I am worried about being reassessed for PIP from indefinite mobility component of DLA

Hi Les so your still waiting then to hear, i re read one of your oldest posts and im feeling pretty confident you should be ok. You shouldnt even be being asked to try and get PIP, in my opinion some should be just switched over without having to see these peopleA doctors and hospitals reports should be enough. its all so unfair and so unjust. Most of us who got it indefinatley are far worse many years later not better! 

Hi Susan there's 2 les one les63 and the other one its les99, 

Hi Sue, I'm the other Les.

I too am/was in a similar situation. Aged 67, told to apply for PIP a few months back. I was on High Mobility/Middle Care.

The DWP messed up the transfer and closed my transfer down. Now too old to put in another PIP claim. Thankfully I handed back my Motability car back in July 2013 after only 18 months or so and bought my own knowing that this ay happen.

 

Hi Les, oh im so sorry,If they messed it up then why were they allowed to close it down, so unfair it really is.

Sue 

Lol right  so which one are you 63 or 99!  Recieved your pm thanks and replied.

Sue 

Hi Susan,

Yes, I'm still waiting to hear for the PIP Award Application Form, the problem is even though I'm on DLA "indefinite" it is a totally different Allowance, Benefit or Payment - so basically your making a brand new claim on a new allowance named PIP.

There have been a few cases I've seen go straight from DLA High both Rates to PIP Enhanced both Rates on "indefinite", but this changes to 10 years which I am assuming is the maximum period for PIP Claims.

Doctors records, Neurologist Consultants and even the President of British Neurology I am under - all sounds good, even on paper, but we all have one obstacle, the "DWP", which is basically untouchable to an extent. In most Acts the DWP is Exempt this includes the Statute Barred which all companies involving money including banks must abide by, yet the DWP is EXEMPT - as one would expect. There is a way around it, but it is not worth paying for.

I know my way around many things in the HMRC and the DWP, you learn - and what you read in the papers is just trash, the same goes on TV - the real news is in front of everyone with a computer, but collating that information and processing it, leads to many questions or mathematical equations. They are always saying about whistleblowers on TV, and they don't know who they are, it does not take a genius to work out who they are and where the source is from.

Going slightly off-topic but then so is alot of what is fed to us on a daily basis.

Regards,

Les.

Hi Les

Thanks for your reply and for the information about the survey.

I haven't recieved the dreaded brown envelope inviting me to apply for PIP yet. I hope it goes well for you when you get migrated over.

Kind regards

John

 

I did not ask for a home visit but was told that they would come to my home for an assessment. Wasn't too bad really but one never knows with these things. I have osteoarthritis in my hips, rheumatoid arthritis every where else I also have rotator cuff in both shoulders, carpal tunnel in both hands. On top of this I had a heart attack last May followed by gall stones which will be operated on once I come off the blood thinners. I have vertigo, high blood pressure, panic attacks and am deaf in one ear!!' Not looking for sympathy just showing that I am not a well person. All this is backed up by medical records but I still have to go through an assessment. I am 67 this year and cannot get out of the house without my mobility car which my husband drives. This change to Pip really is not doing me any good and I am now worrying on top of everything else. A better system is needed!!

Oh forgot to mention I also have fibromyalgia and have a history of TIA's to add to my little list above. Cant walk far, cant bathe on my own cant cook a meal, hold a book to read or dress without hubby's assistence, but hey ho they think I am fine.!!

Hi Christine

Thanks for you reply. The stress of the assessment on top of everything else you have to live with on a daily basis must be terrible. I really hope it goes well for you. How soon is the home assessment? will you feed back to how you get on with it please.

Kind regards

John

Hello john, my lady arrived at 09.05 and left at 10.00.She asked me for any relevant paperwork which they had copies of but I also had a new letter from my GP stating that I could not walk more than 20 yards without being in acute pain, could not go out on my own because of the vertigo, could not do household chores and that I also had chronic heart disease. She took this letter with her as she said it was important

Anyone going for an assessment should apart from medical records get a personal letter from their doctor. She asked to see all my medication and an up to date prescription. Basically she wanted to know how my illnesses affected my every day life

She asked if I could do a few exercises, which I could not apart from touching each finger tip on one hand. She asked about hobbies and did I go out, she asked if I had visitors, like family. That was basically it really, so now it is the worrying waiting game.

Christine i hope you get it, you deserve too. I wont as ive got M.E. i have no paperwork, am on no medication, under no specialist. When i get my letter in the brown envelope thats it for me im afraid.

Sue 

Hi Christine,

This will probably interest you regarding PIP

Here's a well known fact about PIP - I thought I would share. Any Claimant that has Fibromyalgia, which affects mostly women is an automatic claim for PIP Award Applications.

It came to light after a case involving a woman who applied for PIP when she had Fibromyalgia, however when the vulnerable woman attended her assessment she was told by the female assessor this "Fibromyalgia, is just a name given to women by doctors when they do not know whats wrong with you, so this claim is void".

A woman that worked for the DWP seen what the woman had posted on a forum on how she lost her PIP Claim, and was disgusted. They did actually trace the woman that did the woman's assessment, and she was dismissed from her job!

