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Prinzmetal

I am a 50 year old male and am under investigation for Prinzmetal angina and appear to fit the profile quit well. Early morning angina, relieved with nitro spray. Comes and goes, may be bad for 1-2 weeks, then nothing for 4. I have day pain which consists of tightness in chest, shortness of breath, burning in the arms and sometimes sharp pains in the left side of my chest, these come and go as well but are usually around most of the time and get worse in the afternoon. First problems in fall of 2006, spent a month in the hospital, had a stent, sent home and had an MI 3 days later. I have experienced this pain from the start although it has changed in some ways over time. Stress test revealed nothing as did Holter monitor. Medication I am currently on, ASA, 0.6 Nitro, 5 mg Ramipril, 10 mg Norvasc, 40 mg Lipitor and 40 mg Pantaloc.
My dilemma is this, the insurance co I am with says that I am not disabled and cut me off from benefits last year, I am now broke and am faced with a decision whether to return to work and give up on my insurance claim or try to fight them and get what I believe is entitled to me. My occupation is Gas Well Tester and I work in the Canadian north on oil and gas wells in a very strenuous and demanding atmosphere. I tried returning for 2 weeks this winter but was not comfortable and had 7 attacks within 3 days of returning home. I do not want to die at work, nor do I want to put my family through a life of poverty. They cut off my death benefits so suicide is not even an option. I don't know what to do.
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Avatar universal
yes i get the attacks in the morning. its a very very bad feeling , i try to work everday but i get very sick i don't like taking the nito . i get very bad head pains.when i go to the hosp they give ntio by iv it works the chest pains go away for the time being in the hosp.
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Avatar universal
Do you get the early morning attacks? Does it feel like you're going to die? I have let them go as long as I can to see what will happen but always end up taking the spray. Once, in the hospital they wouldn't let me take the spray, just kept increasing the morphine, longest 1/2 hour of my life. I just realized what I have a short while ago and have had no one to talk to, the doctors don't tell you ****.
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367994 tn?1304953593
You are correct, work circumstances makes a difference. And I don't believe the airline pilot would be required to go to work in a stock room either.  The issue may be whether it is work related for insurance disability, and for an airline pilot the stress on the job can cause an attack of severe chest pain.

Workman's comp here in the states has partial and full disability, physical and/or mental. There are on-the-job stress claims of anxiety, depression  that qualify for total disability!

There may be a case were one's physical health causes disabling mental functionality, and here in the US that condition would be covered by social security!
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Avatar universal
Thanks for your advice, I do have a letter from my current cardiologist stating that I am not to return to work and I sent it to the ins co where it fell on deaf ears. I think my immediate concerns are, what would be the consequences of my return to work? How much risk, i'm not afraid of work but I don't want to die there just to satisfy those greedy people. They say there is no arbortration process, can they do that? They say that if a person can perform 60 % of they're duties, that they are not disabled. I say thats fine for a stock boy but what about an airline pilot?
Thanks again
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Avatar universal
HI I have prinzmetal's angrina to I been in the hosp 9x starting in12-07 todate my med have changed 7x my med today or isosorbide mono 60 mg 2x aday nifedipine 60 mg1x aday nitroglycerin .4 mg as needed also amitriptyline 10mg at night
i still have chest pain about 2-4x aweek
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367994 tn?1304953593
If you have the time and inclination, you can go to your area's (Providence?) public library (help available) or the internet to read your area's code for workman's comp (whatever it is for Cananda).  You can also go to the internet and view the code of a US state code.  You will get a general idea what is considered a permanent disability, etc.

I was engaged in a family dispute regarding an estate controversy for a couple of years.  I represented myself against an opposing attorney, drafted and filed petitions, answered petitions, twice filed a Complaint against the attorney with the state bar (lost but my complaints were on record and provided a history) representd myself at a hearing, etc. and I prevailed.  I studied state Supreme Court rulings, District court rulings, state code for estate, etc.   You can do the same with Canada's disablity law or get an understanding of the law, represent yourself, or see an attorney if you feel the law is applicable for your situation.

There is saying those who represent themselves in a legal battle has a fool for a client.  I was lucky, tenacious, and most important had the law on my side.  If you have a strong case, you may be able to get a lawyer on a contingency basis.  Also, something that may strengthen your case is to get the opinion of a doctor (that may make the difference of winning or losing).
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