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MR help

HardSavaloy

Hi all,

Looking for opinions from anyone who has been through an MR, especially from 0 points.

I had my PIP telephone assessment on 2 October and the decision gave me 0 points across everything. My conditions are Raynaud's in my hands and feet (constant, every day), loss of grip and feeling in my hands with RSI, hypothyroidism and ADHD. They make each other worse, but the assessor said they'd look at them "one at a time".

Some of the reasons in the decision letter, and what I've said back:

- No evidence I can't make a simple meal with a microwave. The issue isn't the microwave. I forget food once I've started it (ADHD), I can't grip or open packaging, and I can't feel heat so I burn myself without noticing. My wife does all the cooking.

- No specialist input (no rheumatology, hand therapy, pain clinic or mental health treatment). My GP has since referred me to rheumatology for possible connective tissue disease. I'm under a specialist ADHD service and still having my medication adjusted. I had to stop the Raynaud's medication because of bad side effects, so I have no effective treatment, not because it's mild.

- I still work part time. Only with big adjustments (seated, lightest torch, no vibrating tools, others do my grinding, heater). My GP says I've had to significantly reduce my work. After a shift my hands take an hour or more to recover and my wife has to wash me.

- I use a standard keyboard and mouse to play games. I told the assessor I rarely play, only occasionally when I can, and only easy games with my wife, and I use an ergonomic keyboard and mouse.

- I can walk more than 200 metres. The assessor's own report says about 25 steps or 30 to 40 seconds and that more than 200 metres is ruled out.

- I communicated clearly without prompting. The recording shows the assessor stopping me and bringing me back on track several times.

My MR is ready to post Signed For on Monday. It has:
- A letter quoting each reason from the decision with my response underneath
- Each descriptor with the points I think apply and why
- A GP letter
- Two statements from my wife
- ADHD diagnosis and titration letters
- A daily diary and photo journal
- Timestamps from the assessment recording

Does this sound like enough? Anything you'd add, or anything I should do once it's posted? How long did yours take?

Thanks in advance.

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Rosie_Scope

That sounds like a comprehensive reply @HardSavaloy, but I hope some members can offer any further advice that might be useful to you.

Have you managed to use some real world examples to illustrate why you can't undertake certain activities? That can be helpful to add if you haven't already ☺️

HardSavaloy

Thanks for replying! Yes, I've put real examples in for each activity. Some of the main ones:

Washing: I can't feel water temperature, so my wife runs the shower, checks it and washes me on every work day. After a night shift that finished at 2am she had to be woken at 3:30am to do it, because my hands still hadn't come back.
Food: my wife does all the cooking. If I make a cup of tea I forget it until it's gone cold with a skin on it. I've cut my finger badly enough to need stitches and burned myself at work without feeling it, so I'm not safe near knives or hot pans.
Eating: my ADHD medication kills my appetite. On one work day the first thing I ate was at 520pm, and only because my wife made it, cut it up and put it in front of me.
Medication: I can't open blister packs, so my wife opens my tablets and reminds me. When I've missed my thyroid tablets I've ended up stuck in bed for most of a week.
Walking: I manage about 25 steps before I have to stop and hold the wall. After about 30 seconds once, I had to take my shoe off and squeeze my foot because of the pain.
Journeys: I never go out alone, even somewhere I know. My wife books every Uber and sees me to the lift, and I still get lost, even with a satnav.
Money: my wife holds the bank cards and manages everything, because I spend on impulse.

I've also kept a daily diary and a photo journal, including my hands still purple almost an hour after work with a heater on me all day.

Hopefully that shows what a normal day is actually like.

Rosie_Scope

That sounds good @HardSavaloy, you've provided lots of evidence so hopefully they'll be able to take that all into account when they look at your claim again. How are you feeling about it all?

HardSavaloy

Still think ill have to take it to a tribunal, they used the fact i work extensively to say i can manage and I still think itll be the same answer even with all the extra evidence thats been provided but hopefully your right and they actually look into everything seriously

Rosie_Scope

Fingers crossed for you @HardSavaloy! Many people find the tribunal goes much better anyway. So even if it doesn't work out well this time round, there's still another step to try ☺️

HardSavaloy

Yesh I suppose though its just the long wait is off putting if you get denied at the end of it all then it will feel like a massive waste, when the assessor spoke about work and pip payments etc i told him I dont want to be on it forever. 3 years to retrain and winning sn award gives me a extra day off work so I font have to make myself worse. If I takes a year then im hoping I dont actually do that 🤣