and I would return in January, so it would be 90 days, unless I felt well enough to return before then. At this time, I had used all vacation and personal days because I felt sick. 

Flash forward, I was allowed to stay out of work for the 90 days for an FMLA type leave, but they denied my pay (officially) after I was already back at work in January. (This was after an appeal that I sent in explaining exactly what was going on - that I was adhering to the gluten free diet and even trying alternate diets, such as the SCD, dairy free, etc)  They said it was because my doctor said it seemed like it was mostly a stress situation due to my job, where I explained, AGAIN, to them that the job wasn't the CAUSE of my symptoms, that it was merely exacerbating them and I didn't have time to go see a doctor. (I worked 8.5 hours, but I also had an hour commute there and back) and no more PTO to go to the doctor. They said that they wanted me to go to a therapist because of the "chronic stress" diagnosis, but totally ignored the celiac disease. I also sent all of my medical records to them leading up to my time being off. I didn't want to be on permanent LTD, I just wanted to have a few months to try to get my health in order before my PTO was reinstated.

It  was to the point where I was barely eating, everything I ate seemed to make me sick. I am still dealing with that now. And, that job that I had ended up laying everyone off...they closed all of the call centers in my state, I'm not sure if that had anything to do with their decision or not...but they paid me for the first 10 days and then made me pay them back for it. Are there any rights at all for people with celiac disease if they are adhering to the gluten free diet and have an official diagnosis? AND have notes from a doctor agreeing they should have short term leave? Should I have tried to keep fighting? Just curious if I had any options at all.  Thanks in advance! 

 

History: Diagnosed with celiac disease and IBS: July 5, 2013. Have been gluten free ever since. Tried SCD for 2 years with some success. Seem to have either histamine intolerance or mast cell issues. 

Yeah issue here is Celiac disease,,,,is not considered a disability by our health system. Look at your other complications, even a misdiagnosis based on the symptoms caused by celiac can be used here, I have autism also myself, if I get glutened or am exposed to some forms of dairy,,,it really comes out. Brain fog makes them seem so much worse. I have a few other health issues like ADHD and a few misdiagnose issues like extreme Bi-polar  and schizophrenia on the record....these last two were due to exposure to gluten and a aspartame which make me flip s$#& and turn into Mr.Hyde and start punching walls and breaking stuff. I just sorta through them all on the sheets I filled out and filed on SSI with the old psych evals and got it, I then did side under the counter jobs and sold baked goods, almond butters, etc at the local farmers market and out of my home off the books.

SO if you have no qualms tricking the system get evaluated while glutened and exposed to what ever foods cause your worse symptoms. Work with your doctor if you can, many do not care as long as they get paid sadly. See what you CAN get on record that qualifies you for SSI or disability. NOTE SSI max pay is $735 a month, and you CAN NOT have any other recorded income over $20 or they take what ever you make off your next check. SO best to do little side jobs off the books to get a bit of pay as there is NO way to survive on that pay and live a gluten free diet....unless you only eat rice, eggs, cabbage, canned beans, and spinach.

 

I can not believe i just gave this advice

[Waitingindreams]

 

50 minutes ago, cyclinglady said:

Hi Waiting!  It has been a long time!  I am so sorry that you are ill.  I can not help you.  I have only been on short term disability when I had my daughter and that was a long time ago!   I hope someone with an HR background can provide some assistance.  

Hi cyclinglady! It has been a long time. I had myself convinced I was managing my celiac disease with the SCD. It - did help in certain ways, but I still had skin issues, chronic fatigue, etc. Trying to find a way to get my histamine issues OFFICIALLY diagnosed. It seems that if I can stay away from foods high in histamine (beans, tomatoes, strawberries) then my rosacea and seb.dermatitis both clear up, AND m energy levels much improve. But...that's a lot of food to give up. Thank you for the reply! Good to hear from you. 

[Waitingindreams]

41 minutes ago, Ennis_TX said:

Yeah issue here is Celiac disease,,,,is not considered a disability by our health system. Look at your other complications, even a misdiagnosis based on the symptoms caused by celiac can be used here, I have autism also myself, if I get glutened or am exposed to some forms of dairy,,,it really comes out. Brain fog makes them seem so much worse. I have a few other health issues like ADHD and a few misdiagnose issues like extreme Bi-polar  and schizophrenia on the record....these last two were due to exposure to gluten and a aspartame which make me flip s$#& and turn into Mr.Hyde and start punching walls and breaking stuff. I just sorta through them all on the sheets I filled out and filed on SSI with the old psych evals and got it, I then did side under the counter jobs and sold baked goods, almond butters, etc at the local farmers market and out of my home off the books.