The reason why this happened was because the assessor read up on Fibromyalgia, from the Governments A-Z Handbook. I even checked this myself, the handbook as just 2 entries referenced on two pages stating that the condition was jusf a pain in the back. But if you cross-reference the data with the BMA (British Medical Association) then you find a huge difference, to be exact it is a 17 page document for Fibromyalgia.

Regards,

Les.

Thanks Les wow theres hope for us yet then, i wonder if that includes me who has a form of firbromyalgia  with the M.E.  Thing is im not on any medication for this, doctor told me she could give me something to help cope mentaly but nothing for the pain. I refused, maybe i should have said yes and be taking it regardless!

Hi Susan,

If I was you (and that is even possible these days!! not that I would want to be a woman, after seeing over the years what my wife goes through, and my 15 year old daughter has only just started!). ...And, they say men have the easy life, well it is if you're not tied down with a dam disorder that you never even heard of, until I had an accident in my early 20's!

I would take a trip to your doctor and ask for a referral to a Rheumatologist that specialise in Fibromyalgia and instruct your doctor to give you the correct tablets, not just pain killers. Then you'll have an official report that you suffer from Fibromyalgia and how it affects you day to day living.

Gabapentin is usually given for nerve pain, I have been on them it before, not large doses but enough to take the edge off the pain. Plus you have Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E) which is probably your core disorder which affects the nerve system. You should have a good case for PIP, depending on how you find tasks on a daily basis.

You certainly, have a case there Susan, and it is not like you can fake either condition. I would get to your doctors for a referral ASAP.

Did you actually state you had Myalgic encephalomyelitis and Fibromyalgia when you applied for PIP? I just wondered because they do not allow you to add ailments once a PIP Award Claim has been sent in.

Regards,

Les.

I totally agree with you les, my rheumatologist deals with fibro as well

I have injections but they are not working anymore so I see my consultant at the end of the month who is going to prescribe something stronger! Remember I have both forms of arthritis as well so sometimes my pain is unbearable. But you know I find that those of us in real pain and of a certain age just grit their teeth, don't moan and get on with it. Maybe we should moan more? Sorry but it's not in my nature, are we to stoical sometimes.

HI Les no i havnt applied for PIP yet, im still waiting for that horrible letter to arrive, At the moment im getting DLA still, i count very months as a blessing i really do. 

Regards 

Sue 

This interests me. How did you manage to get your doctor to assess you in that they say you cannot walk more than 20 metres?

I had a test about 4 years ago one on of those treadmills at the hospital. It was set for a slow (half normal walking) speed on a very slight incline. I managed about a dozen steps then collapsed thankful for the bars at either side. It assessed me as the max distance in pain was 43 metres with no pain 4 metres!!

Do GP's have this sort of eqipment now - it would certainly help those trying to prove distances of walking for PIP?  

???? No one knows you better than your own GP Les otherwise we would all be in trouble. My hips have had more photo's taken (x-rays) than the royal family. The erosion has got progressivly worse over the last 8 years and now I am in pain just sitting !! I cannot sleep at night because I dont know which way to turn and I know I will end up in a wheelchair within the next 2/3 years. My doctor has treated me, injected me, x-rayed me for the last 8 years so he knows that I could not walk 1 yard without being in pain  .....reason because I am in pain 24/7. This is what these numbskulls have to realise when assessing you. Why do I have to prove it and perform like a circus act when the ''real'' professionals eg. doctors have diagnosed my illnesses. Do we really need doctors in this day and age? according to the DWP no we dont because they know it all.

P.S Also after my heart attack in May I had to have an isotopic heart scan which meant I could not use the treadmill as normal patients do. The reason was because there was no way I could have waked 3 steps without falling off. When you have real illness you should not have to go through all of this palaver, it is stressful and upsetting and could in my case cause further damage to my health.

Hi Christine,

ATOS looks your problems, illnesses or disorders in an eZine called The A-Z Adult Medical Conditions. According to IDS it was leaked on to the web, which is what was in the National News and papers, which was a load of rubbish, the actual document say "Staff Only" yet anyone with a computer can view it. It's nearly 800 pages, and has very little on conditions. I found it by, mistake on Google, that's our Gov't's security for you...useless. lol

The real ATOS professionals are nurses, paramedics (whom only need a single diploma to work as a paramedic), Occupational Therapists and cheap doctors. The DWP cannot even hold their own staff, even some have been sacked because they took more than 7 days off sick in a year!

Nothing surprises me with them at all.

Regards,

Les.  (not the one you replied to - people get confused by us)

Ooops sorry x

Hi Christine,

I wish I could just grit my teeth and bear my pain, but over years it has become so much progressive, and pain is unbearable. Tramadol is really getting me down, I should not even be on it, but was told to take for two weeks at 50mg, that two weeks ended a few years ago now, and the Tramadol was upped to 200mg SR (slow release) so basically it stays in my system 24/7 without no drop-off points. On top of that I take 2,000mg of Paracetamol and 20mg of Amitriptyline at night. Two of these medications are causing me to have seizures more often.

