Has anyone applied for PIP for osteoarthritis

[jadey0885]

Hi can anyone help me, I'm trying to find some information about PIP(personal independent payment) for my partner who suffers with osteoarthritis. He has been suffering from this for 10years and has only been diagnosed in August last year. Thanks

PIP is not given for the condition but given for what you cannot do. I have Osteoarthritis and Enhanced PIP both mobility and care but OA is only one of my conditions

Thanks for your reply. My partner has OA and sciatica(still waiting to be confirmed). He was told by CAB to put a claim in which he has done as can't do a lot of things.

Yes i did so for my mum and my aunt. I was a benefits processor, so I knew what to write on the form. They can be tricky!

Thanks Hun, yeah it was a difficult form to fill in.

What information are you looking for?

I know several claimants who have OA but their forms were all different, you folk in how things affect you rather then detail about the illness.

You could look up your local welfare rights, call the council and ask about this, they can help do the form.

Sorry just realised you have down the form!

What information are you asking for?

I just wanted to see how likely it is that you would get it. As my partner was very honest on his application but he has been told he should of played on it. But that's wrong.

Well it very much depends on how the OA affects him. Nobody can answer this as every application is different. If he has been honest and he doesn't get PIP it will be because he doesn't meet the criteria. Having OA doesn't mean he will be entitled, he has to meet those criteria.

I’ve seen people with cancer, dying in hospital failing to qualify. The assessors are not medically qualified, in fact they are barely qualified at all.
OA is crippling, both mentally and physically. There are good days and bad days.
I’m not advocating putting in a fraudulent claim, or playing on a condition. I would say to use your worst day as an example. OA will not get better.

Ok I was being ridiculous by saying if he doesn't get it that it will be because he doesn't qualify, obviously the above scenario happens all too often.

What I really meant was a diagnosis isn't what it takes. Not everyone who has OA is affected the same and while I agree it doesn't go away, plenty people are not affected so severely that they qualify for PIP.

It's about what you can/can't do, how much assistance you need etc eg if they cannot chop vegetables, use a tin opener etc, do they need help with getting dressed, how far can they walk etc. It's actually not a complicated form but the diagnosis is not taken into account just the disability. I'm in the process of doing DD's review and I have found it quite fair

Be aware that however it affects you it needs to be like this for more than 50% of the time.
If he is refused, appeal and get help from an organisation like citizens advice.
Did you include supporting medical evidence on how his condition affects his ability to carry out daily activities. This is more important than the diagnosis.

Hi yes we included everything

I have OA as well as inflammatory arthritis and am really struggling now at home but more so at work. People keep telling me to apply for PIP so that I could cut down my hours at work but when I look at the criteria I don't think I would qualify because I can do most things, but they cause me a lot of pain and make my life miserable to be honest. My drs and physio have told me that I can't make my joints any worse than they are and so to do as much as I can even though it hurts, do that's what I do. How does this fit with PIP though? I could say that I can't walk, use stairs, get dressed without assistance because I can't do any of these without a lot of pain and the only reason I can do them is by pushing through the pain, by paying for physio and by taking a ton of painkillers. I'm right in thinking that PIP doesn't allow for this though aren't I?

You can still work full time and claim pip. Hearhooves you meet the criteria. I have both processed claims as an assessor for years, as well as an appeals officer for Macmillan to fight claims that are turned down.
I’ve never lost a case.
You say what you cannot do on a normal day.
Omit the fact that you do it because of painkillers, pushing through pain, physio etc. It carries no weight.
I’ve seen people push through immense pain (as in they are dying) because it’s a good day, pass tests like picking up a pen and they’ve died during the claim process!

The system is flawed in many ways.

It is NOT fraud. Gather your medical evidence and apply.
DM if you need assistance.

I'll say that there is no harm in trying to claim for PIP. My partner has claimed and we are awaiting a response

Thanks Sadie's. I understand that you can work and still claim. My sticking point is when I've looked at the criteria and it will say things like "can walk X distance" - I can but it's really painful, so is that I can do it or I Can't? Same with things like cooking or getting dressed - most of the time I can do this but it's very painful, sometimes I just can't do.it but that's not 50% of the time. That's where I'm struggling, where I can do things but with difficulty and in pain. I could, legitimately, not do these things and then I'd be able to fill the forms in but I feel that because I make myself do them that I can't fill the forms in.. Does that make sense?

