to admit defeat and be signed off sick and made to live on UC at 39 years old 😢

[SoUnwell]

I have been unwell now for 3 years and lost 4 jobs because of it.
I have gone from job to job in hope I’ll suddenly get better and be able to work as I feel so young to just accept I am unable to.
I have long covid and fibromyalgia ( brought on my long covid ) as well as a b12 deficiency I’ll need monthly injections for life on as my body no longer absorbs anything

I have really tried
I am 2 weeks into another job and can feel all my symptoms coming back
The constant pain and exhaustion is too much to bear

I think the time has come accept defeat and just follow the GPs advice which is to not work tor the time being

How do I go about all of this?

Im already on a small amount of UC as my wages are so low so will they top me up a little until I apply for PIP?
So confused and very worried as have 3 young children

I’ve agreed to try this but I did before a year ago and they make me violently sick

I don’t think the pain will stop because of those sadly

This is completely not true and is harmful of him and tbh I'd a Dr said that to me (I have Me) I would be making a complaint to the practice manager. ME is not in the mind at all. Is he stuck in the 70s?

Good advice.

I'm not sure you understand chronic exhaustion at all. It's not something that you can solve with a spot of coffee and a bit of gumption.

It's similar to the exhaustion you feel when you have flu. You can't just imagine your way out of it and fighting it only makes you even worse. It is a soul destroying level of exhaustion. Even something like brushing your teeth can feel like running a marathon.

Don't try to push through this, it can make things worse. Fightback can fill in the forms for you. Dealing with PIP/DWP is exhausting when you are already unwell. Good luck.

I’m so worried now about being refused the UC top up I think I’ll have to keep trying to work 😢

I’m genuinely worried I’ll make myself so unwell that I’ll die and I’ve got 3 young children but the stress of not knowing whether a doctor is going to keep signing notes for the UC money is also now a real stress in my mind so I don’t know what to do for the best

As someone who has dealt with Post viral fatigue for 1-3 months at a time at various points of my life I agree with this.

Try and find out all you’re entitled to and if you can manage financially - do not work.

unfortunately many doctors can he incredibly dismissive especially when it comes to long covid/ CFS/ post viral fatigue although things have been improving with that since so many caught long covid . See another doctor next time if possible who is empathetic and knows what they’re talking about frankly.

I just don’t know what to do 😢

Is it ridiculous? She can actually can live on benefits for a significant length of time if she gets a diagnosis eventually, and IMO she should be signed off. Her illness is beyond her control and the way to recover is not to push yourself.

I know plenty who have been signed off for decades. Two examples - a friends aunty who was on heroin in her 20s then prescribed methadone from her 30s to 60s and she’s been on benefits the whole time.

And my friends ex/ child’s father has been receiving some kind of benefit from age 25-45 so far. She’s asked him repeatedly what’s wrong with him as him only getting disability means he can’t contribute much to their child. He hasn’t been able to give an answer. We suspect he’s a functional alcoholic due to his reddening face, so perhaps that’s how he’s managed to be on benefits his whole adult life and spends his days with his girlfriend (also on benefits) socialising regularly in their town and travelling to his girlfriends home country.

TLDR - all sorts of people get long term benefits.

@SoUnwell there’s a lot of really good advice in this thread.

I don’t know much about benefits myself but I suggest you read through posts like this one and others and pick out what you need to get started.

Try speaking to someone at a CAB or similar if you need more help with figuring out next steps.

I've just helped a woman to successfully claim PIP for alcohol dependency ( have to as part of my job). She now has £400 a month more money to spend on drink. I always think there must be a better way of helping addiction than just throwing more benefits money at people which actually makes the problem worse. It's such a shame when people like op are reluctant to claim thinking they are going to be turned down when so many with dependency issues get it so easily and they do because of the issues it causes. I'm not saying they shouldn't claim just that it can make the situation worse having that much extra money in their pockets !

I’m terrified of leaving this job and being forced by UC to take up one that doesn’t fit around my children 😢

Completely agree with all of this!

If you are earning less than 16 x nmw then you can hand in sick notes to UC and you can be referred for a work capability assessment. If earning more than that then you would need to have PIP in place in which case you can be referred however many hours you work. If you were awarded LCWRA ( Limited capability for work and work related activity ) after assessment then you would receive an extra element on your Uc claim. This process is to help people who can only work part time due to illness or disability.

What is 16 X nmw

So I’m currently earning more than 16 hours so I can’t go off sick even though it’s teen time only?

16 x national minimum wage per week.

I’m worried now 😢

I've no idea if they would average it out over the year, you would need to leave a message on your UC journal for your case manager and see what they say.

What are you worried about?

If you have limited capacity for work on your UC, they won't be asking you to work or look for work.

You don't need constant sick notes either.

I've been on this for a couple of years now and I've not had to do any admin or upkeep for it.

Try not to worry too much. It's a benefit that is meant for your exact circumstance. It's money you need and you deserve.

No-one is saying you can't go off sick, I'm saying that if you wanted to carry on working and you earn less than 16xnmw per week you can be assessed for work capability which could give you extra money on the UC claim and mean you aren't expected to look for extra hours ( not sure if they currently ask you to look for more hours ? ). If you do have to give up your job completely then you can also be assessed for work capability as you would need the extra LCWRA money to survive I expect. you can also apply for PIP which is separate to UC. The key to successful PIP claims and getting LCWRA on your UC is good medical evidence to support your claims.

B12 should be every other day until all symptoms are gone - the NHS do not provide this - you either have to pay private or take matters into your own hands.

You will never feel well on 1 monthly injections if the symptoms come back sooner you need more b12.

@SoUnwell What treatment have you tried ? I have fibro/chronic migraine /EDS/endo/adenomyosis/PORS etc and am working full time, but have had great success with following mindfulness for pain /chronic illness. There’s a lot of you tube videos taking you through it.

I’m not suggesting it will magically fix you but your GP it’s also partly right that there is a mental element, and mindfulness can make a huge difference re quality of life.

You may find the GP also listens more if you can show what you are trying to help yourself (even if it doesn’t work) rather than ‘just’ asking for a sick note. You do need to spell out your symptoms, what you have tried and how to feel and what impact it has despite your efforts.