LTD-how Insurers are often trained on chronic pain

Disability Insurance
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Chronic pain individuals often and most likely will have to endure stigmatization even greater than most other conditions. If you have a “recognized” condition such as MS, Diabetes or cancer pain that stigmatization will be reduced. Pain is pain but chronic pain claims without an identified cause can cause those on disability to face a more difficult path to benefits. A legal consult should be considered as soon as an Insurer starts an active look at handling these claims.

Top 5 warning signs for many Insures to take an active approach

  1. You are claiming chronic pain as your main disability and have a financial incentive (which is simply being on claim)
  2. You claim sleep disturbance due to pain
  3. Negative work or family situation
  4. You spoke to a lawyer or have an advocate
  5. You blame others for your pain (like the drunk driver, unsafe work,)

Basically if you have chronic pain–expect your claim to be scrutinized

You can sign up an view a webinar from CBI (Canadian Back Institute) and review how they explain pain to Insurers. Knowledge is power . For information only–caution-it may be upsetting if you suffer from pain

you can sign up to view past recordings just by an email

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Thanks allyoops for the link.

I watched the webinar with a open mind, hoping I would learn something of use. I have suffered from chronic pain, sleep problems, fatigue, ect for over 25 years now and have remained working for most of that time. I also have been through the CBI program, with little success, in reducing my pain.

It is funny to me how these so called experts are SO positive that they can fix you with their treatments and anything else is no good. I have been involved in cognitive behavior therapy several times now, and it has helped “somewhat”, it is not the end all cure all for pain, depression, anxiety as they say. Maybe it does help some people greatly but certainly not as much as these people claim from my experience talking to others with pain disorders.

What I would like to do is a little experiment with this pain doctor. Put something in his shoes so every time he takes a step it hurts, something in his chair so it hurts his rear end and back, put something in his pillow so that it hurts his head, neck and shoulders while trying to sleep. Then tell him that he will have to put up with this pain for days, months or years but it would be only temporary and that pain and discomfort would be gone at “sometime” in the future.

There is a 99% chance he will say “why would I do that, I don’t have a pain problem, why should I do that?”

I would answer “Because you are able to change your own brain, with your own program that you preach, so that this pain wont really have a great effect on your function or ability to work_, right?” “Also this would give you a greater understanding of your patients struggles, would it not?”

I wonder how many of these people participate in this little experiment?

I don’t know what is causing my illness, but I do know it is very disabling, no matter what I have tried to make it better.

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It is so sad to face the stigmatization of the chronic pain label. For my spouse when he was diagnosed with MS then he was believed. Since they could see lesions on his brain classic for MS he has been treated much better.
If he had not gotten some objective proof of neurological damage he would constantly be having to prove his worth to be treated like a patient.

It seems to be only insurer referred treatment providers who claim for a quick cure–and most of the quoted pain studies are related to back pain. If you take opioids then you have another credibility battle ahead.

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Love it—and one day might use it :slight_smile:

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Your stories remind me of my father who came to Canada many years ago as a refugee who could not speak English. His first job was picking vegetables. He progressed to construction labourer and learned English. Quickly, like many refugees, he started his own business and ran a very successful construction company that employed many people. He started suffering from severe pain in his shoulder. We didn’t have sophisticated diagnostic medical equipment back in those days. He kept the business going and his staff employed, but was suffering. The most hurtful thing that happened to him was a comment from a hospital physiotherapist who told him he needed to work harder at this and its not that bad and get off workers compensation and get back to work. He was stunned. He ran his own business. He didn’t get workers compensation. There was no CPPD or LTD or extended health benefits. He had no income, but tried to make sure others did. Yes, the pain WAS that bad. They eventually discovered he had secondary bone cancer that had spread all over his body and he died a few months later. I was a young child and to this day can remember him crying in broken English from his hospital bed in the living room “Oh, the pain, the pain!” Pain IS very real for the person suffering from it, whatever the cause.

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