It does make sense. If you can’t do what (for want of words) an able bodied person is able to do, then it has to be a “can’t do it”.

If you say you can do it- they’ll just accept that you can do it . They’ll not look at the fact that it’s only sometimes, dosed up on medication, taking longer than you would if you didn’t have the condition, in pain, probably causing yourself additional pain and further issues (possibly accidents, like falling down) in the process.

EG my mum could theoretically walk to a bus stop close to her home. About 4 minutes up hill walk for me. She could force herself, would be in crippling pain, would need to keep stopping for breaks, take possibly 30 /40 minutes at least to get there. She would then have to be carried/lifted on to the bus. She cannot use a wheel chair /sit for long periods due to pain. Plus she can’t pull herself up. She either stands or leans against things.... the question can you walk X distance? The answer is no. Because it’s not practical, or reasonable to expect her to go through all that to do it and when she got there she couldn’t get on the bus anyway! She’s also very depressed about it as she has friends her age who can do these things. She cannot take medication due to her IBS and heart.
She uses “grabbers” to pick things up off the floor. She can get dressed and shower to a degree, takes her ages, she can’t dry herself properly and has equipment to help her, she cannot put her socks or shoes on. She can cook a meal .... but this is quick meals like soup, toast, boiled eggs, micro chips. She couldn’t cook a roast dinner or anything that requires preparation or needs to be watched for example. So ‘can you cook a meal’ - the answer is no. It’s not reasonable or practical, plus soup and microchips isn’t a meal! - but mum would class that as a meal and say “yes, I can cook a meal” - then she wouldn’t get benefit. Does that make sense?
You have to mention everything you struggle with.

Thank you, that makes sense now. I kept reading the questions and thinking that I can do them - but - without understanding what you've just explained. I'm going to look again at them. Thank you.

@hearhoovesthinkzebras
Your welcome - good luck x

@hearhoovesthinkzebras the criteria they look at is STAR, can you do something safely, in a timely manner, in an acceptable way and reliably.

So for example if you can only open a medication packet by using a knife because it hurts your hands too much to pop pills out or using your teeth this isn't safe or acceptable.

If you are causing significant pain, even using pain killers to do tasks such as opening things or lifting things, getting in and out of the bath or standing and sitting then you aren't doing them reliably and would probably need an aid to do them.

The bar for requiring assistance is quite high and you would have to have very significant loss of movement / power / grip / very high pain, supported by good evidence. However it's reasonably likely that they would consider aids and score for these (if I was filling in the form that's what I'd be looking at maybe unless you think you can evidence higher).

If you are causing significant pain, even using pain killers to do tasks such as opening things or lifting things, getting in and out of the bath or standing and sitting then you aren't doing them reliably and would probably need an aid to do them.

I haven't seen these criteria on the guidelines that I've looked at.

Many things I just no longer do, my DH does them eg cooking, housework etc. I could do them but they cause me a lot of pain and I end up in an either or situation. I can do 1 thing or another but it both. Mainly I have to.prioritise work. So I go to work, take the minimum of painkillers whilst there because otherwise I can't concentrate and I have to drive home. By the time I get home I am in so much pain that all I can do is take painkillers and lay down. I will only get up to do my physio exercises and have a bath and then I go to bed. I used to do yoga and Pilates 3 times a week but currently I'm managing only once a week if that.

If I want to go out (possibly 3 or 4 times a year).I have to plan for it and rest before and after.

Is living like this taken into consideration? On the one hand I think I'm not that bad. On the other, when I look at my life and how restricted it is I think it is that bad.

Even things like going upstairs are getting harder. I tend to only go up when I'm ready to stay up there. I can't just go up and down as I like. If I could have the knee replacement that I need I think my quality of life would improve (although my hands, back foot and shoulder would still be affected) but my ability to use stairs and drive will hopefully improve. At the moment it's been refused because I'm too young.

If you have a look at this www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria it explains how they consider STAR and that they should look at the impact of doing things, like the pain caused or made worse.

It's worth considering applying and using it to get some bits to help you or maybe allowing you to reduce your hours a bit?

That's exactly what I would like to do - reduce my hours.

My partner was told to quit his recent job as it wasn't helping him. They told him to find a sit down job rather then a standing job