Hi, I am going to try to put the most basic of info.
2020 My vision was severely reduced - had blood tests and was informed b12 deficiency below 180. because i have fear of needles to take oral b12 1mg per day for rest of life. Opthamologist also informs me not expecting any significant improvement but there may be some. I have a lot of numbness, pins and needles and general discomfort throughout my body.
2020/21 i am declared Lcwra and I make a pip claim. I receive pip form eventually. I f i recall correctly the first one didn't arrive but I can't read the form that i do get and the form either didn't get filled in or they didn't receive it. I forget which exactly. I get a letter from capita about phone call that will happen (i am sure that my partner read this letter) I do recall at the time i was irritated if i had to as k for help or if i was referred to as disabled, I just have a vitamin b12 deficiency which is being treated.
2021 i receive phone call from capita assessor and i recall saying something about them not receiving the form and I don't think my claim is still valid. The assessor said something along the lines of don't worry, I shall assess you anyway. I tell her I have a vitamin b1 deficency and its caused some issues with my vision - i struggle to see about 15 yards or so in front of me and i can't read car registration plates at all. I am assessed and score 6 points daily living and 12 points mobility. The assessor asked me how i would cope ordeal with a familiar journey but one that was divereted or cancelled and i had to find another route to my destination. i told her id never considered it and that i would be lost now she has brought that to my attention.
2023 i get the annual review form or whatever it is called. I phone pip and explain there has been no changes but i can't recall what information i put on the original claim form. the lady on the phone tells me to put something like there has been no significant changes. I attempt to write in the first box and my handwriting is atrocious and it is hard work and uncomfortable so in the rst of the form. I put the gramnmar mark for ditto on the rest of the boxes. I don't recall exactly but confident that i put b12 deficiency and sight impaired as my conditions. signed and sent back. At this point i am usingthe ipda camera to zoom in fully to attempt to read things but it is tiring and frustrating but it works for short tasks.
2024 Registered sight impaired.
2024 pip assessment phone call. i repeat my conditions as before. I am happy because these people understand what is wrong with me better than i do. I also inform the assessor tht in htelast month ive had a blood test and i have a vitamin D deficiency and that we are hoping treating this might relieve or fix some of my issues. My thought process is they probably know this anyway because they will have spoken with my gp and opthamologist. I tell them that i have been registered sight impaired. I score 4 on daily living and 12 on mobility.
2025 August is my best guess. Having spoken to someone from social services/care or however it is termed She recommended i go to my GP and tell them that i need to be seen by a neurologist. I go tot he GP and I tell them this and i tell them why. I tell the GP in 2020 i was put on these vitamin b12 tablets and left to get on with things and I explained to him about the numbness, pins and needles, my short term memory lapses and that is struggle to recall conversations that i am having or just had quite frequently and a few otherthings. H e turns to his screen briefly and moves his mouse and then turns to me and says you have bilateral vitamin b12 neuropathy so these things are to be expected and irreversible. I am told that also i should be taking vitamin D daily whichfor some reason i have not been getting because it was no on my prescription. The vitamin D needs to be treatedhe says before i can send you to a neurologist so we knowwhich issues are caused by which deficiency! I also need to have new blood tests.
A few weeks later i manage to find my CVI and i find that i have neurological optic atrophy h47.2 in both eyes with a best corrected visual acuity of 6/60.
What i have discovered is that i have been declaring the wrong conditions and been under the wrong impression that things were fixable.
I have requested my medical records and the 2024 pip assessment report.
The AI thing is where i have been storing my information. I have been adding details as they come back to me over several weeks because I am trying to piece things together. I didn't know that things i do are 'usual or normal'. I take their questions on face value. Can you understand signs and written words? well yes i can. They don't ask me can i see them.
I've probably missed out a lot of information, apologies, I'll be here for another hour though if i go back and reread it all. I think the gist of wat i am asking is , is the AI onthe right track when it says there is a strong case for MR/Appeal. It listed these reasons below. I am making time line of events in my life, medical and possible symtpoms etc, in the case my memory gets worse and i can't recall them if iasked about early symptoms etc.
✅ No PIP2 form returned or received in 2021
Your 2021 decision was made without the “How your disability affects you” form, meaning DWP had no written functional evidence from you at all.
✅ Assessment conducted solely by phone
The entire claim was assessed during a single phone call, with no supporting written explanation and no opportunity to reflect on questions — despite cognitive and vision issues.
✅ You were assessed without understanding your true diagnosis
In 2021 you believed your condition was “B12 deficiency being treated”, not bilateral B12 deficiency neuropathy or neurological optic atrophy.
✅ Delayed diagnosis / lack of insight
You were not told the full neurological diagnosis until 2025.
Your lack of challenge in 2021 is reasonably explained by lack of insight, not neglect.
✅ Cognitive impairment affected self-reporting
Memory problems, normalisation of symptoms, impulsivity, and difficulty processing questions would all reduce your ability to accurately self-report in a live phone assessment.
✅ Sight impairment required reasonable adjustments
Despite visual impairment, you were sent standard print letters and assessed without written clarification, raising Equality Act concerns.
✅ Functional difficulties clearly existed at the time
Your current daily living difficulties (fatigue, balance, food prep, washing, budgeting, communication) were present in 2020–2021, even if not recognised by you then.
✅ You did not identify as disabled at the time
You actively rejected the idea you were disabled, believing you were temporarily ill and improving — a recognised barrier to disputing benefit decisions.
✅ COVID-era context and extreme life stressors
The claim occurred during lockdown, vision loss, diagnostic uncertainty, and shortly after becoming a father to twins — all affecting capacity to engage.
✅ Original award already shows imbalance
Enhanced mobility (12 points) but only 6 daily living strongly suggests daily living descriptors were under-explored.
✅ Prompt action once aware
Once you learned the full diagnosis and permanence in 2025, you acted quickly to request records, seek advice, and prepare evidence — this supports good cause.
