PIP Assessment Fibromyalgia
Posted , 11 users are following.
I feel so stressed and anxious. The brown envelope fell through the door this morning stating that I am not eligible for PIP at all. The letter goes on to say why I missed on points which is making me furious. My daughter who accompanied me to the assessment explained that I cannot take my own meds, wash bathe without assistance, and could not manage to plan a journey or do my own expenses She does all of this for me these days due to my fatique, lack of concentration and fibro fog The paperwork that I have just received says that I need no assistance in any of the above listed ????? Why do they bother to ask at assessment if they are going to provide their own answers???? Have cried most of the day as really dont think that I have the stamina to go through it all again
Any advice welcome Thanks x
3 likes, 18 replies
leona18728 wendidly643
Posted
I really don't know how they come to there decisions at all it's always the genuine disability people who they mess around,
And we all know what stress does for us
I want to say a lot about people who are on benefits who have nothing wrong, lie through there teeth or have not paid or contributed in anyway and have fraud this country out of millions of pounds, but it's not the right place
I'm a tax payer and have worked all my life and still work now, I have no problem at all with people claiming when genuine, but they make it so hard for the likes of you and many other genuine cases,
Sorry for rant it makes me mad and upset to hear cases like yours
Don't give up find the strength you deserve it,
Thoughts are with you keep us informed on how you get on, we're all behind you
Leona
sfarrell38 wendidly643
Posted
leona18728 sfarrell38
Posted
I'm really pleased for you.
SteV3 wendidly643
Posted
I don't think I seen you around the forums before, but I may have spoken and forgot, bad memory with me, but thats Tramadol for you! What you need to do is forget what they are saying about you entirely, regardless of what you put on the Award Form Application or said to the Assessors will not make a scrap of difference. Basically, you've caught them at the wrong time, the DWP is denying more Awards than putting through, excuses range from letters gone missing, medical forms gone missing, etc.
It is sad to see cases like yourself, whom it is obvious to most people may have health issues, but to these Assessors they know nothing about your condition in detail. These so called Health Assessors, some are not even trained as such, they are Paramedics that ATOS bought out of the NHS, at £30,000 a year, around £7k more than a normal paramedic wage. Qualifications needed, well that is just a sinngle diploma!! nothing more. They are not specialists in any form, and even your own GP would know more than these so called Assessors. Lately, where ATOS has been dropped, they have replaced by MAXIMUS, and they pay £60,000 for their Assesors because they are buying Occupational Therapists!! This is why there is a lot you do not see in the media and what is really going on, actually the top people behind all this are about to be investigated under EU policies, regarding the tactics used against the sick and disabled of the UK.
Believe me, it's nothing to do with you personally, the DWP has been instructed to clear the backlog by denying applications even if they are legitimate claims, but that's what they have been told to do. The current backlog is around 800,000 - 1,000,000 claims or appeals, they think that if they deny the award, the claimant will not appeal against their decision. Of course many people that see the brown envelope these days think it's bad news, even I do from the DWP.
The DWP is denying PIP/DLA and even ESA claims, there are other areas they are hitting benefits as well, which is affecting thousands, I am one of them - but even with letters from them they deny as evidence against them. They are trying everything possible, and people from the public can do nothing about it, because they are Exempt from most Goverment Acts.
What they don't expect is you to appeal, but I am telling you now, appeal even if you need more details, or content - get it and throw it at them ( make sure you keep photocopies of everything though, because they have a tendancy to lose paperwork! ). They tried this with me recently, regarding paperwork dating back to 2005, but I'm a hoarder, and a good job when dealing with the DWP. They lie all the time, and take long pauses when asked questions which I found out a few months ago!
By the way, if they ever phone you, make sure you get these details at the start of the call:
Their Name: By Law they do not have to disclose their Surname, but at least their first name.
Their Group Number: Most of them have these.
Their Call Centre (as in name of City, etc).
This information you can state that you are logging the details of the call. Make sure you note the time and date, for your reference. These details can be used to trace back to callers at the DWP.
Whatever, you do - make sure you appeal, it might take time but bear in mind you can draw out an appeal as much as the DWP by asking for a 2 week extension on the 28 days they give you. Look at it in the long run, you win they have to pay back all the weeks since the Award was first received by them, this government is making enough off the sick and disabled, with no end in sight at the present.
If you have any questions, just ask... plenty of people on here know the truth behind the DWP, and many others elsewhere.
I wish you all the best.
Regards,
Les.
SteV3
Posted
Check your letter in the brown envelope to see if it states in the box ‘Type of professional’ and it states ‘Health professional’.
If you have a severe mental health condition, for example, and your assessment was carried out by a physiotherapist, you may want to raise this if you have to appeal the decision. A good start to fight them on why you were turned down for PIP. This is what I mentioned in my previous message, and it is now recognized by the DWP has being incorrect, therefore it gives you another reason to Appeal.
