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can scope help with PIP tribunals

Susan46

i was awarded standard daily rate for PIP. at the time tgd assessor stated i was in full time education and i read books all the time. im 57, i dont leave the house without my wheelchair and someone to push me. i can walk a matter of ten steps literally. thats with imbalance , dracula walk and tremors. sometimes i go to stand up and ive actually forgotten how to walk. since assessment i had mandatory reconsideration.it stated i used chair arms to get up. there were no arms on the chair because i was in so much neck pain i had to sit sideways on the chair to put my head against the wall. i used my partner as a crutch for support. in my mandatory i explained i have gotten much worse and now need a wheelchair to get arpund. however, due to having weakness in my arms and legs including chest up, i cant push myself and therefore always need support from someone. i cant use taxis or buses as i need a carer with me to push me in the chair. i was given the chair by my gp as i was falling down and a danger to myself. the weakness in my right arm leaves me dependant on partner to cut food etc and in shower he has to wash me down and do my hair. i have gone to my gp who wrote to a specialist asking for 2nd opinion a my speech and memory is affected and he put urgent on it. he also thinks that ghere is something more than c3 to c7 spine discs issues and after listening to me and my son, agrees there must be something else going on but until we get answers i have no other diagnosis. ive put an sppeal in to PIP but my appointment with specialist for first chat is in october and pain management end of september. i have bulging discs from c3 to c7 and bone spurs whole of spine and degenerative disc disease. my neck pain and headaches are constant but i rarely get a day without lower and mid back pain too. it feels like someone sticking red hot poker in the spine constant and im on so much medication now that does not touch the pain but can give me couple of hours sleep straight after i take them to give me a break. i was independant. now im dependant on others. i suffer with both incontinences made worse since this started. i have a chance to use bowel irrigation every day but im unable to hold the cone due to weakness. until i can do i will need my partner to help. its awful. im 57. 5 months ago i was doing 10 mile walks and running after the grandchildren, riding my cycle everyday and going to work. now, im sitting at home doing nothing because i cant do anything. i burn myself trying to pick up pans or even a cup.i cant get meds open so partner helps. according to PIP, using aids allows me to do everything and im ok to work. ive always worked. i hate not going out and loss of my independance. having grandkids round exhausts me after 15 minutes. i cant go to the front gate without being out of breath, falling over or unbalanced and the tremors in my red leg dont help. i dont know where to go for help or suppirt to back up my clsim. i had letter from gp, letter from 1st neurosurgeon who gave me results of my mri and stated spine so bad from c3 to c7 no op would help. i had letter for getting wheelchair from my gp and a detailed letter from myself explaining my day to day problems and how life has changed.also a statemwnt from my partner explakning the life i have and how it affects us as a family. i also sent list of meds which includes morphine diazapan 5 things in all.
i get nothing for mobility as ghey said i could walk for 2 minutes meaning more ghan 50 metres.they did not take into account thst as soon as i stand im in agony snd within 5 or 6 steps im out of breath. all i get is it is the neck and nerves. as i said before, my gp now thjnks there is domethinv else going on and i think ivd had either minor stroke or messages arent going from brain to parts of body. i use wrong words, i mix my words, i stutter, not all the time but i never did any of these previously , came on after assessment as did need for wheelchair, memory loss, forgetting simple to do things ie walk, tremors, weakness on right, involuntary spasms.
i know there are lots of people worse off than myself but at the moment im struggling terribly and feel im being left by the nhs as im just a number and PIP are also not taking me seriously.
any help or advice would help please as im at thd end of my nerves and getting so depressed as all i do is sit on my own all day everyday scared to move or fo anything as it aggravates the neck and back pain. apparently if i say i can read signs i can geg out and about by myself but thats definitely not the case

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Comments

poppy123456

Hi,

Read through that i noticed that you stated you've become much worse since your assessment. The Tribunal will only take into consideration what you were like at the time of the assessment. Any worsening of condition since then won't help your claim.

Yadnad

Susan46 said:

i was awarded standard daily rate for PIP..... im 57...….. i have bulging discs from c3 to c7

Well you are lucky then.
They gave me 0 points.
Have damage to c4 to c7 due to rugby injury in my youth now affected by arthritis. Additionally L2 to L5 is also damaged due to horse riding accident back in the early 80's which again is now affected by arthritis. Age 70 and it certainly won't get any better.

But hey I was cured by the assessor - can walk over 200 metres without any difficulty!!

