I am so upset and angry that I feel like giving up on everything…

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NicolaA

So sorry for the blunt title, but it’s how I feel.

Quick outline of my health problems - I have lifelong severe Kyphosis and secondary Scoliosis. My spine is crumbling in 3 places and I have Osteopenia. The consultant said he suspects I’ve a condition called Sheuermann’s Disease, which is lifelong and genetic.

 I have severe depression, anxiety and panic attacks. This was first discussed with the GP at 18 years old (I’m now 41) and I’ve come from a traumatic background. I was previously on SDA/ESA long term for my depression. 

Finally, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 during the lockdown. I’ve had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery and am on medication which is pushing me through the menopause for the next 10 years.

The GP is also blood testing for several different potential problems, including Fibromyalgia, Thyroid problems and others. I’ve just had my over 40’s NHS healthcheck and have high cholesterol and am clinically obese. I need to query with the GP about potential sleep apnea, as I’m having a lot of issues, sleep wise.

So I’ll try and keep this as short as possible. I’ve applied for PIP in the past, about 3.5 years ago. I got points, I just didn’t get enough. This was just for my back, nothing else. I didn’t have the strength to appeal it at the time. 

Fast forward to this July, I applied for PIP again. This time, I included all of my medical problems, including the cancer diagnosis, how ill the medication makes me, and how it has impacted my physical and mental health. 

I had my assessment over the phone. The lady seemed lovely and really understanding and sympathetic about my problems. She discussed everything thoroughly with me. My appointment went on way over the hour it should take as we were discussing so much.

I read online that you can ask for your assessment paperwork to be sent out to you, even if you’ve not yet had your official decision. I requested it, and received it today.

I was shocked to see they’d scored me zero points. They knew I’d been assessed before and had scored points, as she said at the start of the conversation ‘I see you’ve been assessed before’. I confirmed that I had indeed, but at the time I just didn’t get quite enough points and didn’t feel mentally strong enough to appeal it. Since then my health has declined, my depression has got worse, and my cancer has made things even worse since.

When I sent off the form I included some medical notes. I asked my GP for a supporting letter, they said they didn’t do that for PIP claims. But what they did do was print out a condensed form of my medical notes. These did not include every single issue from A-Z, but they did mention my depression, that I’d recently been to the GP with my partner about my problems, he’d supported me and explained issues, and they’d put me back on medication again after a break from being on it. They showed my breast cancer diagnosis and my kyphosis and scoliosis diagnosis, and the fact that my spine is crumbling in 3 places. 

I sent these notes off with my claim form, and in the assessment notes, they say that I’m not entitled as I’m not under ongoing treatment for my back (they said there’s nothing I can do about it, and I’m too old to be a candidate for spinal rod surgery), my depression tablets are the lowest dose, there’s not enough in my notes about how my depression affects me, I’m not on prescribed medication for my back (I’ve been offered codeine and oramorph in the past, and I did explain this, I refuse to take it as I can’t be a zombie, I have two small children to think of). The medical notes also explain the complicated emergency section delivery of my first child, which have left me with severe stomach muscle separation. 

So, long story short, although they wrote up a massive report which pretty accurately describes in depth the problems that I face, they’ve completely ignored everything I’ve told them and just zero pointed everything.

This has upset and shocked me so much and left me feeling so low and horrible I don’t know what to do with myself. Please if anyone has any advice at all, please help me. Thank you so much.

poppy123456

This is the issues it causes when you request a copy of the assessment report, a lot more anxiety than you may have already been experiencing. The report is not the decision, it's a recommendation, although the decision maker often goes with the report, it has been known for them to go against it.

Once the decision is made if you're not happy you need to request the Mandatory Redconsideration (MR) within 1 month of the date of the decision.

Please also remember that PIP isn't about a diagnosis, as this is often not in question. It's about how your conditions affect you against the PIP descriptors.

Although it was a few years that you last applied, to constantly reapply using the same evidence you previously used will likely see refusals.

Sending medical notes isn't the best evidence to send because a lot of it will only tell them the basics, they don't usually go into any detail regarding how your conditions affect you.

The parts in the assessment report where it says "no medication" and "not receiving ongoing treatment" are both classic copy and paste reasons that they use a lot. You don't need to be receiving treatment or take any medication be to entitled to PIP.

Once you have the decision if you're not happy i'd advise you to post back here and someone will advise you further.