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DLA ending letter & PIP application

O

Omnipod

Well-Known Member
Messages
533
Location
West Sussex
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all

I was awarded DLA indefinitely a number of years ago and today I got the letter advising me to call the number as I need to re apply for PIP.
Has anyone been through this?
I worry as I have read all sorts of scary stories online about the assessment and the trickery by the assessors. I also read through the online PIP assessment and the questions are written very differently to the old DVLA questions.

Any advice will be appreciated.
I do drive as I live alone and need to get to work and back. Would that count against me? With DLA, driving was not a problem. I do have the provisional drivers and get assessed by DVLA every 3 years.

If you prefer to PM me, that is ok too as I know some of this can be private and uncomfortable to put on this forum.

Thank you.
 
Yes I was awarded DLA indefinitely but I was called for PIP , I like you was very anxious I have been awarded PIP but only for 2 yrs , I have become worse since my original DLA award but was told that 2yrs is the longest award period ( not sure how correct that is) . I also prepared myself to appeal but thankfully I didn’t have too .
 
Look at the PIP points criteria before doing your application. You have to build up a certain number of points to qualify. Give lots of examples of how your disability affects you in each of the criteria
 
The key to PIP is how you are affected not what your illness is. You need to describe in detail things you may find embarrassing. I work but listed that I can't stand long enough to make a coffee so I am reliant on colleagues, that I use a bath stool, can't walk and use a wheelchair outside of my house and many other things. The assessor briefly checked my list of illnesses but concentrated on what I can and can't do. I was clear I have no mental health and communication issues and that it was physical. I am T2 on insulin so apologies for butting in on T1 forum. I was awarded standard care and enhanced mobility.
 
Thank you.
I got my huge pack in the post to complete before the 28 June. Did you have the assessment? I worry because I dont have any family or a partner to go with me.
 
Thank you. Yeah, my neuropathy pain is so bad at times. Im on the max dosage of duloxitine and have to take naproxin for pain. Standing and walking is painful so i just avoid where I need to
 
So when I had mine I was clear I can get up stairs but then have to lie down. I can't shower without sitting down, I can't make a hot drink without sitting down whilst kettle boils. You have to be really specific. Duloxetine is the only thing that works on neuropathy
 
Thanks
sadly diloxetine only helps me a little. I hardly sleep at night because of pain and burning. During the days, I am just exhausted. I dont even eat dinner because I am too fatigued to cook when I get home. This week, all i had for dinner most nights was a handful of cherry tomatoes just to keep my blood sugar up
 
This is a really helpful website:
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk
There is a membership fee to pay which gives full access to detailed guides. I have used them to assist people with applications. It also has some free to view info such as this:
http://www.mybenefitsandwork.co.uk/pip/indexxx.php

I hope you will find it helpful, @Omnipod . Also if possible check online to see if where you live has any Welfare Benefits Advice Centres. Sometimes this is through Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). They may be able to assist with the form.
Best wishes.
 
Write it all down as one of the things they ask about is meal preparation. I know you will be aware but you need to try to eat properly. Can you get ready meals delivered from your local supermarket or a neighbour to prepare some food? I also take morphine and baclofen and more drugs than I can detail so with you on the tiredness and the simple wish for a magic wand to make it all go away! I always remember in mindfulness you're supposed to concentrate on what you can do. Doesn't always work but sometimes help. Today I can talk and be understood, wasn't true on Tuesday, I can watch judge Judy and remember it - couldn't on Wednesday. Little things as they say. Keep going and there will be positives no matter how small.
 
Have my PIP assessment this week. Im so nervous and have to go alone. Has anyone been to theirs alone?
 
I went alone. It wasn't a good move, the assessor wrote that I ' didn't look ill, therefore it was probable I wasn't ill'. So, if something hurts during the assessment, groan about it, don't keep a stiff upper lip. Say how difficult it was to get to the appointment, if you just turn up they take this as evidence that you are able to make any journey - which is an instant zero points on one of the mobility questions.

