Oh, what the heck

Here’s another one of those posts.

My long-term disability company, the one that says that all of my doctors say that I’m disabled but they just don’t understand, decided they needed to send me for neuropsychological testing. An Independent Medical Examination, where Independent is defined as a doctor that the insurance company chooses and pays. Now I am not against the testing. I think any test that can help determine where I am and what I should do next is great., but somehow I don’t think the insurance company has that in mind. I really don’t have a clue why they are doing this.

This testing is ostensibly used to determine cognitive ability. So far it’s all been memory testing. I know that some of this is supposed to reveal deficits and strengths, and, I imagine, cheats. That last part I don’t worry about. I tell the truth. Period. OK, sometimes I hide my problems but I’m getting better at telling doctors about every little thing.

The first part about cognitive ability testing, that part I wonder about. This really doesn’t feel like an objective test. It is also designed for your average moron – no, seriously, this test is not designed for anyone of above average intelligence. Trust me, if I know you, you would ace this test, in your sleep, heavily drugged.

It also appears to equate knowledge with cognitive ability. If I don’t remember the definition of a word, how do you know that I ever knew the definition of that word? Similarly, you can test my ability to remember definitions, but does that tell you anything about how well I remember the name of my family members, or what a truck is?

Then there’s the problem that this test can only show how you compare to some accepted performance standard. I didn’t have a test before I was sick so there is no baseline to compare the current results to. So there is no way to know, through this test, if I have a deficit compared to how I was before. Not to mention that they guide you through the whole test so they don’t see anything about how you initiate tasks.

Ah well, I’m just ranting. I went into Philly for the test on Friday. I don’t have the energy to do the whole thing in one day so I have to go back. It is exhausting and unexpectedly painful. I fell asleep as soon as I got home, woke up to eat some dinner, and then slept until 2:00 Saturday afternoon. Then I slept for about 12 hours or so each night since, plus naps. I’m going to be in pain until I get some myofascial release therapy.

I was going somewhere with this but I can’t remember where. My brain is on one track right now and it’s a sidetrack from the testing that leads nowhere. I do have other news that I keep meaning to post about, but that will have to wait.