If your PIP report doesn’t tell you what sort of health professional wrote it, inform Capita. I could tell you more but the post or content would be removed by moderators, so I have to be careful on what content I write.
Regards,
Les.
christine26761 SteV3
Posted
SteV3 christine26761
Posted
Thank you for the comments, much appreciated! What goes on in the UK, is normally kept quiet, but papers have been leaked out and now other countries are seeing the UK for the real truth, and believe me it is bad.
I will PM you a few details...
Regards,
Les.
wendidly643 SteV3
Posted
SteV3 wendidly643
Posted
Firstly, thank you for replying, I know this can be a very daunting experience, if you are unsure about Appeals and Tribunals and at what levels you can fight your appeal on. UK Laws make it even more impossible, for some people with various disorders - the DWP is well known lately for using "dirty tactics", which we have to put up with, well in most cases. The problems we have is laws that come from Brussels, and then you have others from our own country (with many countries looking at how our country is currently being run, and have listed numerous people whom are now under investigation, regarding the sick and disabled and how we are treated).
I was going to answer you last night, but I picked up your email when I was in bed, and time was getting on, so I left it overnight. A few hours makes no difference for an appeal anyway. This should be stated in your letter where you have 28 days to appeal, ignore this - you can phone the DWP and ask for a 2 week extension to gather further evidence. I know these letters can cause stress and anxiety, (I found out yesterday that mine is due to be switched from DLA to PIP, and I rely on our car which is on Motability Scheme, the chances of disabled losing their cars has now come to just 1 in 3, which is bad - some are already banned while others are awaiting outcomes of their assessments!) so, let's get back to you and your first port of call.
What your doctor said to you is very rude, is there other doctors that work in the same Surgery as he does?
It sounds like your doctor has no pity or concern for the sufferings or misfortunes that you are going through, and this is why I asked the previous question. You can ask for a second opinion by another doctor, this is what I would do. The two medications you have mentioned, Paracetomol and Amitriptyline, can be used together but they are not both painkillers, that most people think.
Paracetomol is probably the lowest form of painkiller there is on the market, if the pain you suffer from is extreme then these are useless on their own.
Amitriptyline is a bit of a confusing medication and was mainly used as an anti-depressant drug. These days, it can be used to normalise disturbed REM sleep / deep sleep patterns in fibromyalgia-type syndromes and also to lower moods in depression and nerve related pain.
The only reason why I know about both of these is because I have to take them every day, along with Tramadol (I do not recommend this drug, it maybe a very good painkiller, but does have some very nasty side-effects, at first these hit you and knock you out - literally! You can sit down, and be asleep in minutes and do not even know you are asleep! But they can be addictive, I only take them as prescribed and even 200mg a day is classed as high dose. If a doctor thinks you can be trusted with this Class drug then they prescribe them at 100 at a time, with me that lasts nearly 2 months, but younger people tend to start using them as recreational drugs, and use the whole 100 in a week! It's dangerous to even do this, and I would not attempt it, and I don't encourage people to do such things, even though they do come on here asking how they can get more!!! Because their doctors will not prescribe them anymore!).
Some painkillers are addictive, while others do not suit all people and can cause stomach problems amongst other issues.
That's the drugs out of the way, but I will come back to them in a minute, but I would like to point out a few things first. You doctor or GP will not know everything about Fibromyalgia, he is just a GP that knows a little about most illnesses or disorders and does not specialize in just one area of medicine so you need to be seen by either a Neurologist or a Rheumatologist, ask to be referred to see such a specialist, if he will not refer you then I would seriously ask for a second opinion from another doctor who will refer you to see a specialist. Fibromyalgia in general medical terms is quite new and a GP will know little about the disorder.
I will also get a friend of mine to look at your posts as well, she also suffers from Fibromyalgia, so she would know more than myself, and can give you some more information on the disorder, and hopefully between all 3 of us we can get you the appeal you really need.
Sorry, for the long post - I'm well known for doing that, probably because I prefer to deal with everything in detail. I hope now that you can see that your doctor is in the wrong, - Oh, before I end this message don't ask to be referred to a Pain Management Clinic, this could cause adverse effects with medications that could lead to other problems - the Rheumatologist I would say ask to be referred to first. You can hold back the DWP, while collecting evidence anyway.
