Pip assessment day

Jacadie

Hi everyone, i made a claim for Pip in February and today is my telephone assessment day. To say i'm nervous is an understatement. I desperately need help and wanted to claim for the last 3 years but have always talked myself out of it due to both embarrassment and having the courage to make that intitial call and actually asking for help. Even up to today i've debated cancelling the claim because i'm just so nervous. I haven't slept with worrying last night and really wonder if i should have just plodded on as i was instead. Wish me luck x 

Alex_Alumni

Hello there @Jacadie and well done for reaching out on the forum this morning.

I'm sure a lot of members can relate to feeling nervous about the assessment, it's very natural. Try to take things at your own pace, ask them to repeat questions if you need to. I'm sure you could also ask for a short break if it'd be helpful too.  

A lot of people find it helpful to have notes written down for each question next to them, as a prompt, so they don't miss anything they want to say. And others have someone sitting with them for support. 

Speaking from my own experience, once you are underway it is not as bad as the nerves make out, and goes quicker than you expect. 

We wish you all the best for your assessment today, let us know how it goes. We'll be here to support you whatever happens

Alex

Jacadie

Thank you so much for the comments and i will be back to update on how it went after.
One thing i am wondering and i'm not sure if anyone would be able to answer this but here goes.
My claim is due to having conditions which have severely affected my mobility for the last 11 years and gradually worsened to the point that i haven't been able to even dress, shower, cook myself for the last 3 years and can only walk really short distances with help. I did have a heart attack and 5 stents in January and i added this info on my application however did make it clear that i was expected to recover from it so even though i was affected at that time, it was expected to be short term and not something that i was making the pip claim for.
Since then i haven't recovered and have now been diagnosed with heart failure. I still don't feel that this makes a big difference to my mobility issues or changes anything that i was making the claim for but if i tell them of this new diagnosis would i have to make a new application or would they just make note of the change?

Alex_Alumni

Hi @Jacadie

I'm not an expert, but I think the key is what you've said here: 

 I still don't feel that this makes a big difference to my mobility issues or changes anything that i was making the claim for 

I think as long as any change in your condition does not impact on your mobility and daily living needs as defined in the PIP descriptors, there's no need to notify the DWP. Does that make sense? 

Jacadie

@Alex_Scope That does make sense. Thank you so much

bexter73

Hope it went ok for you today. I had mine last Tuesday and I was so nervous!. Best of luck 

Jacadie

Just a little update. It wasn't as bad as i expected. She really went into detail about how my conditions affect me but it was nothing that i didn't already know and i think i explained things well and gave plenty of examples. She put me at ease before we even started and she said the information i put on the form was really good and detailed. I still don't have a good feeling though as the call lasted almost 2.5hrs so i don't think thats a good sign but i'm glad its over x

Tori_Scope

Well done for getting through it @Jacadie It sounds as though it went quite well- I'm glad the assessor was able to put you at ease!

The length of the assessment doesn't indicate the success, so don't worry too much about that. It seems as though you had plenty of time to offer relevant examples and elaborate on how your conditions affect you, which is great. 

Will you be doing anything tonight to help you relax?

Jacadie

@Tori_Scope i think i'll just spend the night imagining having a nice cold drink 😂😂 It's amazing how completely wiped out i feel after just sitting there talking. I think it must be the build up of anxiety. At least i can relax now.

bexter73

You must be exhausted from such a long assessment phew! You’ve done all you can now so just try and relax, take your mind off it x

Tori_Scope

I find I can get quite tired after a build up of anxiety, so it could definitely be that @Jacadie! Make sure you take some time to relax tonight, and get a good night of sleep if you can. 

As you've mentioned struggling with some daily activities like showering and cooking, I just wanted to check whether you're receiving enough support to help you with these tasks?

Jacadie

@Tori_Scope i do, i have a fantasic family at home who help with everything. I feel like one of the lucky ones in that respect