Hi everyone. I recently went back to my job after a 6 month disability leave because of my symptoms that I recently found out could be related to Eagles. I am finding it harder and harder to go to work because I am so ill. I can not take another leave and if I quit I will not have my medical insurance or be able to collect unemployment. I dont know what to do. Has anyone been through this? Any suggestions?
Hi Chasingophelia,
I’m sorry I can’t advise you as I haven’t been in your situation but I can say that there are forum members who’ve had to quit their jobs or take a long-term leave of absence either to get diagnosed & treated or just for surgery. It is a very tough call especially since you need your insurance to cover your medical costs. One option might be to see if you can work from home if you’re having to go into an office. Some members find that works better because the environment is more relaxed & they can work at at their own pace & rest, use ice, & take care of themselves when needed. Some companies don’t care what hours their employees work as long as the work gets done.
Have you been able to get an appointment w/ the suggested doctor in NJ (sorry I forgot his name)? Again, you could try Dr. Hackman in NC. He does phone/video consults, though seeing him would be a longer trip for you.
Hopefully there are people here who have been or are in your situation who will provide input.
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Hi there. I am so sorry you are going thru this. I have had to make a career change to a desk job that basically pays close to minimum wage. I get horrible IH and pain from bilateral Jugular Eagle Syndrome. The desk job keeps me from walking long distances and no running around. However, I still struggle from moving my head up and down to look from the monitor to the keyboard and side to side with clients coming in. This causes pain and increases symptoms as the day moves on. It is always difficult because people cannot see your symptoms. So more difficult for them to understand. But, I want you to know… this is not forever. We are fixable and have to advocate to get the necessary care we need. You have to take care of your self first. If you have some skills in just about anything… I know of a reliable site called Flex Jobs where people can work from home. Take a look and see if this is something you might be interested in. Never hurts to look. Take good care and hang in there.
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Thank you so much! 
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Chase,
Is there a possibility you can take a leave of absence and still maintain benefits? Right now, because of COVID, my employer allows me to use banked leave to pay by benefits. I did this for about 3 months after I exhausted paid family medical leave. I am lucky enough to live in a state that has this as a separate benefit.
You may want to speak to your benefits coordinator at your job. There can be a short-term disability policy and a long term one. I’m not sure how long you have been back at work. Usually disability policies go longer than 6 months. Mine goes up to 2 years.
Is your disability policy limited to 6 months? I would check employee handbook that would give you that information.
If you came back to work too early and have a new diagnosis, I cant see why you cant go back out on disability.
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Thanks! I believe its only 6 months temp dis and I already took that so I would have to wait a year I think before I took it again. 
I’m sorry for your situation. It’s very hard to have to work when you feel really lousy. I hope the work/insurance situation works out so you can move forward w/ treatment.
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Bummer, I understand. I think my employer is bending our disability policies that allow for me to have my 2nd surgery this year. Its worth going to your benefits coordinator to see if there are any other options to help you? If they value you as an employee, they may be willing to extend some kind of leave to you.
You may have to take a leave of absence because if this is worsening, you may have no choice. I hope you are making headway with this.
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@Snapple2020 & @Chasingophelia - Hi, I know this is an old post, so not sure if this will be seen… I’m wondering how you were able to get on disability? I have been applying for 3 years, even before a diagnosis or surgery. I have been getting denied every time, even this last time when I applied AGAIN before having surgery…
I guess I need to do an appeal…any tips would be much appreciated.
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Sorry so long in responding. I never did try and get disability…in my case during surgery and recovery (covid), i was able to paid leave through our state which was nice. My doc was more than happy to fill out disability forms but this was temporary disability. After a few years of struggling, I decided to retire.
I am familiar with getting disability as my daughter has a disabling medical condition. Having some legal background helps. I put together a compelling package. Any specialized testing results that give diagnosis(s) is key. My daughter has some at a special inpatient study at Vanderbilt which was helpful and really formalized the diagnosis. The SSDi people cannot argue with that. It helps to have specialists writes letters that out line how the medical condition impacts your life…such as cannot stand for more than 10 minutes at a time, dizziness, extreme fatigue, sleep disorder, ADHD, depression. If these docs have been seeing you for several years and can say how it has worsened or how debilitating it is, to go with Consult reports.
Generally I gathered all the medical records and went thru them pulling all the official diagnosis(s) and the diagnosis codes and start from there. Then gather the supporting documents such as consult reports, imaging results, testing results that back up the diagnosis codes. If you suffer from depression, get a letter from the therapist. My daughter was also on depression meds and saw a psychiatrist. We got letter from him also. Its really about telling the story backing up with medical documentation. Feel free to ask more questions. Id be happy to review your application and give you more pointers.
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