Hi, my name is caretaker! I have arthritis, and am looking for advice on applying for PIP

 Do you think the below is good descriptor explaining my pain to the Mandatory Reconsideration, as i phoned them to give me an extension, so i can send a detail report.

Many thanks for all you guys who responding and helping.

I don’t think the assessor has understood my condition, as I have chronic pain in arms, fingers, both shoulders, back, left buttock, knees, ankles and heel due to osteoarthritis.

I struggle to hold a food tray to take it into the room, as my arms can’t hold it for long and I just tend drop it. I have dropped food on a number of occasions and my wife has witness this and now she makes sure she gives me the food, as I was causing lot of mess and trouble for my wife. I feel so tired, drained and fatigued, which is intolerable and my day to day activity just goes out of the window, as I don’t know how I am going to cope.

My life going through this pain is intolerable and my family life is in shatters, as I can’t do things I used to do. Going to work is a burden as I struggle to go work every day or even get there on time as my body aches and I find hard to go work regularly. I can’t even enjoy my life or enjoy my work due to constant pain in my whole body. I feel discomfort in sitting and standing and when I have done something, then the following day I can not even get out of the bed and feel so tired and shattered.

I can not drive long distances due to lack of concentration and I hardly drive the car even on shorter distances. I now tend to get a lift or use public transport.

I get my ointment cream is applied by my wife on anything below the knee as I can’t stretch due to pain in the body and my wife has to always remind me to take my medication i am very forgetful and need reminding, not just medication, as i misplaced key, forget to turn off light, forget to flush toilet, forget to set the house Alarm and forget to close door and all of this my wife noticed. I always eat with my hand as  I don’t use Knife and fork, as when i cut some of the food, it fly off from the plate , so my wife mixes the food up and soften it up and i can then eat easily without making mess on my clothes, carpet and Upholstery. The pain in my fingers(s) prevents me from gripping cutlery sufficiently firmly to be able to cut food and I need my wife to cut it for me or just mix the food up to avoid cutting and using the cutlery.

My wife now and again helps me to wash the areas I can not reach like my shoulder, back and feet, as the pain is so bad for me to stretch. , as my body gets stiffness.

My wife has to help me to put my arms into the sleeve due to the pain in my shoulder. I also get a lot of blackouts or dizziness, when i am sitting or getting up from the floor after a bit, then i get this now and again Blackouts or Dizziness.  I may have diabetes, as mentioned on the GP Local record, so this again relate to dizziness, tiredness and fatigue, so this does not help.

Day to day life is always different but there is always the constant pain I am going through. Who do I turn to as I feel nobody understands and I feel like I have been neglected from society?

My body is in constant chronic pain and if you cannot help I’d rather die than ask someone else for help. It is getting too much and an embarrassing situation I have to go through.

I first noticed having chronic pains in my body, arms, fingers, shoulder, hands, legs, knees, ankles and under the Left feet always in constant pain. in 2017-2019 and I was referred to rheumatology by the Physiotherapist , as he was concerned I am having pain in my whole body and sent me to Pain consultant; they said it was Arthritis, but you have to manage the pain and it is easy for them say this, but the pain I have to go through is intolerable. Fast forward to 2019 and I was unable to play football, Biking and running, my knees, Ankle, leg, back shoulder all hurting and the recovery was never ending, so I had to retire from the sports and missing the social activity I used to have with my friends and I couldn’t get out of bed. I was finally diagnosed with Osteoarthritis and. It took some time to accept this new to me, I couldn’t jog anymore, and I eventually had to reduce my working hours due to these chronic pains and keep going to work late and the HR was not happy about it, as it reduced the work productivity due to staff coming late. It wasn’t just the physical pain but the mental strain and anxiety that comes with living with a chronic health issue. I have adapted to my new life I have accepted it. I now work reduced hours and again this is getting difficult, as I cannot keep up with it the contracted hours; I know when to stop and take a rest and this constant daily now. I have made many lifestyle changes and after trial and error of medications I am now trying so many different pain killer medications and having side effect which is not helping at all. My Wife is my savior she helps and supports me. I don’t push myself too much nowadays and I take regular rest days. My new motto is to be kinder to myself and take one day at a time, as it shatters me and I am just useless end of the day.

My Left ankle, My Left Wrist, My Back and my Knees had injuries, where I broke my wrist and my ankle twisted so many times and now this always in constant pain. I cannot do lot of activities due to pain and weakness. I have anxiety due to going through this chronic pain, stress, Fatigues and going through medication. I cannot make the meal, as I find it difficult to cut, open jar, Hold pots with liquid as I have tried so many times and I have given up, as I just get frustrated and angry when I cannot do it. My wife now does this, as she does not want me to have an accident or burn myself by dropping the pot or plates.

Due to my back pains, my wife now applies medication anything below knee to avoid any pain or hurting myself, as my back is already in pain.

I am losing balance in the bath and I cannot reach over my shoulder or back and below knees, as my back and shoulder hurts, so my wife helps me do this now when I have a bath, as I had another fall in the bath tried to reach the ankle.

I am having incontinent problem, as I just could not control my bladder and just wet my pants on my way to work and it was embarrassing, as I was in the bus.

I am struggling to take the top of, sometimes the top is just stuck to my body due to I sweat a lot and I just cannot take the top off, so my wife helps me to take the top off and again when wearing it, I need help to put it over my arms due to shoulder pains and now this is regular now.

If I do walk now, I feel tired and fatigues and the following day I cannot even get out the bed, as I feel too tired and exhausted.

At the moment I am depending on my wife and she is getting frustrated, as she has to run after me and My son he is busy working long hours, so he cannot help much and it is getting too much for me and my wife, as she is getting tired and frustrated.