I'm 44,single,just been diagnosed COPD but still awaiting results from CT scan, family & friends believe I should continue working (London taxi driver) stressful job in polluted city, lost loads of energy & very lost, any words of advice please?
What help can I expect to get with be... - Lung Conditions C...
What help can I expect to get with benefits,mortgage etc if I have to stop work with COPD? self employed, no insurance etc,really worried
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THECALETAGOAT
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I do empathise with you. I moved out of london where i could hardly breathe when i was first diagnosed. It's very hard when you're self employed. You don't say what stage your copd is but either way family and friends are often unaware of how crucial getting away from pollution is to how well you can manage to live with this illness, and slow its progression. Do please get in touch with the BLF helpline as advised above. Good wishes to you.
hello love do you have good dayxx,i have lower care component, can i claim it to someone who helping me but she have part time job???
in reply to 123podmore
yes podmore had a ok day,just went to doctors and things,do you mean can you use your care component to pay for someone to help you,xxx
no you have to be getting middle rate care before you can get carers allowance paid to someone for looking after you they can only get this if they are working and getting less than a 100.00 per week or if they are not working they can claim it and they have to be giving you 35hrs a week care
Hello THECALETAGOAT, my advice is to take out some kind of mortgage payment insurance, since my partner left his job to get an operation we have been unable to get any help with mortgage payments, it's a nightmare, also I think fresh air is very beneficial if you have copd, might be good to get out of the smog! huff xxxx
she just helping me ,she is from AA,(ALCOHOL ANEMONES) she is helping me like a counselor ,Department for Work and Pensions, ring me today, and they will send me forum for support group, what is that???
Hi podmore. You need benefits advice and that can't be given properly on here. I will send you a private message.
thanx toci
in reply to 123podmore
glad your getting all the help now podmore,look after yourself love,enjoy the rest of the day talk again,xxx
Thanx everyone for info & advice, hopefully will receive more replies also. Hi hufferpuffer, as far as I know doubt I can take out mortgage payment insurance once tests etc started, not been told what stage yet, hospital cock ups so lung function test mid March, been scanned for cancer, waiting for results to rule that out, will look at links /sites mentioned, thanx again, have a good evening x
1st thing I would say is don't make any hasty decisions! I am your age and work part time with moderate COPD and other issues. Some people here are on oxygen and still working...! If you have just been diagnosed you need time to think about ramifications of diagnosis.
You will get very little financial help. Like you I have a mortgage and am trying hard to save and pay off in next 5 yrs. Once that happens I will rethink my work situation. I certainly won't be going on until 67yrs! Of course if I get a big flare up might have to rethink plans but so far so good. Had to see occupational health doc when I was 40yrs and said then I wanted to continue until at least 50yrs. He laughed and said no way. Well am now 1/2 way there!
Depending on how badly you are affected you might get DLA/PIP - but get help with forms. I am on DLA and would not manage financially without it. Certainly it allows me to work part time.
Feel free to ask me any other questions. I also live in London, on my own, with a mortgage so I hear where you are coming from.
This is a good site and you'll get lots of useful information.
I have been out of breath when working sometimes, very difficult to talk to customers, was told interest on mortgage will be paid??? Luckily mine is interest only, driving in London gonna make my condition worse???
Well pollution won't help but I won't move out of london. I decided unless I moved to middle of nowhere not much point. If did that would loose all my support from friends! It's about waying up all pros and cons. My mortgage is interest only but obviously at end of term will need to pay capital. Been overpaying to try to reduce amount.
difficult one. My COPD is very advanced now so I now get full DLA etc., but I don't get unemployment or tax credits or anything else.
I was born & bred & spent my entire life in SW London. I was self-employed so knew no one would pay for the odd sicky or long-term time off. I had a mortgage & knew that with COPD, a long-term progressive illness, nothing was going to get better, get easier nor get paid, so I sold-up before my health got too bad & before the debts really started to gather momentum. I moved out the South East & managed to buy a property cash, with no mortgage at all & with a bit of money left over .... & it's a great feeling.
I now live over the Severn Bridge, just inside Wales, in a beautiful spot, no pollution, no traffic, brilliant neighbours & just 14 miles from Bristol, not much further to Cardiff & an hour from Birmingham. It costs me £1.50 on Megabus to get back up to Victoria.. It's a move I wish I'd done years & years ago ..... if you're a proper Londoner you'll know the real London faded away in the late 80's - the spirit & the identity & the fun has all gone .... it's a tense place to be nowadays - I hate going back ........ & yes, I really do notice the pollution - I find it very hard to breath up there. Had I stayed I'd probably be pushing up daisy's for the past 5-years..
Oh, & the GP's down here aren't crowded so have time, just like the old days ..... & all my prescriptions are absolutely free. And don't forget, Wales was big on mining a few years ago, so we have some damn good lung consultants with direct links to Royal Brompton. I've got to know the neighbours - if I need anything, if I have a bad turn or if the weather gets bad they keep an eye on me ..... just like London used to be in the old days ......
I'll leave you with this thought .... my daughter's just bought a house - a decent sized modernised 3-bed mid-terrace, village setting, huge front & back garden, off street parking, no crime or traffic or riots or drunks or racial issues .... £135k. London equivalent probably £550k+
Initially it was a really hard decision to move, but with hindsight probably the best no-brainer thing I've ever done.
I wish you all the very best of luck I put in a claim for DLA I'm level 4 COPD was turned down I also put in a claim for ESA June 13 8 months ago and I'm still waiting for them to make a decision.
l don't know about that l just know when my husband was gonna claim it they asked him if he was earning more than a hundred pound a week and he said he was and they told him he carnt claim for me and ld been working for nearly 10 years and could only claim esa for twelve months and they stopped it l asked why and they said your husband earns more than the minimum wage your esa will be stopped and it was ld paid tax n insurance all that time for nothing xx
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