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Claiming PIP health problems

5 replies

jddnld · 14/10/2024 13:42

Hi all, I am really struggling. I am a single mum, I try and work as much as i can as we don't have a lot of money and her dad is no contact and doesn't send more than 20£ for her. I have Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, Hidradentis supparativa (may have spelt that wrong) and just been diagnosed today with focal epilepsy. All my conditions are just getting on top of me, im constantly poorly and having to call in sick, this has affected my anxiety massively, plus my daughter was born at 26 weeks so her immune system is so poor and she is constantly picking things up from nursery, so if its not her poorly, then its me. I'm getting so incredibly down about everything. I just wondered if anyone else is in a similar boat, or if i just have no luck at all. I've tried claiming for PIP but I've had no luck.

OP posts:
BlankTimes · 14/10/2024 13:53

Have a look at the free CAB guides online to PIP. They explain a lot, particularly on how to fill in the forms. PIP is not awarded for any medical conditions, it is awarded for how you are affected in your daily life.

If you can afford the annual membership, join Benefits and Work, they have downloadable guides and explain the whole process in detail.

Nogodsnomasters · 14/10/2024 17:30

Go to the GP about your anxiety and have that added to your medical records that you've sought help for it and then add it to your pip application, they really seem to be more receptive to mental health problems affecting daily life that smaller chronic conditions. Plus the new diagnosis today of the epilepsy will add to your application. I'd see GP and then apply again.

mitogoshigg · 14/10/2024 17:46

As someone has mentioned, pip is about things you need help with everyday so personal care, food prep etc. it's to cover the extra costs eg ready meals if you can't prepare food. Unfortunately pain or emotional struggle isn't really factored in eg it's can you plan a journey and walk x far?

RyTrerry · 14/10/2024 19:51

The key to being successful with PIP application is providing evidence of how your health conditions disable you.
They will expect someone claiming to be involved with HCPs. You need to get reports detailing how your conditions affect your ordinary everyday functioning and what you need help with and submit with your application.

baroqueandblue · 15/10/2024 00:12

Hi @jddnld

I'm sorry to hear about your situation, it's understandably wearing and anxiety-provoking to have continual money worries hanging over you. Clearly, no matter how hard you try, because of the ways in which your health issues affect you from day to day (even if you have bad days and slightly better days) you feel overwhelmed and defeated. That sort of circumstance would drive many of us to despair, it's pernicious.

You must put in another claim for PIP, but to be successful it's really important to understand how to write your responses to the questions on the forms. The assessors, as a PP has said, are less interested in what your diagnoses are and more interested in exactly how your conditions impact you from day to day. For example, I have fibromyalgia (amongst other chronic diseases) and while I always tell the assessor that I live with a debilitating baseline of pain, I have to substantiate that by detailing how the condition affects my capacity to carry out daily living tasks. Take preparing food - I often can't bend to use the oven, I have a gadget that unscrews jar lids for me (wrist pain), and I frequently abandon food preparation halfway through because of fatigue and/or pain, which means some days I don't eat promptly when hungry, or I don't eat adequately because my fallback is often cereal. When I have acute episodes of fibromyalgia symptoms I can go for days without regular meals, and not only that but some of the medication I'm on messes around with my appetite, which makes me less motivated to cook regularly. The upshot is I can't reliably prepare meals for myself, neither can I do certain tasks involved in meal prep repeatedly (as someone without my difficulties could) in a way that ensures I complete meal preparation, and neither can I do so safely, eg. without making pain in my legs and hips worse by bending.

Those three words - reliably, repeatedly and safely - are the criteria upon which how your disability affects you is measured by PIP assessors. So when answering each question on the form that applies to you, frame your answers with those three key words in mind. It might feel a bit odd to focus on describing things in that way, but that's what they want to know. As you can imagine from the bit I wrote about preparing meals, there are frequently days when I need help to do it adequately, whether that be with the help of aids like the jar opener or electric tin opener, or a person supporting me physically (oven door) and emotionally (eg. prompting me to push through the lack of motivation). Whether or not I have the aids I need, or a friend, partner, neighbour or family member to encourage/assist me is technically irrelevant - it's the fact that I need them that's important. Of course, I always mention what bits of support I do get, but some people don't get any, which can make living with their conditions even harder. As a mum, it's also vital to make clear that your parental responsibilities and tasks are made more difficult by your health conditions, and juggling being a parent with doing daily living tasks for your own needs and care makes life much harder than if you were just looking after yourself. Mention any help at all that you get with childcare, and any that you don't get but actually need because of the way your illness affects you.

I go through the form writing detailed answers along those lines to all the questions that affect me. That, along with any letters from hospital that show my various diagnoses, is my evidence. I've never had any kind of special medical report written by a health professional to help me claim PIP, although no doubt it's helpful if you can get such a report.

The PP who recommended the Benefits and Work website was spot on, their guides have helped me so much over the years. The annual membership costs less than £20 (doesn't automatically renew each year if you no longer need it) and as a member you're able to download their detailed guides that really help you to structure your answers to the forms.

I have never been turned down for PIP.

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