SO if you have no qualms tricking the system get evaluated while glutened and exposed to what ever foods cause your worse symptoms. Work with your doctor if you can, many do not care as long as they get paid sadly. See what you CAN get on record that qualifies you for SSI or disability. NOTE SSI max pay is $735 a month, and you CAN NOT have any other recorded income over $20 or they take what ever you make off your next check. SO best to do little side jobs off the books to get a bit of pay as there is NO way to survive on that pay and live a gluten free diet....unless you only eat rice, eggs, cabbage, canned beans, and spinach.

 

I can not believe i just gave this advice

Thank you so much for your reply! I was just beginning to doubt myself...if I made a mistake by just accepting their decision (after my first appeal) or if i should have really tried to fight back on it. I felt like such an idiot...I thought it would be a sure thing that I'd get approved, I felt like crap ALL the time and i already had a diagnosis. It seems that the foods that really bother me the most (apart from gluten) are all foods that are high in histamine - soy being one of the worst offenders. I'm trying to find out how I can get an OFFICIAL diagnosis, be it histamine intolerance or a mast cell disorder, but it's been easier said than done finding an allergist and/or nutritionist that I can go to after work (my new job is really weird with letting us leave early, it's ridiculous) But I am working on it. 

 

If I truly only ate the foods that 100% didn't bother me, I'd have an extremely limited diet. Mostly just some vegetables and some fruits, eggs sparingly...I don't eat meat, beans and spinach are high in histamine, I have oral allergy syndrome so I can't eat most raw fruits or veggies...I'm a mess. I thought I would have things figured out by now. 

[Ennis-TX]

29 minutes ago, Waitingindreams said:

Thank you so much for your reply! I was just beginning to doubt myself...if I made a mistake by just accepting their decision (after my first appeal) or if i should have really tried to fight back on it. I felt like such an idiot...I thought it would be a sure thing that I'd get approved, I felt like crap ALL the time and i already had a diagnosis. It seems that the foods that really bother me the most (apart from gluten) are all foods that are high in histamine - soy being one of the worst offenders. I'm trying to find out how I can get an OFFICIAL diagnosis, be it histamine intolerance or a mast cell disorder, but it's been easier said than done finding an allergist and/or nutritionist that I can go to after work (my new job is really weird with letting us leave early, it's ridiculous) But I am working on it. 

 

If I truly only ate the foods that 100% didn't bother me, I'd have an extremely limited diet. Mostly just some vegetables and some fruits, eggs sparingly...I don't eat meat, beans and spinach are high in histamine, I have oral allergy syndrome so I can't eat most raw fruits or veggies...I'm a mess. I thought I would have things figured out by now. 

Yeah I can not eat carbs, grains, fruits, due to UC and carbs, glucose, fructose causing flare ups. I react oddly to some histamine foods, I have issue with but my tolerance is mid level. Like OVERLY rip red tomatoes are a NO but green unripe ones from the farmers market I can eat 1 or 2 IF i watch what else I eat, canned spinach cooked in the microwave seems fine up to 1/2 cup. Egg whites microwave cooked are alright, nuts are fine....oddly they have to be lightly roasted FRESH in house, store roasted make me sick, and raw ones seem a bit too hard to digest or something. But I live on almonds, coconut, and what I can get my hands on. REALLY odd with walnuts, like raw is NO, they have to be washed under hot water THEN dried and light roasted/toasted. AND if they sit around longer then a week the whole batch makes me sick after that NO MATTER WHAT.....like odd little sweet spot......this food crap drives me blody nuts.   Certain foods have to be cooked, others raw, and NONE can be over cooked......I feel like my gut, stomach, and immune system are a bunch of overly picky kids sometimes.

BUNCH of other health issues with dental, infections, trying to ignore these and deal with a candida outbreak I got from 7 months of antibiotic use for that infected abscess.....which I am now ignoring and letting it go crazy.