To feel off about asking my GP for a letter?

[someoneneededyoubree]

It's to apply for PIP. I'm in a lot of need for it, I can now barely walk with pain.

But how do I ask for a letter to support my application?

I don't know what it is exactly. I just feel like a cheeky fucker. It's like I'm directly asking him for money I feel awful!

What do I even say? The whole thing fills me with a lot of anxiousness (I don't suffer from anxiety, but for some reason, this is making me feel anxious and a little bit afraid, a bit like jumping off a diving board).

What would you do? I really need evidence so I can't not ask.

www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/how-to-access-your-health-records/ should help

Sorry x-post.

It is preferable to send supporting evidence but not essential. Things like details of support groups attended/ therapy/ physio report/ OT report etc. However if you don't have anything you can still apply. A prescription list detailing pain killers will support that it is painful to walk.

You are not supposed to ask for a letter. The information about applying is quite specific that you send any letters you have but if they need more THEY will contact your GP.

Put in your application.

@laptopdisaster unfortunately Capita very rarely bother to contact applicant's GP's to ask for supporting information. They only do so in 2% of cases.

I would strongly recommend including some evidence if you can get some together by the deadline: a symptom diary, and letter from someone who knows how your condition affects you. These may not sound as good as a letter from a GP, but actually they can be better. The GP doesn't know how your condition affects your day to day living so a letter they write can only go so far.

Also, if your application is turned down, then do make sure to put in a mandatory reconsideration, and then an appeal if necessary. You have a month to put in the MR and then another month to appeal if you are still not happy with the decision. Most decisions do not change at mandatory reconsideration but around 70% of appeals are successful.

@MrsSquiggler I didn't know that. I still get loads of forms!

Just ask for your medical records. You just call up the receptionists and just ask for a copy of them. They will know what you’ll need.

What condition do you have? I think depending on your condition it might not be enough for a GP to give info as most conditions that make you eligible for PIP will usually mean you need specialist care to prove you are taking action to help yourself (not all conditions). Eg, arthritis will require you to be seen by a rheumatologist for treatment which cannot be given by a GP as they are unable to prescribe the medication etc

Hid So I ring up my GP surgery and they'll print off all of my records for me, in paper form?

I have fibromyalgia, it is just managed by my GP because rheumatology here don't think they can help. The same went for the last hospital I was under

I have however been referred to rheumatology again because my GP is suspicious it may be arthritis now.

I'm currently in a wheelchair and I can't walk more than a metre, if that. A lot of the time I cannot stand.

Not through wanting to ease pain or wanting to not be in pain, that's not the only reason. I just physically cannot stand up properly at times. My joints feel stiff but whilst doing so, they feel unstable and weak.

It's horrible because I've always tried managing my Fibro by exercise. I was a keen horse rider, yoga, gymnastics etc.

I hate living like this and I wish I could just be active but I can't anymore.

It truly sucks kitten balls.

Hi Op,

Just wanted to reassure you that you don't need to pay for a letter.

We used repeat prescription print outs, appointment letters and a really detailed list of all the effects the condition has on my dh. At the time he was only seeing his GP too so it is possible. I want to encourage you to apply anyway whether you think you have evidence or not. It does sound like your condition severely impacts your life and you need some financial support.

Good luck.

someoneneededyoubree

Yep, just say you want a print off of your medical records. They consolidate it so it’s not millions of pages. I used it to apply for a disable badge.
I have RA and joint weakeness is one of the things I suffer with but can easily(ish) push through the pain of it.
Have you been seen by a consultant in regards to your fibro? Or is it a condition which doesn’t require a specialist? I know some don’t when they are untreatable through specialist medication

Make an appointment to ask about pain relief, they ask for a note at the appointment!

Or if you see a specialist then ask them.

At worst apply anyway with evidence from a friend or relative and the DWP might contact your GP (then they or ATOS/Capita pay the GP instead).

• then, not they.

I really don't think you should accept the label of 'Fibromyalgia'- it's GP code for 'in the head' and just means distributed pain with no disease present.

If you cannot stand and are intense pain then there is something more serious going on- perhaps it is arthritis.

I had absolutely no evidence, even though I’m under the care of multiple consultants. None of my clinical letters had any info that I felt would be helpful to show my limitations. Detailing diagnoses and treatment didn’t add anything. I got PIP based on my evidence and my face to face assessment. Good luck!

Hi Op we used to ask or it in writing but specific dates now we print of a subject to acsess request. This gives you a part to fill in what you would like. So say you want the information from the last 5 years related to your health condition or specific hospital letters / discharges ECT rather than just your full record which will contain everything and be huge and probably have things that aren't relevant to your claim.

You fill out and send back the PIP form. If the DWP need any further information they write directly to the GP.

If they turn you down and you appeal then you can ask the GP for a supporting letter.

For your records just send a letter detailing your name, date of birth, NHS number and contact details and ask for a copy of your records/hospital letters from a certain date and sign and date your request.

