Managing toilet needs questions

Jon7777777

Hi all I have filled my form in based on my medical conditions, but the question regarding toilet activities am confused with how to answer. 

I have had issues with emptying my bowls for 6 years all on medical records, under consultant and physio.xrays etc, I need a high increase of fibre and depositerys to just empty my bowls a little  which are on repeat prescription, I have not been diagnosed yet to what is causing this problem, it effects my daily life as I am on the toilet at least 6 7 times a day which is not the same as another individual, am very confused how to explain my condition based on the questions but have all the evidence to prove this thank you in advance

poppy123456

Managing toilet needs. This activity considers a claimant’s ability to get on and off the toilet, to manage evacuation of the bladder and/or bowel and to clean afterwards.

This activity does not consider the ability to manage clothing, climb stairs or mobilise to the toilet.

How many times you use the toilet isn’t considered in this activity. 

chiarieds

Hi @Jon7777777 - & welcome to the community. I'm sorry for the difficulties you face & can appreciate that this means you're having to use the bathroom more often than someone else. However with PIP, it's if you can get on/off the toilet, empty your bladder/bowels, & also clean yourself. But, if you can't do any of these actions 'reliably,' such as you're unsafe using the toilet, doing so causes you pain, it takes you a long time or leaves you feeling exhausted, then that may gain you points. Also if you need another person to help you, even if you don't get that help, that would be worth mentioning.

There's no harm in explaining your difficulty, but I don't feel needing a high fibre diet will help with getting any points for that activity.

As with all of the questions, you should give a couple of recent detailed explanations as to the problems you face, i.e. when did it happen, where, what happened, did anyone see this, & were there any consequences to attempting/doing an activity?
Say if you can't do an activity 'reliably,' i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, repeat as often as one would reasonably expect, or if it takes you much longer than someone without a disability.

Jon7777777

chiarieds said:

Hi @Jon7777777 - & welcome to the community. I'm sorry for the difficulties you face & can appreciate that this means you're having to use the bathroom more often than someone else. However with PIP, it's if you can get on/off the toilet, empty your bladder/bowels, & also clean yourself. But, if you can't do any of these actions 'reliably,' such as you're unsafe using the toilet, doing so causes you pain, it takes you a long time or leaves you feeling exhausted, then that may gain you points. Also if you need another person to help you, even if you don't get that help, that would be worth mentioning.

There's no harm in explaining your difficulty, but I don't feel needing a high fibre diet will help with getting any points for that activity.

As with all of the questions, you should give a couple of recent detailed explanations as to the problems you face, i.e. when did it happen, where, what happened, did anyone see this, & were there any consequences to attempting/doing an activity?
Say if you can't do an activity 'reliably,' i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, repeat as often as one would reasonably expect, or if it takes you much longer than someone without a disability.

Thank you for your understanding and advice, it does cause me pain as I also at times have a prolapse, and stuck on toilet for 30 min, it also effects how I eat as am scared niw to eat meals as I can't empty my bowls, I can get on and off fine thou just not the normal time it takes another individual, that's why am confused as it does have a major impact on my life. But the questions do not give me a option to explain my condition

Jon7777777

Jon7777777 said:

chiarieds said:

Hi @Jon7777777 - & welcome to the community. I'm sorry for the difficulties you face & can appreciate that this means you're having to use the bathroom more often than someone else. However with PIP, it's if you can get on/off the toilet, empty your bladder/bowels, & also clean yourself. But, if you can't do any of these actions 'reliably,' such as you're unsafe using the toilet, doing so causes you pain, it takes you a long time or leaves you feeling exhausted, then that may gain you points. Also if you need another person to help you, even if you don't get that help, that would be worth mentioning.

There's no harm in explaining your difficulty, but I don't feel needing a high fibre diet will help with getting any points for that activity.

As with all of the questions, you should give a couple of recent detailed explanations as to the problems you face, i.e. when did it happen, where, what happened, did anyone see this, & were there any consequences to attempting/doing an activity?
Say if you can't do an activity 'reliably,' i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, repeat as often as one would reasonably expect, or if it takes you much longer than someone without a disability.

