my upcoming FCE and soc.sec.disab. income

[slapshot53]

hello again everyone, ... can anyone that has had a functional capacity evaluation test on their back maybe let me know what to expect and what i should and should not do... i had a two level spinal fusion done 6 mos. ago, been off 20 mos. from any job, was terminated 1 month later, and will be a vocational rehab candidate soon.. i live in illinois, collect ttd, and wonder about this fce... i also questiones last week about ssdi and whether i am able to apply since i receive ttd.? i am 55 years old and have done labor jobs the last 17 years and of course have a million questions and am nervous about my future.. how long do they pay you ttd or maintenance while trainingfor a new job? any info would be deeply appreciated and figured if i post this early today , i would get more responses than last week.. thanks for reading this...

[jayne]

apply for ssdi now......and do what do can on your test...if you cant do it say so but its best you try dont let them bully you into doing anything you shouldnt.....and have a doc appt right after so doc can see if the test injured you in any way.....and what kind of pain you are in.....never had one so I dont know what to tell you except what I have read on here......come on over to off topics and join the family.......welcome home

[ksgirl]

I don't know anything about ssdi, but I have had an FCE so I will tell you a little about it. You may not realize it, but the person doing the FCE will be watching you from the time you get to the office. After waiting , the therapist took me into a room and asked questions. Then she measured my movements and checked my reflexes and mobility. I was hooked up to one of those finger heart rate monitors and then I was assesed on mobility and movement. The therapist will have you do all kinds of things to test you including lifting, working at different levels, testing your push/pull strength in different positions, and you will probably walk on a treadmill.

Just be completely honest. Try to do what you are asked, if you try and can't do it, let the therapist know. The therapist will note whether they felt you were trying or not. A lot of the things you are tested on you will have to do three times to check for consistency and to get an average. I think the most important thing is to try your best and be honest.

Good luck!

[tweety00]

Ks girl can the fce be preformed by the pt that you are going to now ??? or does it need to be a new person ???


All That I know about them is from this forum ......But have seen alot of ppl say that If in pain while doing each item Tell the person that you are and ask to be on a blood pressure cuff ... Pain makes the blood pressure rise .I have been told that just from headaches that it changes the pressure .

[ksgirl]

Tweety, I think it depends on if your therapist does FCEs and if the I/C will approve them to do it. My therapist wasn't set up to do FCEs. Actually she wasn't set up for work conditioning either, but they let us improvise.

When I had my FCE the therapist asked me to rate my pain before, during, and after each activity and she checked the heart rate monitor almost continually.

[AQA]

You indicated that it is your back that is fused. I do not know if my experience will shed some light on the fce as I do not know what part of the back was fused. In my case the fusion is at the L5-S1. I have had four fce's. The fce is in two parts. It is one fce but it will cover your physical abilities and what you did for employment. In my case I had to lift a box with weights in it. I had to put it on a shelf waist height and shoulder height. I also had to carry it 30 feet. I had to work on a peg board over head as well as in the kneeling position. I had to push and pull a sled with weights in it 30 feet. Those things were pretty common among the fce's I saw others do and the ones I did. Then there were the job specific parts of it. I had to climb a ladder and stand in one spot while lifting a 50 lbs. box from a table on my left side and place it on a table on my right side. Another example was a lady that was an airline sterwdas. She had to simulate lifting and throwing 50 lbs.. That is the weight of an emegerncy exit door on a plane. I suggest that you do not take any pain killers prior to the fce.

As far as SSDI, you can apply at any time. The road to approvale can be a long one. Yes you can apply while receiving wc benifits.

Tweety, two of my fce's were done at the place that I had pt.

[Deb]

Hi SlapShot and Welcome. I just had an FCE done last week. KSGIRL is right in that they watch you from the moment you walk in to the moment you leave. My exam went pretty much just like AQA told you. One thing I might add is to do things within the restrictions that the doctor has given you. My doctor had told me during physical therapy I was to do no exercises that cause me to twist, which is one of the things the examiner asked me to do. So I politely explained to him that it was against doctor's orders. Another thing is I hurt pretty good for a couple days after. I also had a long session with a counselor which was part of my FCE. Guess they wanted to check my mental status as well as my physical status.

Hope this helps you some SlapShot. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.

Good Luck,
Deb

[lfoster21]

I had my FCE a year after my last fusion. They will be taking notes from the time you enter the office until you get in your car. My P/T said that she could put my purse in her office, which I thought was very nice. It was mentioned in her report about the weight of my purse and that I could carry it.

The P/T told me that if she saw something that looked like I couldn't go on safely, she would stop me (and there were several times that she did stop me.) She told me that if I was doing an excercise, she wanted me to let her know what I was feeling, even if I could continue. Her report noted each of my remarks, so even if I was able to do something for 5 mins. they knew that the pain started at 1 minute etc.

After doing all of the excercises she had me look at pictures of people doing different activities (daily living skills) and asked me to mark of whether or not I felt I could do it. The report also noted my position while filling out this assignment.

Finally, the P/T offered to walk me out to my car. She said she was wondering how I would step down off the curb with my cane and she also wanted to see how I get into my car.

She told me to call her that PM, the next AM, PM etc. until I was back to normal, to let her know my pain level. It was in my report how my pain level increased after the FCE and took 3 days before I was back to my normal pain.

The only ? I would ask you, Do you know if your fusion has taken yet. If not, I'd seriously talk with your surgeon and ask him if by doing any of the excercises, will it break the fusion or keep it from fusing.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[sparkey]

I had a FCE right after my injury a month or so later. They are right about watching every move you make from the time you enter. I got all my medical records last week for my upcomming IME. I read the notes of my FCE and she mentioned that i was slumping alot while sitting. My injury is my hand and keyboard injury from work. I think that is why she was watching how i sat etc.

I did go on the treadmill for about 10 mins, and that did not bother me. I did have to lift boxes off of shelves and place them on a table beside me. She did have a sleigh that she took into the hallway and put a few weights on it. When she asked me to push it with two hands, she had me only go about a foot and then said " okay your done". She did not want me to push it anymore. Just be honest about what hurts, do not take your pain meds that day before the test, and keep good eye contact, as that was also mentioned in my notes. Good luck.

[maw19531]

I had a fusion from L4-S1 on Nov 1st, 2006. The IC had me do an FCE test one year later in Nov, 2007. The test lasted about 4 hours for me. I was in pain during the entire test and the examiner charts the pain every hour, also I had to wear a heart monitor which showed my heart rate very elevated. I did an excellent job durning the test except for sitting. I can't sit very long. Now the problem is according to the report I am able to return to a job doing medium to heavy lifting. They have me down that I can lift up to 60 lbs occasionally and 43 lbs frequently. I was completely honest and did my very best during the test but there is no way I can lift that much weight without being in major pain. Just last month I carried a bag of rock salt 20lb bag from the garage to the house and I was in severe pain for almost 3 weeks. Sciatic pain in my legs for 3 days and severe back pain for 2 weeks. I went for an mri this week which shows a buldging disc at L3 the level above my fusion. The only thing the FCE test said was that I can only sit for 3 hours per day. I applied for SSD in Nov, 2005 and was approved in less than 3 months. The IC hired a Voc. Rehab company to try and find me a job now but who wants to hire a 54 year old with no college, a severe back injury on heavy medications who can't sit or stand long. But I have to go along and play the game. Good Luck.