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Income Protection Insurance - Your Experience


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Hi,  I have made a claim on my income protection policy and this has been rejected, which I challenged.  In my challenge I made reference to Behind the Gray pointing out that my experience of only being able to work significantly reduced hours is entirely consistent with others who have undergone a NASAH.  I then requested all the documentation on my case under Freedom of Information.

 

In the file that I received I noted a comment by a doctor which said, "  I don't feel it would be appropriate to comment on this further as it is always hard to interpret these types of sites.  It is well recognised that there is a tendency for people with extremes of the condition to be more likely to contribute and there is no indication of whether this would be a representative sample"  

 

The file also contains comments from three doctors that say the "overwhelming medical evidence" is that people who have suffered a NASAH make a full recovery and go back to the same jobs working the same hours.

 

Does anyone have any comments, or even better any data on recovery and returning to work?

 

Many thanks

 

Graham

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No Graham unfortunately.  The problem is that opinions vary from GP to GP and from Specialist to Specialist.  I really wouldn't know where you could find data either, and again, its likely to have been compiled by the same professionals.

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Hi Graham

 

Have you had a consultation with a neuro psychologist? Mine did a report which my works Occupational Health took very seriously.  Something like that would help in your claim.

I think if you do research you will see that a large percentage of people having suffered a sah never return to their pre bleed working hours. Whether it is aneurysmal or not is beside the point, many people with aneurysmal bleeds make good recoveries.

 

Good luck!

 

Clare xx

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Hi Graham

 

Sorry to hear that your claim was rejected.

 

I do agree with the first doctor's statement that support sites are not representative samples as patients who make a complete recovery are less likely to contribute,  however I don't agree with the other doctors' statement that there is "overwhelming medical evidence"  that people who have suffered a NASAH make a full recovery and go back to the same jobs working the same hours. I  don't think that there is enough research information to support this statement.

 

I'm not sure medical professionals know the true long term effects of an NASAH - they rarely do any follow up on us! I can imagine that there are lots of NASAH patients who get discharged and make a good enough recovery that they never have to be referred back to a neurologist but that does not necessarily equate to making a full recovery.

 

I know my own neurosurgeon, lovely though he is, seemed very surprised that I was not feeling better than I was at my 2 month NASAH follow up. That was why it was so good to find BTG, just to realise that I wasn't that unusual, otherwise I think I would have been constantly plagued with worries that there was still something medically wrong with me that needed investigating. It was nice to be reassured that actually I was just making a fairly normal recovery.

 

I get regular follow ups because I have an unruptured aneurysm so I think I'll make a point at my next appointment (September) to inform them if symptoms are ongoing - not because I'm worried about them but just so they know!!!!!! At my last appointment in September (8 months post NASAH) I saw my neurosurgeon's junior. When I mentioned that I still suffered headaches and fatigue he did at least acknowledge that "these things take time". When I said that I was still sensitive to noise and light and asked if this was likely to improve he just said "probably". To be honest I wasn't really expecting much else as I know that it is difficult for doctors to give definite answers on these issues but I suppose I was just hoping for a little more interest.

 

I don't know if you have seen this research - it has some studies on PM- NASAH. It is a very limited sample but acknowledges that there is a need for further reasearch in this area.


https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303848012_Long-term_fatigue_after_perimesencephalic_subarachnoid_haemorrhage_in_relation_to_cognitive_functioning_mood_and_comorbidity

 

Regards

Susie

 

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Thanks Susie,

 

I agree with all your comments and the research article is very helpful.  My impression has been that the medical fraternity do not fully understand the long term outcomes from NASAH and this research suggests that the experts have more research to do.  I will use this in my next response arguing that my Insurers advisers are too quick to dismiss fatigue issues.

 

Many thanks for your help.

 

Graham

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Graham, do you belong to a union? If you do a representative may be able to help you with your battle.

I vaguely remember someone else a good while ago having similar problems but I can't remember the outcome or if it was even posted. Do a site search  for "insurance"

 

Sorry I haven't got time to search myself for you at the moment.

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Hi Graham

 

I would be interested to know if the doctors' statement of "overwhelming medical evidence" was based on a large scale research sample or just an individual opinion based on their own experience.

 

More to the point though, even if the majority of NASAH patients do make a full recovery, which may or may not be true, I do not see why that should automatically negate the claims of those that don't.

 

It also depends on the nature of your job - some jobs may be easier to return to than others after a haemorrhage.

 

Good luck.

Susie

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Hi Susie,

 

Having been through the extensive papers provided to me by the insurers I can't find any reference to specific research but just general opinions expressed.  In my next response I will I ask for substantiation of these opinions and also stress that  these opinions are interesting background at best, but say absolutely nothing about me in particular.

 

Regarding my occupation I was a Finance Director and required to work in a very mentally demanding environment for long hours.  In my next response I will also be stating that there does not seem to be much attention given to understanding my Neuropsychological Assessment in the context of my specific work role.

 

I will keep you posted....and any further thoughts are most welcome.

 

Graham

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Hi Graham,

 

I would ask the questions of the three doctors "Where is the overwhelming evidence?  Where is it to be found and how do I get hold of a copy?  If it does not exist where did you get the information for you to make such a a sweeping statement?"

 

Of those who did go back, how many went on to reduce hours or stop altogether, as I did?

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