So far as driving, they say if you can drive you have an ability to plan and carry out any journey. If you only ever drive the same route, make sure they note this. Also, if pain stops you from driving, and therefore going out, tell the assessor this. Driving also demonstrates that you have flexibility in your upper torso, and dexterity and sufficient grip in your fingers - which they take to mean you have no problems with cutlery and feeding yourself.

It's really depressing, but you have to concentrate on how much your medical conditions limit what you can do. Be pretty blunt - I would like to ... but I don't because of intolerable pain.

The assessor is required to submit his report via email to the DWP within 48 hrs, so after this you can phone the DWP and request a copy. The person on the phone may try to tell you that you can't have a copy until a decision has been made. This is wrong, you are legally entitled to see any information they have about you. The decision maker tends to go by the report rather than any medical evidence you have sent in.

The DWP were supposed to have migrated all over 16s from DLA to PIP by now, but have been caught out by the massive number of people refusing to accept their first assessment. The first appeal step causes them a bunch of internal paperwork, and the second appeal to the court causes even more paperwork and is so oversubscribed that in some places it is running about a year's wait for a court date. The courts are overturning about 80% of DWPs decisions though. You'd think the DWP would get a clue from this...

Anyway, some people (quite a lot) get a reasonable assessor, the assessment is fair, and they come out with an appropriate award. Here's hoping you are one. Good luck.

(And if the assessment is totally pants, don't give up, it can be fixed).
 
Hi I had to change from DLA indefinite to PIP due to change of circumstances and getting a CGM. On DLA I had middle rate care and low rate Mobility. I was awarded PIP I sent in all evidence from consultants and printed off 6 months of glucose readings from my monitor as I have no hypo awareness and highlighted all the Hypos then worked out on average how many hypos a week I was having. I had to explain the CGM has helped warn me of hypos but it’s not 100% accurate as it doesn’t read the glucose in the blood it reads the fluid under the skin which can be a couple of mmol’s different. You have to explain to them how your condition effects you as long as you send evidence to back up what you are saying. I got enhanced rate mobility and no care which I though was strange but I don’t know if they were also taking into account my frozen shoulder which I only had 40% movement but now my other shoulder is also frozen so got to sort physio etc... for that one as well now.
 

Thank you for this information especially the driving part. I have my dreaded f2f assessment today. Since I cannot record the assessment and I have nobody to come with me, I wrote down all my answers to the descriptors that I will mention so that I do not forget anything. I'm going to ask the assessor to go through my notes and confirm with a signature so that their report reflects all my answers.
Has anyone tried this and do you think it's something they would agree on?
 
Pipp said:
This is a really helpful website:
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk
There is a membership fee to pay which gives full access to detailed guides. I have used them to assist people with applications. It also has some free to view info such as this
Click to expand...

Just looked at this website, will be signing up as we have to do my wife's PIP form this weekend, she has mild CP and has been on the lower rate of DLA since it started without a review. It seems key to understand the full meaning of words for example "cooking" includes peeling and chopping eg, not just using frozen ready cut veg.
 

Cott97, Do you have neuropathy? Do you drive a car? I worry that they might contact the DVLA to say I shuld have my drivers licence revoked. If that happens, I would not be able to go to work and back and id lose my house and everything. The fear and anxiety today made me cancel my pip assessment and now im wondering if I should just cancel the whole thing. Is the £330 pm worth the risk of me losing everything including my independance...
 

I ended up canceling my f2f assessment. The anxiety was too much. My biggest fear is they revoke my drivers because i have to base my assessment on the worst day. Also, the basic questions about pets etc. I live alone, have a dog. Dont want to lie. Walking the dog can be difficult at times but he is my life as i live alone. If I have to go through this process every 2 years, it would be far too stressfull on my health. As it is, my BG as been in the 20's this week due to all this anxiety and stress.
 
It it possible for the neuropathy to make walking too painful on a bad day without effecting driving?
 
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