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diagnosed in september 14, refused PIP. feeling low.

Posted , 39 users are following.

steph9852
steph9852

I was diagnosed fibro in September this year after baffling doctors with the condition I have since I was 13. I am now 21. After years of being pushed to one side and being told there was nothing wrong with me, or it was growing pains I finally had an answer. In august I first applied for PIP and in September I was finally diagnosed. I've been through lots of different examinations and tests to prove or disapprove conditions, I have also been on a lot of different medications until finally I'm finding gabapentin is doing at least something to help. After waiting from august until now (December) I was hoping people would realize how much pain I'm in on a daily basis and how much help I need. But this morning came the letter to say the DWP does not think I'm entitled to PIP. They seem to think I can dress and undress muself , although I physically need someone to do this. They also think I am capable of washing although, if wasn't to have someone to help me into the bath, I wouldn't be able to wash.

Sorry for the rambling I'm just astonished people can apply and be successful in recieving PIP when they're in no pain, but because a test proves they have a condition, they are automatically given it. With us with fibro, its like no one believes we have it or the severity of the effects on our body's.

I'd like to hear a few peoples opinions on the subject and whether anyone's actually been successful in claiming PIP. I will be appealing this decision and hopefully something will come about this.

4 likes, 115 replies

115 Replies

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  • jackie20702
    jackie20702 steph9852

    Posted

    I'm so sorry sweetheart you got turned down appeal please can anyone give me any tips ive finally got my medical through 22 dec I'm happy it's finally here but also nervous and suffer anxiety and panic attacks so am worried I'll get knocked back im not confident at face to face confrontation I worry please any help or advice would be a great help thank you for reading im in sooo much pain feel so low im not able to dress myself or now can't make myself meals life is so unfair im no longer working as I was a carer and are not able to continue working xxx💖💖💖
    • steph9852
      steph9852 jackie20702

      Posted

      I will be appealing. I worked out my descriptor points myself and know I have well over enough for the criteria. Don't worry about the medical hun, all that happens is they ask you questions the same as what was on the form and then ask you to do some excersises like bending down and things. If you can't do it, tell them as if your in pain they can't make you. Listen to there questions carefully as they have a tendancy of trying to catch you out. Good luck and let us know how it goes x
    • JulieBadger
      JulieBadger jackie20702

      Posted

      Had mine last week and the lady was very nice.  My hubby came with me (good if you can take someone). She asked me to explain which of my symptoms go with which of my conditions (I have a few). I got really stressed and light-headed part way through and had to lay on the floor.  She offered to stop the interview but I asked to carry on. She did a few of the physical checks of lift each leg, squeeze her fingers. But she stopped it cos it was getting too much for me.  A couple of mental checks re simple maths question, spelling a word backwards and remembering 3 set words.

      She was really nice, but glad its over. Now just the wait for the result. Good Luck xx

    • pollmadoll64
      pollmadoll64 jackie20702

      Posted

      Hi Jackie if you cannot get dressed by yourself upper and lower body plus someone has to make up your meals you should get the right descriptor points. I was awarded 16 points  for 2 years enhanced rate PIPS back in May before shoulder surgery with 4years of having had frozen shoulder and 9years of Fibromyalgia. Due to having had to have shoulder surgery back in September I told PIPS who sent over a totally incompetent assessor who awarded me 7points . I failed by one point so I have failed the Mandatory reconsideration so have now gone for a paper appeal. I have sent in copies of both reports highlighting how the assessor had made twenty mistakes. I am livid this has happened
  • jackie20702
    jackie20702 steph9852

    Posted

    Awww so so sorry to hear that sweetheart I no what your going through im so worried I'll get turned down but like you I get the help I'll let you no what happens have you any advise for me now you been on the medical Hunny and thank you for the reply means so much to me 💖💖💖
    • steph9852
      steph9852 jackie20702

      Posted

      Have i got any advice for the medical? i would just suggest staying calm. Try not to let things worry you, your there to tell them what is wrong with you and how the condition effects you. They are there to listen. If at any point you feel uncomfortable, or pained, don't be worried to say something to them, and stop the interview. Try not to worry hun, it doesn't last that long. I will be seeing the CAB sometime this week, so if worse comes to worse ill help you appeal if you like once i get some advice myself. Ive already wrote up some letters myself. 