Thank you for your understanding and advice, it does cause me pain as I also at times have a prolapse, and stuck on toilet for 30 min, it also effects how I eat as am scared niw to eat meals as I can't empty my bowls, I can get on and off fine thou just not the normal time it takes another individual, that's why am confused as it does have a major impact on my life. But the questions do not give me a option to explain my condition

I don't always have a prolapse but when I do I can't get off the toilet myself as too much pain there is nobody to help me and I need to sit there for 20 30 min until it corrects it self so truthfully I should answer no would that be how I can explain my condition thank you very much again 

Squeakypips

IMHO:

Condition - proplapse + whatever else

Evidence, anything prescribed, note from you GP saying how the problems you are reporting are consistent with the condition being treated.

Make it clear that you have extended pain.

Make it clear that the prolapse is what causes you physical difficulties.

If you need any special appliances but still get poo on your hands/clothes/body/ceiling etc, then say so.

Make it clear how long it takes, and that it's several times the time it would have taken you otherwise; (the guidance they have is "more than double the maximum normal time".)

But I think that would still only give you 2 points. If you make a mess of yourself and need someone else to clean you up, then you'd start to get more, but unless you have any other pointworthy conditions, you're not likely to get to the 8 point level where you get any benefit.

For 8 points here you'd have to need assistance to manage incontinence of both bladder and bowel, most of the time. A high bar.

If your mobility is such that you can't get to a loo quickly enough, or something, you could potentially get extra points.  EG, if being 50 metres away would mean you would mess/wee yourself before getting back, then there could be an argument to be made there on mobility grounds - research further. They might just say you should wear pads, no problem no points.

Jon7777777

Squeakypips said:

IMHO:

Condition - proplapse + whatever else

Evidence, anything prescribed, note from you GP saying how the problems you are reporting are consistent with the condition being treated.

Make it clear that you have extended pain.

Make it clear that the prolapse is what causes you physical difficulties.

If you need any special appliances but still get poo on your hands/clothes/body/ceiling etc, then say so.

Make it clear how long it takes, and that it's several times the time it would have taken you otherwise; (the guidance they have is "more than double the maximum normal time".)

But I think that would still only give you 2 points. If you make a mess of yourself and need someone else to clean you up, then you'd start to get more, but unless you have any other pointworthy conditions, you're not likely to get to the 8 point level where you get any benefit.

For 8 points here you'd have to need assistance to manage incontinence of both bladder and bowel, most of the time. A high bar.

If your mobility is such that you can't get to a loo quickly enough, or something, you could potentially get extra points.  EG, if being 50 metres away would mean you would mess/wee yourself before getting back, then there could be an argument to be made there on mobility grounds - research further. They might just say you should wear pads, no problem no points.

OK thank u very much, I also have other health issues like biaterel carpel tunnel syndrome and noise induced hearing loss so I just wanted to make them aware of the toilet issue and get the points that would justify that condition. Thank you

chiarieds

Squeakypips said:

If your mobility is such that you can't get to a loo quickly enough, or something, you could potentially get extra points.  EG, if being 50 metres away would mean you would mess/wee yourself before getting back, then there could be an argument to be made there on mobility grounds - research further. They might just say you should wear pads, no problem no points.

Mobility problems in getting to the bathroom aren't taken into account for this activity, as this is covered by the 'moving around' activity.

PIP is how you are the majority of the time @Jon7777777 but you could still give the fact that you occasionally need help, even if you don't get it, as without it you're in a lot of pain when you have a prolapse. If possible, say how often this occurs.

WelshBlue

It wasn't until I spoke to the Decision Maker that I realised incontinence in itself isn't part of the descriptor ... having a handrail to get on and off the toilet, or a person to help is

People like Poppy' and chiareds with their in depth knowledge are invaluable to people who come here for help.

You guys have my utmost respect for the time you impart here 

Jon7777777

Just to follow up on my bowl problems, because I can't go to the toilet to empty my bowls I also get scared of eating and can go a couple of days, my friends and family tell me I need to eat would that be a thing I should mention in eating and drinking, am confused as I have not been diagnosed with a actual health  condition but it's been going on a long time and in all my medical records thank u 

poppy123456

You don't need a diagnosis to be successfully awarded PIP. Yes, you should also mention your eating problems when filling out the form.

Jon7777777

poppy123456 said:

You don't need a diagnosis to be successfully awarded PIP. Yes, you should also mention your eating problems when filling out the form.

OK thank u very much