DLA and my Dh (annoyed!!)

[misdee]

my dh put in an application for DLA back in sept. it was initially turned down with the reasons stated that he isnt disabled enough. He phoned them, and gave reasons to why he doesnt agree with their descision and they said they will look at it again. We phoned in jan to ask what was happening, they said it hadnt been looked at yet and they would get onto it. so today we phoned again, the information hadnt been sent to the wembly office, so they have chased up blackpool office, and depending on whether or not its straightforward it will be between 2weeks to 3months for a descicion to be made. am very annoyed and p*ssed off.

we also picked up the forms for a blue badge, but as he doesnt use a stick or anything, just walks slower and has to take breaks i dont think he'll get that either. hate this.

misdee my sister used to have a social worker to help her fil in her DLA forms and this was always useful. My HV helped me fill mine in for dd. It always helps if you have someone professional to help you fil them in and chase them up. Is there no-one you could ask? He surely qualifies when he is too ill and weak to work FFS!!

his GP filled in the forms with him, the ones from his specialist state that heart tranplant is almost certain, death is a possibility (yikess!!!) , his EF is 24% (normal person is 60% or over), if it drops to 14% or less then he will get tranplant. His work have called in disabled officer type person (so he is considered disabled right?????) tax credits state he is disabled, but still we are hitting a brick wall with DLA. just dont know what to do. appeal last year was a no-go, they just dont understand the condition.

oh gawd the dla are a bloody pain. Yes he will be classed as 'disabled' and I cant see why when he is assessed even at work as being disabled that the dla are querying it. I dont know what to suggest, I have problems myself with them!

Just dont know what to do. should i actually send them an information pack on his condition, tell them his EF% and explain in detail what it mean. its classed as heart failure, so surely they would get it???????

misdee my partner is on dla and even though i cant help much about the time they take which i know is to long you have the right to a tribunal where any information taken off his specialist will help and they do useualy go by the recomendation of a specialist as well through letter and as long as it is still the same claim they have to pay back whatever is owed to you husband up till the time of paying sorry i cant help anymore hope this helps a bit

we went to appeal last year with his 2nd claim. they had a lawyer, doctor and a disabilty person. they kept going on about how when he is breathles she should use his inhalor when it isnt his asthma that is the problem, and claimed that he wasnt 'disabled' enough. he was pouring with sweat as he cant control body temp that well as his heart is functioning poorly. his specialist letters states clearly that its a serious condition, transplant is very likely b4 he reaches mid 30's (currently almost 25, so a good ten years left hopefully) but his condition can detoriate at any time. he takes around 10-20 tablets a day, is prone to infections, a simple cold floors him for weeks, has been taken to hospital several times over the last year to be checked over as his doc is very caustious, and has blood tests every 2-6weeks. this rules our lives, but because he can walk to the local shops (taking twice as long as i do) he is apparently not disabled.

they initially said that we would hear mid jan, after that about 4 weeks, now its been almost 8 weeks, and have been told between 2-12weeks. just fed up. plus his work are pressuring him to return even tho he has been signed off for at least another 6months.

the stupid thing is, my dd1 gets dla for her asthma and eczema. never had a problem with that, they just used the info on the claim packs. HV helped fill those in.

all we want is a yes/no answer, just to know that people are taking this seriously would make me feel better, its hard explaining that a young bloke has these problems.

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I have had 2 kidney transplants and have been left with a faulty heart with a low ejection fraction and I get DLA.You have to fill in the form from the perspective of how he is on a worst day scenario.Eg some days I walk my son to school ok-ish yet others like today I took him a little way and then came home huffing and puffing keep persisting with that EF he really deserves it

Misdee what condition does he have?

dilated cardiomyopathy, has had it 2years now.

twiglett, i know they cant force him back to work, but they are asking now for a specific date for him to return. as we cant give this, as some days he seems fine, others he feels awful (i'm not expecting him to get up till later today, as he was suffering leg cramps all night which is a side effect of one his meds), so he is thinking of cutting his losses and quitting.

I have HOCM which is v similar.Can you ring the cardiomyopathy association they may be able to help.They stopped mine once and I had to really fight to have it restarted but they eventually back dated it.These people dont realise that we would rather be working but it is physically impossible!

just called them. they are gonna to send me a information sheet on applying for DLA (tho after filling them in over and over i think i know what to do) and to just keep trying. like the lady said, we have the supporting letters of his gp and specialist, just gotta wait for DLA to get their arses in gear.

why cant it be easier.