life changing asthma

Hi everyone i am finally out of hospital after 5 weeks although not expected to go back to work for a while.

My consultant has suggested i cut back my work hours quite alot as my asthma is so severe but i said to him i couldnt afford to which is when he suggested applying for disability allowance. i am not one for benifits but have also realised how poorly my asthma has made me become.

Does anyone else her claim dla and had to stop working because of their condition i am so low at the moment didnt realise how serious it can become. also what other benifits can i claim for really hating life at the mo.

i have also been told that after a chest xray there are changes to right upper zone what does this mean i know ppl cant give diagnosis but really starting to worry only 27 and feel like life is over.

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Hi Kipo!

I have asthma that has changed my life. I will tell you about me as i think it is the easiest. I am 23 years old, i have chronic asthma as well as a genetic condition. I studied a music degree between 2004 and 2008 in my last year of studying my asthma flared up and i got lots of complications. At the end of my degree which i passed some how i was rushed in to hospital and spent 5 weeks in, when i came out i was unable to dress, wash, or do any daily living tasks for myself. From this point onwards i knew my life would be different but i did not know by how much. At first i aimed to get well and get a job - i never managed to get well enough to get a full time paid employment nor have i managed to get well enough to get paid part time employment as i have just spent 12 days in hospital and am pretty much back to square one again! I am struggling to do any daily living tasks.

While i was in this time my consultant has told me he wants me to be a volunteer and not to try and work at all as he says my body just cannot cope with it. This is hard for me as it means i have basically gone from being a student to being retired without working. I get disability benefits both incapacity and DLA mobility part. I am unable to walk any distance due to my genetic condition and asthma. (so not just asthma for other asthmatics reading this). It is hard to accept but you have to learn to listen to your body and not your financial needs, as in the long run if you are ill you cannot work. You are welcome to PM me. It is quite hard to come to terms with i still havent completely and i still have low days where it all gets me but it is all part of living with a long term condition.

Hopefully my story is of some help to you.

Plumie

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Hi Kipo

First of all don't look at claiming benefits as something to be ashamed of, they are there to help those truly in need, and from your post, think you need the additional financial support. Look at it this way, if you successfully claimed DLA (Not always an easy one, but with the right help should be fine) you could reduce your working hours, not have to worry about the financial implications, retain your links with employment which is very important to many sufferers as they don't wish to feel isolated or a drain on society's resources. The added benefits would hopefully be that you could gain better control of your Asthma and therefore go back to enjoying a good quality of life again.

Now if in the long term your health forces you to give up work altogether, please don't feel bad about it. The fact that that you have battled on and are trying to stay employed is testament to your strong character. I haven't worked for nearly 17 years due to my health, was force ably retired my the medics, I hated it, took me years to come to terms with it, tried to return to work by retraining at my cost financially, doing voluntary work when well (and sometimes not so well) anything I thought to prove to the outside world that I was a worthwhile member of society and not a drain on society's resources. Because my disability isn't obvious felt for years that I needed to explain why I wasn't working/and sometimes when I couldn't explain used the student status as something to hide behind.

Many years later I now realise, that I don't have to explain to anyone anything. I know my limitations and health issues, and other that the authorities and my medical care providers my life is private.

Today I am a happily married woman, a Dachshund Mummy to Lottie and just coming to the end of a Open University Course because I want to.

Wishing you the very best of luck and if I can be of any further help feel free to pm me.

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Life changing asthma

Hi Kipo,

I am glad to hear you are home from hospital at last and I hope it's a long time before you're as ill again. My daughter was medically retired from work when she was only 20yrs old. She applied for and got DLA both mobility and care component at the high rate as her asthma was so severe.Please don't be ashamed to claim these benefits as they are there for people like you who have a life threatening illness.It would make a big difference to your income and in so doing would enable you to reduce your working hours which hopefully in turn will help your asthma. Good luck for the future, please apply for all that you can. Keep well. LIZ x x

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Apply for dla when u get awarded it will open other benefits that you may be entitled to ie tax credits if u didn't work I'm in similar position to you. At the mo. I reduced my hours at work to be honest didn't help my asthma still off sick a lot when off suick takes a long time to stabilise asthma. Then goback to work and then after a week or two back of sick.... Bit of a viscous cicle. Only you can decide on your work but get your union involved they may get u a lighter job or advice on retirement due to I'll health

[cici73]

Please do not beat yourself up over getting DLA, my friend has Asthma but also Chronic Eczema which has required hospitalisation plus long term Cyclosporin treatment. She eventually was so physically unwell with both conditions that she had no option but to claim for Disability Living Alowance....which she got, thankfully.

I myself was off for over 6 weeks last year over my Asthma but was able to return to work....though I only work 16 hours/week. The Citizens Advice Beareau is a good place to get benefits advice as they are legally insured to do so and they really helped my friend sort her DLA claim out.

Take care

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Please don't be ashamed of claiming DLA. I am a teacher and on DLA due to brittle asthma. This means that I now only need to work 3 days a week instead of five. This has cut down on my hospital admissions as I am not as tired. My asthma gets much worse when I am tired. I have also been able to come off regular steroids because I am more stable due to working less and pacing myself better. Am now in hospital on average once a year. It used to be every 6 weeks I would be in ICU.

Claiming DLA is nothing to be embarassed about and could allow to gain some control over your quality of life again, particularly if you are able to rest more and work less and not get stressed over missing time off work.

Hope things improve soon

xxxxx