In Scotland (not sure where you are) the dwp send us a form or request specific additional information at their expense. You do not need to do this.
You could ask your practice to print a patient summary normally less than 6 pages (this would include a list of what diagnosis and medications!) may charge approx 30p for printing each page and include this and advice dwp.

Hi, I work behind the scenes in a Gp's surgery.
Generally what happens now is that the Gp receives the PIP forms and invites the patient in for a double appointment and they fill the forms in together.
If you just want a copy of your notes simply phone and ask to speak to the practice manager. They may want you to sign a. Consent/release form and if your notes go further back than the computerised notes, they may charge £10 to photocopy your paper file.
I should add I live in NI do it may be slightly different but our GPS are certainly aware that someone applying for pip can not afford £60.

@memorial I never said GPs don't do a lot of extra work unpaid or outside their regular working hours... I took issue with your comment that you couldn't think of other professionals doing this. Teachers on average work 55 hours a week in term time and certainly also work over the holidays, so that also averages out as considerably more than what they're paid for. That's all I meant - doctors aren't the only professionals expected to go above and beyond. I have no issue with them charging for letters, but £60-£80 seems rather steep! Anyway we should probably stick together, we're both being shafted by the government

I really don't think you should accept the label of 'Fibromyalgia'- it's GP code for 'in the head'

No wonder people suffering this illness feel like no one takes them seriously. What an absolute load of shit.

chasinggarlic My friend is a GP and told me this. As Fibromyalgia is a diagnosis of exclusion, where all other diagnosable conditions have been ruled out, it is not a disease but an umbrella term for medically unexplained pain.

A lot of people diagnosed with Fibromyalgia go on to receive a more correct diagnosis (e.g. Arthritis, Ehlos-Danlos, Polymyalgia, Spondylosis, Osteoarthritis, ALS, MS) and I just don't think the OP should be fobbed off with a Fibromyalgia diagnosis when she's clearly very ill. Nor should anyone who's very ill.

chasinggarlic My friend is a GP and told me this

Oh well, that’s that then.

Well there's no test for it- perhaps in the future they'll find a specific cause and then it can be referred to as a disease but I'm aware at the very least that a lot of GPs regard it as a handy diagnosis for people that they cannot diagnose with anything else and it shouldn't be like that.

I am not against the people diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I do not believe that it's 'All in their heads'. I do think they should push for further investigations and a more accurate diagnosis as often years down the line they do get diagnosed with something else.

I also think people should be aware that a reasonably large proportion of GPs do view Fibromyalgia in the way that my friend does.

Hi OP,

I just wanted to say I'm sorry if my comment about Fibromyalgia was upsetting- I honestly just meant that I think that you have something more serious than Fibromyalgia. My intention was to advice that you ask for further investigations so that you can get the correct diagnosis and treatment.

PIP is based on functional limitations, not on the specific diagnosis, so you should be fine for PIP as you are clearly in severe pain.

Have you been referred to a Conplex Pain Team at a hospital? GPS are generalists and quite frankly, do NOT have the expertise to deal with your situation. If you’re daily functioning has deteriorated this much and your pain has increased this much under the ‘care’ of your GP, then it’s a clear sign that your GOs care is not sufficient!!!

Sorry, I’m angry. You have been failed. Like so many others with chronic and difficult to diagnose / manage conditions. Like me. And so many others on here and on other forums.

But there is more medical and health treatment out there, if you can fight hard enough. Which is utterly rubbish because you shouldn’t need to fight when you’re so bloody poorly and you can’t do much more than breathe some days.

But it’s worth fighting if you possibly can. Maybe not now. Maybe one fight at a time.

But I’m in so much of a better position than I was 4 years ago. I was told there was nothing more for me. I’d reached the end of the road. And I should just go away and learn to cope... but it wasn’t true.

And I know you’re not asking about any of this. But I feel really strongly that you are being left unhelped by a failing system which finds it easier to ignore the suffering of patients like us. But it’s not acceptable to neglect your health and well-being like this, whilst choosing to care and treat other people with different health conditions. It’s just not! And you sound at rock bottom. I’m so so sorry .

I’ll tell you my story but in another post so it doesn’t get in the way, of this main message. Which is: there is better help out there, if you can fight a little, I think it might be worth it. People can’t understand how truly awful life can be when you have every joy and capability stripped away until you’re nothing but a ball of pain. And you can’t live like this. You shouldn’t be asked to live like this. Yes, there will probably always be pain, but it’s about getting it under control and using a multipronged strategy to regain your identity, and get back some joy and some pleasure in your life.

It’s a different kind of fighting than the type people normally imagine (aka the language of fighting cancer thang, which most cancer sufferers hate anyway!). Sadly it’s fighting the system and becoming the expert at what resources are out there to get to a combination of treatments, medicines, techniques and life changes that work for you - not for anyone else, not in theory, but practically, for you.

Because life is more than pain and misery.

You deserve more than this