PIP long read but desperate

blades1990

PIP

Hi My wife has many problems she suffers severely with 

1/ DEPRESSION & ANXIETY 

she takes 40mg of Citrapram  daily & Pericyazine to cope with the Anxiety. 

2/ She also has INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS diagnosed in 2004 this causes painful bladder syndrome, infections, & leaking that requires tenna pads being constantly worn there is really no treatment other than Antibiotics to deal with infections this severely adds to the depression. 

3/ She also have ARTHRITIS in both knees medication Co Codamol/Codeine & Creams after scans revealed this it has obviously been lurking in the back ground for some years but really took a turn in the last 2 years she uses two stick but this in turn makes her wrists & arms quite painful restricting her mobility causing it to take the depression & Anxiety of the chart, 

4/ she has been under WELLBEING for 18months & has now got her own dedicated counsellor. 

5/ She was also missed diagnosed with Arthritis in her hip scan showed no ARTHRITIS after 18 months of wating for a scan it is actually 

BURSITIS at the top of her thigh new diagnosis & she has had cotizone injections for this but has been advised as it's been a long time untreated this could or might have no effect. 

6/ She has also just been diagnosed with DIABETESTYPE 2 so this is currently being monitored & we are awaiting to see what will happen there. 

7/ She has HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE & has a appointment with the doctor probably resulting in tablets & also to have a ECG 

8/ CHOLESTEROL she takes Atrovastatin tablets to control it.  

2 POLYPS 

removed after COLONOSCOPY to be investigated due to her stomach pains etc this often causes her to soil herself due to her mobility. 

9/ She take Lansoprazole to help the stomach to cope with the pills.

10/ INSOMNIA 

she takes sleeping pills to help sleep.

11/ Her MEDICATIONS cause many SYMPTOMS ie Mind Fog, Nausea, Constipation,Short tempered, Dizziness, Tiredness, Insomnia. Soiling etc I have to keep on top of her medications or she forgets or gets them mixed up.

12/ SHE IS UNABLE 

to cook for herself she can not reach up or down the cupboards & using the oven is dangerous or any 

electrical appliances due to mind fog she has picked up hot trays & dropped them so she is not able to get involved in the kitchen & being a baker by trade finds it extremely frustrating. 

13/ WASHING 

she has to be strip washed Daily as she is not able to get into the bath we only have a shower over the both so can't shower I have to help her wash it is very difficult but due to soiling & personal hygiene this is vitally important it is done. I have had to stop full time work to help my wife with her mammoth challenges I now do split days as a school taxi driver this way I can start at 7.30 am be home for 9.30am to start to help her get up & sorted out then sort her breakfast get her settled etc & then I  go back at 2pm until 4pm then come back & sort out the tea time meal at least this way I can help look after her & have the weekends to be there & school holidays but it has come at huge financial costs 

14/ she is unable to drive due to her knees, & medications so is reliant on me or family to transport her to appointments etc & this is virtually the only time she leaves the house don't want to & don't want any company like I said mammoth task ahead if this is even possible. 

15/ She has recently been awarded her blue badge. 

16/ she is currently on LCWRA unable to work due to her multiple problems.

17/ PIP when we applied for PIP as we lived outside the UK for 3 of the last 2 years it was denied but I phoned them up & said that it said that there might be grounds to apply if you have lived in EU but no specific information anyway the lady I spoke to put in a MR & we got a letter saying we have a assessment soon I was hoping for some words of wisdom from people who have suffered in a similar way to ourselves & using the correct terminations I'm guessing is critical so any kind words will be gratefully received. 

blades1990

My wife bless her has a PIP assessment coming she has m as my complications & I was looking at the best way to get this across on assessment day

Hannah_Alumni

Hello @blades1990

Welcome to the community! How are you today?

Just to let you know, I popped your post into our PIP, DLA and AA section of the forum to see if more people can help

calcotti

would make sense to combine with 
https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/102996/pip-long-read-but-desperate#latest

poppy123456

PIP isn’t awarded based on any diagnosis. It’s how those conditions affect you against the 12 PIP activities. It’s impossible to compare someone else to your partner because we are all affected differently.
During her assessment you she try to avoid answering any questions with just a yes or no. Try to give as much detail as possible. 

Some people find it helpful to write some notes before the assessment. If you kept a copy of the form you filled in then have a read of that before the assessment.
It can last anywhere from 20 to 120 minutes, sometimes longer.
Once the assessment report is returned to DWP a decision can take up to 12 weeks. 

fourblackbirds

I unfortunately don't have much to add to the fantastic post above, but I would say when she is describing how her conditions affect her, make sure she describes how they affect her on her worst day. I'm sure you're very aware that with so many conditions, every day can feel like a "bad" day, but I would imagine that some are somehow worse than others; try to describe things as if every day is like that (perhaps it really is, I don't know).

I also found this website very helpful, and I would absolutely recommend having a look through together and taking some notes about each section (I took bullet points that I could expand upon; they don't need to be detailed): https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Personal-Independence-Payment-Test/What-is-the-PIP-test

EDIT: Please see the comments below mine; it would seem I have been misinformed by my local services, so I would not want to spread it further (I have crossed out the post but kept it here for accountability).

poppy123456

fourblackbirds said:

make sure she describes how they affect her on her worst day.

This is terrible advice and not something anyone should ever do, it makes me cringe. PIP is based on how you are on the majority of the days and not just on your worst days.

The PIP self test (in your link above) is very misleading and not something i would recommend anyone use unless they fully understand the PIP descriptors and what they mean. It's very easy to overscore yourself and indeed to underscore yourself.

calcotti

fourblackbirds said:

..I would say when she is describing how her conditions affect her, make sure she describes how they affect her on her worst day. I'm sure you're very aware that with so many conditions, every day can feel like a "bad" day, but I would imagine that some are somehow worse than others; try to describe things as if every day is like that (perhaps it really is, I don't know).

That would be completely wrong. The decision should be based on the majority of days and recording only the worst days completely undermines the submission.

JBS2022

Only focusing on your worst day is fraud, if your condition is variable then you need to admit that in the application and assessment. Remember it's how you are affected more than 50% of the time. If someone only suffers minor pain for a few hours a day but suffers excruciating pain once a week then focusing purely on the excruciating pain like it's an everyday occurance is likely to result in a wrongful claim for PIP. Lots of websites spreading misinformation about PIP and potentially getting people into trouble.

fourblackbirds

@calcotti, @JBS2022

Fair enough! This is what I was told at Citizen's Advice, but I will absolutely take your words for it!

calcotti

fourblackbirds said:

@calcotti, @JBS2022
Fair enough! This is what I was told at Citizen's Advice, but I will absolutely take your words for it!

Look at the turn2us link that you included yourself
“ You score points for the sentence that is true for most or over half of the time.”

Appalling if CAB have said to only say what happens on the worst day.