Regards,
Les.
wendidly643 SteV3
Posted
SteV3 wendidly643
Posted
What I said about a G.P also applies to Health Assessors for the DWP, they are not specialists at all. To be honest with you, this might sound stupid but I cannot wait to face them, that is if they will give me a "face-to-face" assessment. Now you're proobably thinking why would anyone want to go to a "face-to-face" assessment, it's because I have that many problems wrong with me, they would get lost, not only do I have 4 or more conditions that I have to put up with daily, I have to take over 30+ tablets a day at 6 intervals, I also have 6 BoTox Injections every 10 weeks at the hospital by Neurologists. I have to see my own G.P a few times every month - because of on-going tests. Just last month I was signed off Cancer remission, most people think that is bad, but I have been through much worse, having 2 major stomach operations which took over 10 months to recover from, but I'm having second thoughts lately, because of various tests I've had done and none of them are showing up anything, which is what happened about 2 and a half years ago. Even my own doctor is puzzled, and she has referred me for numerous tests. I also see a Pain Management Doctor every 6 months, and an Epilepsy Specialist. My hospital records, bearing in mind I do get rushed in to hospital quite regular is actually 3 Volumes of A4 paper thick, every scan I have had done at some point. I was first diagnosed over 30 years ago by a Professor in Neurology from the USA, I had to meet him several times in Queen's Hospital in London, every 3 months. Can you imagine me having a job? It got to a stage where I had no choice but to fit appointments around appointments. I had 2 appointments yesterday, one in the morning followed by another in the afternoon. I have no idea about the DLA to PIP changeover, many people see me and think I suffer from MS, but thats far from the truth, okay what I do have is progressive and in the past few years as advanced beyond anything I expected. But like my wife says if I can still manage to do certain things, which isn't a lot - I wish I could do more, but the harder I try to do something my brain becomes completely confused sending the wrong signals everywhere. I rely on my wife 24/7 it's difficult, not only for me but for her as well. The last time the DWP looked at my records they asked me for more time because of all the complications and medications I have to take.
I can send you some sites that may help you in many respects, I'll look up a copy of the email I have here. I'll wish you all the best for your referrals, and hope your doctor sees it from a different perspective that previous visits.
Regards,
Les.
max02878 wendidly643
Posted
Don't give up, you'll get it. Good luck x
jayne03174 max02878
Posted
SteV3 jayne03174
Posted
I would recommend that you have someone with you when you have your assessment. Some people record the Assessment, this is your prerogative, but it gives you assurance that they cannot lie on the PIP Award, and this does go on, many have lost their awards by this action being taken against them. PIP is a 'non-means tested' benefit so you can still claim it even if you work, but it can change your PIP award amount, depending on your job.
Regards,
Les.
Dimples60 wendidly643
Posted
i am still awaiting my decision to gain the PIP benefit for the second time so I was reassessed as mine runs out early June. My condition has worsened and I am feeling anxious that I won't get it again. In your case I suggest you check every sentence written in the decision and write a letter of appeal, giving reasons for each description that scores you your points, make sure you go against each decision that you feel is wrong. I would make a copy before you post it to them and ring them to ask what address to send the letter to. They may offer sending you an appeal form. The next part of the process is to ensure you have medical evidence from professional medical people to back you up. I went with my sister in law when her DLA was not reinstated to a tribunal, it was like being in a court room, however they were very understanding and I quoted the descriptors that were completely the opposite of what the healthcare assessor had written about her. They overturned the decision and she was awarded full DLA and receive a nice lump sum of back pay that they owed her.
just keep all dates and take names of anyone you speak to in the DWP dept if you ring.
i hope you fight on to get what you should be entitled to, it may seem a long harduous journey but it will be worth it in the end.
good luck
dimples 60
SteV3 Dimples60
Posted
1. Note time of call, duration and date.
2. Ask for the DWP Employee's Name (By government Legislation they do not have to give you their surname!)
3. Ask for the Team Number (This is specific to which centre you are diverted to)
4. Also ask for the Centre Location.
The aforementioned can be used to find if need be, for future reference.
One thing you need is to know, the DWP employees are paid to lie, even if you have received direct post from them, they do not class a letter from their own company as legal documents, you normally end up with them saying "It may be sent out by a computer error!" - this is what I normally get.
On the phone with them, you have to know exactly how their systems work, the same applies with the HMRC, both government operated and protected and exempt from many Acts if you try that approach.
If you know what you are doing you can throw them in to confusion, theres nothing that is 100% perfect and that includes the government systems. I have done it many times, but you need to know the systems work, to get past the low level and second levels of these departments - that does take time to learn and use.
The HMRC tried to get me to start paying tax on ESA - in the end I got them to wipe £1,477 off. And, a few days ago I got another letter again stating I owe over £6,000+ this time, needless to say that will be wiped once I phone them tomorrow.
What surprises me is when I phone them and fire questions at them, they have no choice but to transfer me to supervisors, but they are also confused and pass me on to their manager sections, that's when I get my problems sorted. That's when I normally get asked how did I manage to work it all out! lol I maybe disabled, but that does not mean I'm oblivious to everything going on.
I have to be having a very good day, to even phone the DWP - because normally like many, I just sit back and take every word, even if it is a lie. I got Physiotherapy tomorrow, so that may throw me off balance (pardon the pun!), so I may leave contacting them until Wednesday, when I am more with it and not in so much pain.
Anyway, thats the details you need for a DWP call and a note pad or a computer in front of you.
All the best,
Les.