Waiting to see if I can get PIP appeal heard by telephone.

MobileGames

Morning. I've been getting into a right state over the past few weeks and have diarreah in the morning 3-4 times a week. It's gone round my front a few times and I started to get a dull ache in back and frequent urges to pee. I went to the doctor and was given antibiotics for cystitis. By this Monday I still felt the dull ache and urges to pee frequently so I went back. White cells in pee but didn't ring back so I take it that it's cleared up. My appetite is all over the place and I've been crying. I sent an email last Friday by phone,with the help of my mum,requesting a telephone appeal because of the stress that the wait is causing me,the diarreah,my anxiety levels significantly increasing,my OCD with the thoughts of a Tribunal going round in my head,cytitis,frequent stomach ache and headaches,not being able to get someone who knows the way to go with me,the thought of having to talk to strangers face to face,not sleeping well,staying in bed for two days last week due to feeling Overwhelmed by it all. They said they'll endeavour to get back to me in 10 working days. I think about it everyday. I feel like I'll be on trial. I can't cope with question after question in front of a panel. I get very stressed and lose my train of thought and can't always look people in the eye. How can I go over when my dad gets lost? Coventry stresses him out and then I get stressed. When I last had a face to face for ESA back in 2014,my dad got lost. He was stressing. I was stressing. I rang up the job centre and asked for directions,didn't understand them. We found it by a chance sighting. The last ESA I had was a home visit and for my PIP assessment which was Last November. Am I doing the right thing? What if they refuse me? I've heard the success rate isn't good for over the phone. Sorry for the long post. 

poppy123456

HI,

I'm sorry to hear of all the stress this is causing. Stress is usually a big trigger for a lot of health conditions and usually makes them worse. Have you spoken to your GP about the way you're feeling? If you haven't then i'd advise you to do this.

I don't know the percentage for phone hearings, i only know the percentage for paper based hearings, which is between 5-8% and for those that appear in person it's more than 70% if they have representation and about 50% if they don't. This means that appearing in person will always give you the best chance of a decision in your favour and if you can appear then i'd advise you to do this.

Are you able to take someone with you on the day of the hearing? A family member or friend? During the hearing you will not be on trial, it's not a court. It's a Tribunal and it will be a room with a table and a few people sat around it. This is usually a Judge, a DR, a disability adviser and sometimes a DWP representative.

They will ask you questions about how your conditions affect you against the PIP descriptors. What they ask you will depend on your case. They will always prefer to see a claimant in person, rather than a phone a paper based decision and they may even suggest that you attend.

They are very understanding and will listen to what you have to say. If you don't understand the question ask them to repeat it.

Do be aware that they will only take into consideration what your condition was like at the time the original decision was made, any worsening of condition won't be taken into consideration.

I'm others will give their opinion on what a Tribunal hearing is like and then maybe you'll decide to attend from the advice you're given. It would definitely give you the best chance of a positive outcome.

Good luck.

paffuto10

@MobileGames

Sorry you're going through all this stress, it's just awful. 
Many of us have been through it or still going through it. 

I have a couple of suggestions which hopefully might help. 

The cystitis:
This is something I have a lot. It drags you down, doesn't it? 

* Try drinking a level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in a mug of warm water, three times a day for 2 days. 
* Drink lots of still water, at least 2 litres a day. 
* No caffeine, spices, alcohol. 
* Cut down on sugar because that feeds it. 
* Some people say to drink cranberry juice but that makes mine worse. 
* Don't use soaps down there or even bubble bath in the bath. Just clear water. 

The tribunal: 
Have a look on Google maps so you can see exactly where the building is and work out the route with your dad (if it's him that's going with you) 
I did this and it really helped. 

Sorry you're having to endure this and I really hope you will be ok x