Susan46

hi yadnad.
reading your reply to my post it seems you have a grudge. there were other reasons why i received pip standard daily which put my points to 11. i wasnt trying to score points or be worse off thsn anyone but they gave me 11 points for reasons they realised during assessment. i dont know your full circumstances which sound a bit different from mine but i am hurt that you can reply to my post saying ' you are lucky', believe me, id rather be out working than festering on a chair all my days. i was also deemed to be fit for work and can walk no problem in my mandatory reconsideration report. i sm spparently able to live my whole life doing everything as normal using aids.
wrong!
i cant wslk mote than a few steps and then im in pain from putting my foot on the floor. i get out of breath and tendancy to fall over so wheelchair is a godsend. i cant push myself anywhere as i have no strength in my arms and upper body. my legs dont do what i wsnt them to do and even picking up and holding a pencil can be too much. i have very limited neck movement and constant pain. but spparently i can go to work and do anything snd everything.
i dont consider myself lucky at all. stuck at home at 57 without company and help. that is not lucky. thats a waste of a life really. nhs either ignore me or give me meds and only when i beg and cry do they actually do anything. even then i feel let down cos its took gp 4 months to send me to see a specialist and the first available one is end of october and while i am waiting i am getting more snxious as to what the hell is wrong because im not getting tests or answers. i dont have money for private treatment. im dependant on my partner to take me out. without him i go nowhere.
im sorry you slso didnt get the result you hoped for with benefits. but if i have no diagnosis spart from spine snd neck issues then i have no evidence to take with me. if living like this is normal then i must have been superwoman before. no one listens just says more meds and blood tests. nearly 6 months now and one mri scsn and nothing. its a cruel world where we beg for help snd noone is there.
my sincere apologies if i am wrong in the way i read your reply but im not a sponger and all my life working, i def have mobility issues to high degree snd thats what bugs me cos someone who has never seen me has come up with im fit for work etc and thats total rubbish.

poppy123456

Sometimes it's best to ignore some people! Yadnad does have a lot of grudges when it comes to DWP and certainly lets people know this. You can also add a forum member to your ignore list, which helps. This way you won't see the comments.

PIP isn't about being fit work, it's about how your conditions affect you daily. People claim PIP and work. I know it's a very stressful time going through the MR/Tribunal. Hopefully for you it won't be much longer. Good luck and i hope the decision is the right one for you.

Susan46

thsnk you poppy. your kind words make it easier when you know someone is understanding. im not after the sympathy vote but its nice to air grievances with dwp and get good advice from people who know a bit more than myself. ty

Yadnad

poppy123456 said:

Sometimes it's best to ignore some people! Yadnad does have a lot of grudges when it comes to DWP and certainly lets people know this. You can also add a forum member to your ignore list, which helps. This way you won't see the comments.
PIP isn't about being fit work, it's about how your conditions affect you daily. People claim PIP and work. I know it's a very stressful time going through the MR/Tribunal. Hopefully for you it won't be much longer. Good luck and i hope the decision is the right one for you.

Unfortunately yes I do have for good reason and you know why. Very little if anything has worked out for me with the DWP other than when a proper doctor assessed me for IIDB. And given your's and your daughter's successes with the DWP and the many other lucky people that have decent assessments and fair decision makers it really makes me think that along the way the DWP simply do not want to work with me.

In having to give up on the PIP system I have found peace for the first time in the past 5 years. But it really doesn't help me to know that there must be something personal that the DWP see in me and my claims.

Grudges, upset and angry yes, vindictive certainly not.

poppy123456

Yadnad said:

poppy123456 said:

Sometimes it's best to ignore some people! Yadnad does have a lot of grudges when it comes to DWP and certainly lets people know this. You can also add a forum member to your ignore list, which helps. This way you won't see the comments.
PIP isn't about being fit work, it's about how your conditions affect you daily. People claim PIP and work. I know it's a very stressful time going through the MR/Tribunal. Hopefully for you it won't be much longer. Good luck and i hope the decision is the right one for you.

Unfortunately yes I do have for good reason and you know why. Very little if anything has worked out for me with the DWP other than when a proper doctor assessed me for IIDB. And given your's and your daughter's successes with the DWP and the many other lucky people that have decent assessments and fair decision makers it really makes me think that along the way the DWP simply do not want to work with me.

In having to give up on the PIP system I have found peace for the first time in the past 5 years. But it really doesn't help me to know that there must be something personal that the DWP see in me and my claims.

Grudges, upset and angry yes, vindictive certainly not.

Lucky????? i would certainly not call my daughter or myself lucky!!! I would much prefer better health and not have to claim PIP or any other benefit. So luck doesn't come any where close!!

Jealousy comes to mind with a lot of your posts to others, especially when they are awarded or they're not happy with an existing award.

