Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#191

Post by lcall » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 8:45 PM UTC

lcall wrote: post #179

Here is an interesting news article I saw recently about chronic pain, in case it is useful. It seemed like it could be a balanced look at the field of managing it, now, for what it may be worth: https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/27/health/haider-warraich-chroni... I became disabled due to chronic fatigue syndrome, and as I progressed until gradually unable to keep a job, I also went through what you are of being denied di…

ps: I don't know if this applies to you, but since there is overlap between us (my condition is like a permanent flu: brain fog, general body aches, slow at everything, oversensitive to stimuli like noises or movement):

Learning pacing (managing activity levels, following a sustainable routine) and general routines for managing life have been very important for me to get to a stable, somewhat predictable state. There is a web site that covers the pacing reasons and strategies for chronic fatigue people really well--if you want I can dig up the URL. And staying organized within those routines (managing todo lists so I dont forget things etc) has been necessary, because I just can't keep the essentials and planned tasks all in my head now, since I do them so slowly and gradually.

And practicing good mental habits (a learning process, over time), and reinforcing them with notes that I review periodically (anki, and other in the computer, and some daily with a set of mnemonics that grew up over time) has been necessary and very helpful also, to not get in a bad set of thoughts, but to respond in a good/planned way.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#192

Post by m00x » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 8:47 PM UTC

whitepoplar wrote: post #151

skeeter2020 wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Q: My life is falling apart on all fronts and I'm struggling with physical and mental health issues; what should I do? A: Read this book. Only on HN...

I admit it sounds crazy, but it works. I was extremely skeptical too.

It really doesn't work for everyone.

OP needs to see a doctor first instead of trying to use a placebo.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#193

Post by superasn » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 8:49 PM UTC

rlp wrote: post #182

whitepoplar wrote: post #18

I'm not sure what the cause of your chronic pain is, but I would highly recommend reading John Sarno's "The Mindbody Prescription." I've dealt with chronic pain for years and it's the only thing that's had any effect. Please, please , don't write it off until you've read the book. Note that Sarno's work focuses on back pain, but it applies to all types of chronic pain (including migraines, which he discusses in the b…

Sarno's work comes up periodically on HN, and I always have to chime in to say that it cured my RSI. Everything is still completely, 100% cured at 15+ years. As a developer, I have no idea what I would have done without it, my career would have been over. Here are my previous comments: From 2016: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12990976 From 2021: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26120633

Yes same here. For me Sarno gave me my life back and reading my comments it seems it has helped a lot other people here too, so I always chime in too. Here is my comment from 4 years ago and that was the the start of the end of my struggle with pain. (1)

Nowadays I've started doing the wim hof method and it's unbelievable my body can endure 7°c bath and I don't feel that cold or fall sick taking an ice cold baths everyday even during winters. The reason I'm mentioning this is because it really seems our minds are much more capable of things for which common sense goes against.

I think like the way germs were discovered which changed our understanding of medicine, within a few decades it will also become a norm to assess patient's mental condition before checking for physical and hopefully using the mind to cure a lot of disease. I feel like a hippie saying these things but after sarno and wim hof I've become more open to the power of human mind.

(1) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17982355

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#194

Post by encryptluks2 » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 8:50 PM UTC

berberous wrote: post #36

Not to derail this thread or to sound like I am criticizing OP, but everyone should take this post as a reminder to look into having a disability insurance policy. Your megacorp may offer a policy, but look into getting your own guaranteed renewable non-cancelable policy, as it provides greater protection. The Bogleheads wiki has a good page describing what is important to obtain in such a policy.

> disability insurance policy

You know people on group disability policies can have to wait up to 18 months for disability while their disability insurance unreasonably denies their claim, and that the laws governing these plans don't actually allow you to collect damages but only the disability benefits you were actually owed in the first place?

It might be better than SSDI, but not much.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#195

Post by encryptluks2 » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 8:51 PM UTC

thrwtllwy wrote: post #79

berberous wrote: post #36

Not to derail this thread or to sound like I am criticizing OP, but everyone should take this post as a reminder to look into having a disability insurance policy. Your megacorp may offer a policy, but look into getting your own guaranteed renewable non-cancelable policy, as it provides greater protection. The Bogleheads wiki has a good page describing what is important to obtain in such a policy.

I am not in any way offended by this. I agree 100%. It was a mistake not to have disability insurance.

If it makes you feel any better, group disability insurance is notorious for being some of the scummiest insurers out there. Their whole thing is deny deny deny. You may have to file a federal lawsuit to try to just get the benefits you were owed and in the end with group disability and it could take just as long as SSDI.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#196

Post by 11235813213455 » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 8:51 PM UTC

Is this a permanent disability or something that can be recovered with a lifestyle change?

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#197

Post by stjohn_piano » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 8:52 PM UTC

Sorry to read this.

You don't mention the cause of your chronic pain, but I'm guessing it's probably related to startup stress & long hours of tense work in front of a computer screen i.e. RSI. I'll add my experience here in case it's useful.

I went through several years of severe, disabling RSI / chronic pain in my 20s, about 6 years ago.

Have written two blog articles about it.

http://edgecase.net/articles/an_overview_of_repetitive_strai...

http://edgecase.net/articles/further_recovery_from_rsi

Recovered from 1-2% working capability to 90% (with some ongoing costs e.g. visits to osteopath).

There's certainly a mental component (you can get stuck in an emotional loop), so I haven't ruled out Sarno, mental recalibration etc. But I will say that dealing with the pain via direct loosening treatments of knotted muscle is almost definitely the right first step.

Hope you find these articles useful, and good luck.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#198

Post by oblib » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 8:59 PM UTC

>>I started having problems with chronic pain...

I know this is a long shot but if you've not tried it it's worth a shot..

Buy some quality local raw honey and start taking a couple teaspoons a day. You should know in a couple weeks if it's helping.

I had been dealing with severe shoulder pain for close to a year when an old friend told to try raw honey. I was hurting bad enough to give it a shot. It worked, and it didn't take long compared to how long I'd been hurting.

Since then I've told two friends of mine about it who told me were dealing pain, one was just two weeks from surgery for it. It worked for both of them too.

You might also look into getting some Manuka honey. The antibacterial properties are a bit different than local honey so if local doesn't work that might.

I can tell you it worked for the three of us.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#199

Post by ajolly » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 9:04 PM UTC

lcall wrote: post #191

lcall wrote: post #179

Here is an interesting news article I saw recently about chronic pain, in case it is useful. It seemed like it could be a balanced look at the field of managing it, now, for what it may be worth: https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/27/health/haider-warraich-chroni... I became disabled due to chronic fatigue syndrome, and as I progressed until gradually unable to keep a job, I also went through what you are of being denied di…

ps: I don't know if this applies to you, but since there is overlap between us (my condition is like a permanent flu: brain fog, general body aches, slow at everything, oversensitive to stimuli like noises or movement): Learning pacing (managing activity levels, following a sustainable routine) and general routines for managing life have been very important for me to get to a stable, somewhat predictable state. There…

I would be very interested in that link.

Re: Ask HN: I'm disabled and out of money. Now what?

#200

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 04, 2022, 9:17 PM UTC

victorclf wrote: post #139

thrwtllwy wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fibromyalgia and CFS have been tossed around but never officially diagnosed. The practical experience that I have is frequent exhaustion from things that should be easy, difficulty focusing, flu-like aches and tons of migraines.

Have you done a sleep study to check for sleep apnea?

[deleted]