      Good luck sweet xx

    • jackie20702
      jackie20702 steph9852

      Posted

      Aww thank you sweetheart for all your help and advise im a worrier I can't relax its part of my condition always tence thank you Steph means a lot 💖💖💖💖💖
  • glen33354
    glen33354 steph9852

    Posted

    Its like banging your head against a brick wall I went to my tribunal on Tuesday had to be there at 2 and I was in the room for neatly 2hours where everything I said got pulled to bits,things like you walked in here OK you've sat OK even tho I was in lots of pain then I had to wait outside we waited over an hour and still no one came out we asked someone how much longer they would be no one new but they said we could go home so we got a taxis and went,next day I got a letter saying I shouldn't of left and I have to go back on another date to get the decision am so mad and feeling let down don't think I can take anymore so good everyone your gonna need it xx
    • steph9852
      steph9852 glen33354

      Posted

      So sorry its came this far. i know people with fibro and other conditions who dont actually need the PIP (they may well have the condition but it doesn't change there way of life. yet they're accepted for PIP instantly without a second glance. They can be sly, just know your doing everything by the book & you will get there, may take a long time but it will happen xx
  • SteV3
    SteV3 steph9852

    Posted

    Hi Stephieee,

    PIP, DLA & ESA are all done, and overlooked by the DWP. At the moment there is a 12 month backlog of Appeals, and in most cases they are being lax and letting them through - this only affects appeals. So, applying now for an appeal within the 28 day period now, would be the best time.

    Filling in a new Claim form for any of the aforementioned, you have to be very careful on how you fill in the form. What most people do is tick either YES or NO to questions, however if you just tick any of those boxes the DWP will just bypass your Claim regardless of what you ticked. It's a vicious circle that you can be stuck in, believe me I've been there and done it myself. What many people fail on is the way the Claim form is laid out, in many parts it looks like they are asking the same questions again, this is not the case at all, you have to take a step back and start thinking logically.

    So many use CAB to fill their forms in, this is not a guaranteed pass to getting awarded PIP, because they follow some of the rules I have already pointed out, meaning you could drop down by a complete award or lose points on the descriptor. The Care Component High Descriptor is the hardest one to get, but not totally impossible - it again depends on how you fill in the claim form.

    I used to be on DLA Mobility High Rate, and Care Middle Rate, and it was like this for over 5 years. The chances of getting the High Rate Care for me was even harder, firstly I was outside the 13 month back payment rate, secondly I had not notified DWP prior to this claim. So, I had many obstacles which were against me. Now, look back at my first paragraph - and read it. I'll enlighten you, the gov't has informed the DWP to deal with as many appeals as possible with no face-to-face interviews. So, this basically kicks your application out, or you get it awarded, this only happened last week, so I'm informed.

    I typed up an article that you might want to read regarding DLA, PIP and ESA Awards on this site:

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/advice-on-applying-for-dla-disability-living-allowance--313511

    If you need any advice let me know.

    Regards,

    Les.

    • steph9852
      steph9852 SteV3

      Posted

      Thanks very much.. I have to have a reconsideration before I'm able to appeal so will be doing that tomorrow morning. I will have a look through your article also.

      Stephanie

    • SteV3
      SteV3 steph9852

      Posted

      Hi Stephieee,

      Have a read through many of my posts, you will find many posts I have done are on this thread - some "high-light points" you should raise on a "face-to-face" interview. Then again in some cases it makes sense to let it go to an appeal, here's part of an email I received just last week:

      :: Quoted part content from an email dated 20th November 2014 ::

      DWP’s Secret Death Reviews Spare Atos, 500k Sanctioned Claimants Disappear

      We can probably guess your views on the fact that an average of two benefits related deaths every month are secretly investigated by the DWP, many following a WCA. But the evidence from such reviews may not be being passed on to coroners courts. Moreover, the DWP are refusing to follow an official recommendation that a medically qualified person should always review Atos medical reports in these circumstances.