I have Botox Injections which are getting to a point where they are wearing off far too quick. I am on Madopar, which is supposed to do the same as the BoTox but in tablet form, but I am not on the full dosage.

The trouble with Dystonia is the muscle cramps, tender joints, swollen legs, ankles and feet, calf cramps are bad enough, but cramps in your face, neck, feet and toes, along with spasms that do not stop unless I'm asleep, and the only way of sleeping is on my back and take enough tablets to knock me out. I have to sleep in a sitting position every night, it is horrible, because even using a V-Neck pillow some nights I wake up in such awkward positions and in more pain, legs feel like lead weights caused by numbness, but I was told to adjust the bed so my legs are up higher than my body.

In November last year I had a Chronic Breakdown - no one had ever seen me like it in my life. Basically, all my life I have put up a front when dealing with things like when I lost both parents, and losing my nephew at just 13 months. I'm on anti-depressents now, not quite so bad, but not brilliant either.

Regards,

Les.

Hi Les, it sounds awful the amount of pain you are in and I can sympathise to a degree of knowing what pain is like. Mine is bad but it does not sound half as bad as what you are going through. It does get you down though and that was one of the questions that the lady asked me when here, she said are you depresses and I said I wasn't being treated for depression but I did get depressed about being in pain all the time, well we wouldn't be normal if we didn't!! My husband said after she had gone, but you are depressed !! you are not the same person you were even 2 years ago which I suppose is true but it was to late as she had gone out of the door. It's sad but when you have multiple illnesses and they bombard you with questions you do forget things and only later will think ''Ah yes I should have told her that '' I do get forgetful.......thats why my husband has to fill my dosette box every day and remind me to take my tablets, otherwise I would maybe remember 3 days out of 7. The way they treat us I am afraid is very Dickensian and this country is going backwards and not forwards. If I walked in from another country I would be better treated but because I have been honest, worked hard, paid my taxes, never scrounged and been an upright citizen I am now treated like the lowest of the low. Once this government and any others who get into power, because this has been going on for years, not a Conservative, Labour, Liberal thing but them all anyway they all should get their ears into gear and listen to the people who vote them in, they are there because of us, they are paid because of us, now we want the respect we deserve. Phew that felt good!!

Well put Christine! 

Sue 

Hi Christine,

Well spoken, and straight to the point - the trouble is no one ever listens to the public, or if they do, the government will get us in another - it's a no win situation, and so obvious by the turnouts at polling stations. Only then do you sometimes see your MP or Parish Councillor, and these days they live miles away from you anyway and drive around in high-end cars, regardless of emmissions they go on about so much, which is such is such a global con. Take a look at the large meeting in France on Climate Control, something like 48 members from countries around the world, they all arrive by private jets then from the airport to the meeting its in large diesel cars - I wonder how much pollution that all generated in a few days? Talkabout contradicting everything they are all meeting to try and calm down, when they cause more pollution than anyone. You only need to be stuck in traffic and behind a bus, the fumes are horrendous that we all inhale... And, the government has only noticed in what, the past 30 years or so!

I remember when I used to cycle to work, never got the chance to drive a car, took a few lessons - then had an accident at home, which led to other ailments. One of which was Epilepsy and Functional Seizures. But back then you had to surrender your license for 2 years, not 1 year like these days. At the moment, I'm lucky to go a month without a seizure - but its all related to the nervous system, and nowhere near under control - I have to keep a diary, well my wife does, which type of seizure, date, time and length. Not even paramedics know the types of seizures I suffer from, because they are only taught about Epileptic types not Functional Seizures which have 28 variations! It is my wife that has to inform them, which type because she can tell, but there is only very slight differences between the two. Sometimes my body spasms has got very close to the 60 minute danger point, this is when they have to consider inducing a coma, and be hospital.

My records in hospital is now entering its forth volume, that is the amount of information, that as been pulled together from 2 local hospitals and a London hospital, where I was first diagnosed which took 2 years.

Most of my veins in my arms have collapsed over the years, and having dystonic spasms makes it difficult for nurses and even doctors trying to get blood out of me. It is now come to the point, that on my records - blood tests from this patient must be done via a syringe in a finger or a foot. All my veins collapsed when I nearly died twice within a month in hospital. It is strange, my middle son is 21 and my daughter is 15 cannot stand the sight of blood, they both turn white and go light-headed as if they are going to faint. Whether it is because they have seen me with so many drips and tubes in my body, even my stomach - I don't know. My daughter can't stand having blood tests being done on hear.

Early next month, I'm having all my medications checked - And, I am going to ask again about getting off Tramadol. Trouble with Neurologists is they introduce another medication gradually and then take you off Tramadol, neither of which is easy - I been there before!

Oh well, that was completely off-topic. I just got permission to contribute an article on many Tips that will save many disabled people, pensioners and even younger generations with money problems - most of them, you are not informed that you are entitled to and do not claim, so it goes back to the government. These are many of the benefits that go unclaimed because people do not know they exist. So, it will be a very helpful document and will be added to Alan's post on Resources in the Benefits section.

Anyway, it will take me probably a few days to get it altogether - some of the information is area specific, but it will include links to maps that cover all th UK.

Regards,

Les.