Todays the day

[Audiking]

Hi Guys, I’ve 1 hour to go until my PIP assessment and my anxiety is going through the rough biggest worry is people saying they going to try and trip me up when all I can do is tell the truth. Fingers crossed 🤞

[Aztec632]

I have just seen your post! Too late for me to try and calm you but I hope all went well and that your anxiety levels have dropped. I didn't find it that bad.

[Braveheart65]

hope it wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be.

[CooBoo]

you have got to answer the questions as this is the very worst day you have ever had in your illness, you may be fine on the day, but that would not be a fair assessment for you, if you are on meds, that help you to function better, either don’t take them till after, only mind if you can!, do not put yourself in danger if you can’t! Make sure you have someone( family) there with you to help you in and out of the venue and chairs if you need it, I know illness makes you terribly independent!, but on this day show your vulnerabilities!, also your anxieties too if they go hand and hand with your illness! Remember, this is your illness and 9 times out of 10, the person who is conducting the assessment is not a specialist or even that qualified to do these. Ask questions, ask what their title is. Be confident in your illness, your the one that suffers, but not too confident to mask your pain, which is what we are used to doing in everyday life, but only you know what goes on behind that front dirt, when you have to suffer in silence or through many sleepless nights. Make sure you take a list of recent procedures, meds, and doctor or and consultant appointments you have had over the years! Good Luck!

[Anthonysmate]

I hope things went well.. I noticed you have already posted about PIP claim recently, and got plenty of good advice, you may have already claimed before taking that advice. If you get a negative result you may wish to appeal, I strongly suggest you have a look at that thread if this is the case, as Citizens advice also handle appeals, and other organisations named in that thread are amazing, and can still help at appeals stage...Fingers crossed all is well and you don't need them.. Regards ANT

[Braveheart65]

I had an assessment today. It was supposed to be by video but 10 mins before it was due, I got a call saying that the health professional wasn’t available for a video call and that I was to wait for a telephone call to conduct the assessment at some point this afternoon. About 50 mins later I received a call with a nurse which lasted just short of 2 hours.

The nurse was actually very patient, human, but very thorough. It’s done in sections so my advice to anyone else is to go with the flow of the questions. Take your time and try not to lose your train of thought.

My anxiety levels were difficult to control this morning and following the call I’ve vomited a few times. I developed a hell of a headache going through everything but as it was by phone, I closed my eyes and took my time trying to explain how I felt and how I approached my daily life.

I’ve no idea what the outcome will be but I have to be honest and say that I really don’t feel like the nurse was trying to catch me out.

I completed the PIP form in June 2022, I’ve been waiting all this time for the assessment, thinking of how to truthfully answer questions but also describe how difficult I’m finding recovery from second surgery in which I lost a bit of my bowel as a stent had migrated and lodged in the bowel. I think the wait for the assessment to come through was more stressful than the actual call itself.

I’ll let you know what the outcome of the assessment is once I hear back from DWP. If anyone has any specific questions about the assessment, let me know and I’ll try to answer them. Take care all.