      Claimant deaths are increasingly being linked both to WCAs and to sanctions. Two weeks ago Labour MP Debbie Abrahams told IDS in a Commons debate that “People are dying because of these sanctions!”. His reaction was predictably dismissive.

      Meanwhile, two new reports reveal that welfare reform in general, and sanctions in particular, are fuelling ever greater levels of prejudice against unemployed and disabled claimants as well as causing the current massive rise in food bank use.

      Another quoted section regarding Disabled People in the UK

      And the dark art of sanctioning sick and disabled claimants is about to have a little more light thrown upon it, as the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee conducts an inquiry into benefit sanctions. The committee is particularly interested in employment and support allowance (ESA) sanctions and why they have increased so steeply in recent months.

      Sanctions aren’t the only way to cut the benefits bill, however. A top NHS official has suggested a new way of cutting costs: letting the DWP pay GPs extra cash for sending patients back to work more quickly.

      :: Quoted from Benefits and Work UK ::

      There's much more going on in the UK regarding Benefits than people know. Some of it never even gets printed in the Newspapers, TV, etc. A lot of what David Cameron states, makes it sound good to people which is broadcasted, but if you read between the lines you see the real truth and it's not nice.

      The Sanctions being set up is terrible and then you wonder about DLA, PIP & ESA - all have one thing in common ::- THE DWP whom has the last say in all claims. The DWP does not want anyone making additional claims for extra benefits now, they only want to deal with the backlog of appeals and any mid-band applications. This is why the backlog is not going down as

      well as they first planned, more people are applying and others are making appeals against the initial decision, which adds more to their backlog, which is why anyone now making an appeal has an higher chance of being Awarded than Declined.

      I am going to update various articles on here that attract a lot of attention. Many are old and need updating, especially the attention to the PIP & ESA Guidelines.

      Regards,

      Les.

       

    • jackie20702
      jackie20702 SteV3

      Posted

      Hello stranger, missed you les I have been awarded it for 3 years Hunny, will I have to go through the same procedure again in 3 years les, ? worrying already, it's the way I am i worry all the time, I do hope we can stay friends les as you have been a great help to me and many others, your a lovely man hope your doing ok been thinking of you
    • SteV3
      SteV3 jackie20702

      Posted

      Hi Jackie,

      It seems at the moment 3 years is standard, but a few months before the expiry date they will send you a new application pack, what exactly will happen here I am unsure of because there is a lot of changes being made to DLA, PIP & ESA. The main thing we have to take in to account here is not proving yourself to ATOS, but proving yourself to MAXIMUS, and the changes that DWP are bringing in to affect, once ATOS is dropped, but they didn't take into account the number of new Claims, Appeals, Claims for changes in circumstances.

      I have spoken to many American firends and even say that MAXIMUS must have a worse reputation than ATOS, for refusing Awards. I know our current Gov't welcomes them, but this is because they can then add the new 75 page Guide Line in to the equation. This contains some very nasty lines being added, aimed at people with severe depression and have considered suicide. There is already a massive row going on now about how it is worded. If a person was in that state of mind, then this could become a factor whereby they may take their own lives. At the moment and as far as I know these lines have not been removed.

      This is the company the DWP is going to be using once ATOS clears their current backlog, the current issue here is the DWP is experiencing an high volume of new claims, appeals  and the DWP does not want anyone making additional claims on their current DLA or PIP to higher their Award Level. Last year I did this to the Care Component side because so many people were saying you should be high on both components, even though I knew this was true - It was one of those things I never got around to doing, and my wife had to ask what to write with regards to the questions. I never use CAB, I did once and lost my case, their data is not always the latest, so from then on I have always done things on my own with my wife filling in the forms, only because if I start writing anything it may start off looking neat but the more I write the worse it becomes, until it gets to a point where even I cannot read it.