As you say you have found peace why on earth do you constantly bring up your story? Doesn't seem like you've found peace to me. Maybe it's time to forget the past and move on....

Yadnad

poppy123456 said:

Lucky????? i would certainly not call my daughter or myself lucky!!! I would much prefer better health and not have to claim PIP or any other benefit. So luck doesn't come any where close!!

Jealousy comes to mind with a lot of your posts to others, especially when they are awarded or they're not happy with an existing award.

As you say you have found peace why on earth do you constantly bring up your story? Doesn't seem like you've found peace to me. Maybe it's time to forget the past and move on....

Lucky and success as quoted in my reply to you was meant to refer to the fact that for all of the assessor reports that you and your daughter had were reasonably fair and honest which then gave rise to an acceptable award.

It would no doubt have been different if those reports stated that in both cases there were no issues that could possibly give rise to any award - therefore nil points.

Let's use the word fortunate instead.

Jealous - not a chance. I no longer have to put up with going to assessments and being told to go away as there is nothing wrong with me and I don't have any issues impacting on my life. I no longer have to fight every two years to overturn the decisions and I no longer have to put up with the thought that at 70 these re-assessments will continue every two years until I die.

I post giving the possible worst case scenarios sometimes for people to be aware of and give my experiences as an example. Maybe it could be better if we believe that we all live in Utopia and everybody has a good experience when dealing with the DWP?

I have moved on but the anger and frustration that I have experienced is still seen in others now and nothing seems to have changed.

Susan46

when i wrote this post asking if scope could advise or help, i was given good advice from a lady called poppy. i also felt annoyed by another member of scope who i understand has been through the mill and back with dwp and felt rejected and neglected as i also feel at the moment by them.
in the news it shows every single day the issues we have and the incorrect decisions they are making. the assessors were not even doctors. they lied on my decision forms and assumed without asking questions what i can and cant do. the mandatory was a negative for me and things not in the assessment were written as reasons not to award me higher daily or mobility. the decision was made by someone who hadnt seen me and just read through notes put on their desk. just like they do for all cases.
as poppy stated, i must go CAB for help. unfortunately when they asked my gp for my medical papers, the gp sent records from 2 years ago stating no more back pain and im fine and dandy. that was a mistake the gp made not sending recent records that would show the state im in now. i have visited my gp over 20 times and had numerous phone appointments been to A and E and i get passed from one to another and its like they cant be bothered or they not taking me seriously. i paid 15 pounds for a letter from my gp for PIP but that didnt help my case even though it stated all my issues. i believe for five months i have suffered this way because gp thinks its easier to blame all syptoms on spine rather than see if they come from elsewhere. either that or they think im a hyperchondriac which is def not the case. so every day i feel like im banging my head on a brick wall.
im frustrated at the facts i havent answers to a lot of my issues and the fact i was do active an english teacher and now im a wriggling couch potato because i cant even sit on the sofa without being uncomfortable and in loads of pain.
so like others im angry with the system because they arent seeing or listening to the only thing i have left really ie my voice. if i have no answers of course im frustrated. but one thing i would never do is wallow in self pity or deny others who are getting positives because they too have been in similar situation and one day my turn will come.
i may have lost bladder and bowel control and the power to walk and do things every day like i used to but one things for sure, im not giving up and i certainly dont feel angry towards others for having more positive decisions than i am getting.
life can be cruel. its a case of learn to accept and move on. but....never give up or let it eat away at you inside because then you really have given in. i hope that just one PIP or DWP worker reads this statement. i would never wish what state i am in on anyone. its not money that comes directly out of their pockets of which sometimes i think they think this, but i would love them to live for two days the way i live for 24/7 and im sure the negative decision would be overturned.
thanks to those who joined my thread. i take on board all comments and work from them. i will be seeking advice as suggested and i will be praying for all those others like myself to also have successful outcomes that will help them to have a better life. benefits seem to be going to a lot of wrong people who don't need it or dont deserve it, to liars and system milkers who think nothing of it but who dont care about where it comes from or who has to do without so they get it. i worked all my life only to hear people who have never worked a day in theirs getting every benefit going. but thats another subject in itself.

Yadnad

Susan46 said:

i worked all my life only to hear people who have never worked a day in theirs getting every benefit going. but thats another subject in itself.

Apart from Home Office regulations on immigrants and maternity payments, I know of only three welfare payments that are linked to having worked and paid NI. Two of those benefits have options - contributory or means tested..
The third is the State Pension. But even there you can get contributions if you claim any of the two benefits above.

So all in all the vast majority of all welfare payments are handed out without any need to have worked.
Travellers can claim these benefits as well even though they have never admitted to have worked.