      Anyway, I was on the Middle Rate of the Care Component, so bearing this in mind that ATOS was already overrun, it was an ideal time to apply. I know I shouldn't have applied at this time, because of what I knew. But it went through with no face-to-face interview, and it was upped to Care Component High Rate within 9 months of applying. 

      I knew the backlog was long anyway, and I was not in any hurry, besides it would only be backdated to when I applied. I had a letter about 12 weeks after posting the form stating it was being looked at and they required more time. In my case that would take time because my hospital records is 3 Volumes of reports, x-rays, CT-scans, MRI scans, and I see Neurologists every 10 weeks and sometimes even closer, Oncologists reports, Urology reports, etc... Imagine going through all that, and the numerous medications needed by injection every 10 weeks, and then normal tablets of 40+ a day, and 3 'C' Class medications! Think that's about it, my health history well that would take ages to even go through!

      I wouldn't worry about something thats 3 years away, just be your happy self that you have been Awarded full rate on both. Many people have asked me where to find out such news, there is many places - but they are all on the internet, I have subscribed to various sites so I am kept up-to-date with various changes in Gov't that affect DWP, DLA, PIP and ESA.

      You would be surprised what actually does go on, but the way things are worded in UK Parliament, a normal person would not see the way it would affect people in general. They word in such ways that it makes them look good, in fact it's the dead opposite - I re-word their statements so anyone can understand them.

      I know another long reply, I'll tell you why...lol  I used to run my own forum, where people could fire questions at me - but because it become quite busy and I could not handle the load of questions a day, I eventually closed it down, I ran it as a hobby basically. My replies were always long and full of content, this served two purposes, the first was the answer to the person in detail and the second was to get noticed by the likes of Google, which relies on plenty of content to position your website high in search engines.

      If you want to chat at anytime, you can Private Message me on here - a few people do. Even though I have made many posts on these forums, there is much more I know about that your average "joe bloggs", some of it is how I link whats been recently in the news, but instead of just reading an article and going on to another I don't. This will probably go straight over your head. I find a news article, from that article I apply mathematics to find out various things. Now, you're probably wondering what does News have to do with Mathematics? With me it is simple, to anyone else it would be no connection - but I don't think like anyone, I calculate things in logically. And, of course we can stay friends! smile

      Regards,

      Les.

    • jackie20702
      jackie20702 SteV3

      Posted

      Thank you for that info, that was a good read I would like to be kept updated with it all also as it helps me understand, and helps me with applying for what I'm intitled to my friend has fibromilgia and she been awarded it for life, will the life award come in time or are they, not awarding it for life now ? Are you on facebook ? You have been a great help and have give me the confidence to go forward thank you 💖 any new info would be apriciated as I keep a log of everything x
    • SteV3
      SteV3 jackie20702

      Posted

      Hi Jackie,

      You are very welcome Jackie, if I can help a person then I will - usually it's something I have personally experienced myself in my life. PIP Awarded for life, I'm not sure. DLA is a yes for life, if the condition is one that would never improve over time, only deteriorate then it's granted for life because there is no known cure, and can only be controlled to a certain degree.

      Facebook, hmmmm good question.... I have got a Facebook account, but as a joke I changed my name completely (it was a joke between me and my wife, to do with winding up a friend!). I thought oh cool, I'll change it back, then I found out on Facebook I have to wait 51 days before I can change it again!!  Trust me, for being an idiot! lol PM your email address or name and I will add you. I think my settings on security prevents anyone adding me.

      If you want to add me you will need my email address which I can Private Message you with, but even that is weird and makes no sense. lol 

      I can keep you updated with changes happening in Benefits, or give you sites I subscribe to, so you will get emails when they update anything to do with Benefits, one of which is Taxing DLA and PIP, but this will only happen if Cameron gets re-elected as PM. He will not get my vote I have seen exactly what he's like and had emails pointing out the way in which he words things, so he looks like hes fit to run for running for PM again, no vote from me.

      Regards,

      Les.

    • Clare1234
      Clare1234 SteV3

      Posted

      Hi les

      I have been reading through your forums. O would like some advise please. How do i private message you so i can give you my email address

      Kind regards

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