dla assessment looming

[floozy]

hi to everyone new to this but have an assessment on monday and wondered do the people who assess / judge us have medical knowledge of fm or indeed any medical training ?

[ydnam]

As far as i am concerned about them NO they are meant to be trained doctors, One put me down as being able to walk normally when i use crutches . Just remember its the worst day ever and you cant do anything do not offer them anything they are there to trick you ......

[floozy in reply to ydnam]

thank you for your reply , it seems very harsh of them , can we request a dr with fm sympathys or at least belief that fm exists , how is it possible that after such a short time of seeing us they can go against gps , consultants desicions who have been dealing with us for months or years ? does it also mean if they judge against us that this massive cocktail of drugs we seem to have to take is for nothing ?

[floozy]

thank you will bear in mind all youve said . i think its more the journey to get there than the assesment thats bothering me because i am tending to hibernate a bit right now

[Pat16 in reply to floozy]

Hi. I couldn,t agree more with your problem over the journey. I am also troubled by sitting and riding in a car for a short journey just sends pain up the spine into neck and head so I loose all concentration to have a normal conversation. It also makes my legs go so stiff I cannot hardly move no matter how many tablets I have taken to try and counter balance a journey. I have an appointment at an eye clinic next week and tried to explain to the doctors that it would be better for me attending my local one as before which is only 10 minutes away but no I have to go to a new one about 12 miles away.I am not asking for special treatment but how do you explain this to people who haven,t experienced Fibro. About 5 years ago I had to make a short journey and ended up not being able to sit down for 18 weeks so as you can imagine it is still a big issue with me. Hope you go on OK Keep Smiling Best Wishes

[floozy]

no the timing of it loks like i will have to go alone , through london in rush hour , i filled in my assesment form in september and requested a home assesment but im told that form was never received so now have to go to assesment centre .

[sueuk]

Hi Well done for getting that far ,Did you have to appeal ? I have been refused dla twice ,even though i need help with household chores , I have to go up the stairs on my bottom and spent most of my days in bed Its so not fair that people like us who suffer dont get taken into consideration x

[floozy]

i didnt appeal i was just told to send a photo copy of my original claim in to them with a covering letter but my health has detiorated so much since my original claim the letter is becoming longer than the claim, i am becoming sooooo stressed out with the whole business ,

[Hidden]

I had an ATOS assessment and I have to say much depends on who does the assessment. They aren't necessarily doctors they are just people with some unspecified medical training and will probably have absolutely no experience of your particular illness. Ask for a recording of the interview in case you later need to appeal , if at all possible take notes or ask a friend to come with you and take notes. Don't let them bully you into answering questions straight away, really think about your answers . At the end of the interview ask for a copy of the form they've used ( they have to mail it to you ) as again it gives you more power if you need to appeal. They will also give you a brief physical examination, they can't force you to do things that cause pain , so if they do ask, then refuse.

Remember that you are being observed even before you get into the building ( most of the places have CCTV which the assessor can access if they wish ) and bear in mind that people who work for ATOS have targets to meet, so the more people they can get off DLA the more they benefit. It's really horrible but you do have to think about not how you're feeling right at that moment, but how you are on your worse days and answer the questions from that perspective. They will ask you to sit, stand and walk and ask if you can hold a pen, lift a kettle, wash and cook for yourself . If it causes you pain to do any of those things then your answer should be no .

Sorry to say , little notice is now taken of info from your GP or specialists , your assessment is based mainly on a computer questionnaire .

I've had 2 assessments , at the first the guy was rude, impatient and downright nasty at times. My benefit was stopped but this was over turned at appeal. I made a complaint against him and he was later removed from his job. The second was given by an actual doctor who had GP and psychiatric training , she was really nice , put me at my ease ( even arranging my appt. to be the first of the afternoon session so I didn't have to wait around ( I have multiple problems , including agoraphobia and an anxiety disorder as well as Fybro ) and told me I could arrange a home visit next time ( I hadn't been aware of this ) . She extended my benefit for 2 years .

So much depends on who you get on the day . It's tempting to dumb down our disabilities because that's what we do, try to live as normally as possible , but it really isn't the time to do that .

Good luck !

[sueuk]

I got a letter this morning to say my claim has been refused , Does any-one out there think its worth appealing against x

[ginge in reply to sueuk]

yes go for it again, dont let them bully you...ive had a battle for 3 yrs but due to a determine nature i wouldnt let them win....it made me very ill....i was shouted at at a appeal in the home at one point till i cudnt answer all the questions...and that went against me to....but i now get it. i had it for 2 yrs with one yr backsdated cause of the fight i put up....and ive been on pins since i had to reaply as it runs out in april. basicaly i had it 1 yr then 6 months into it i had to apply again...i had my letter yesterday and i have got it again for 3 yrs.......the secret i think is, to send as many letters as you can from ocupational therapist and g.p. and specialist........even the pain clinic gave me a letter to send..send it all on the first go.hope this helps.j x

[Hidden]

It's always worth appealing . Try a local law centre or CAB and see if they will help you.

[Ebony]

Hi, I have put this on another question but there is a website which gives loads of assistance in claiming and appealing for DLA and ESA. the site is

benefitsandwork.co.uk which is just for people claiming DLA or ESA. to gain access to all the site you would need to pay but i have found it worth it,I think its about £20 per year. Be very positive when answering their questions and always answer like its the worse day you can have. I attended an intereview for ESA said that I sometimes go to the supermarket with my partner and the person doing the assesment put i went every week to the supermarket. If their do tests on you like - how high can you lift your legs when laid on your back- if you can;t get on the couch just refuse to do it, i just told them I could get on the couch and I certainly couldn't lift me legs. You don't have to try things it they hurt. If its hurts you stop and tell me them it hurts, If they ask for about personal care don't mention housework as that is not included in DLA.

I hope it all goes well for you and if you are refused, appeal straight away.

Good luck !!!

[Hidden]

" Finally, Atos Healthcare Professional MUST be trained and knowledgable in Fibromyalgia. Again Chris Grayling has said that "a WCA should not be conducted by a healthcare professional whose medical specialism was "diametrically opposed" to the presenting health problem of the claimant to be assessed" - the example given being a physiotherapist not assessing someone who has a mental health problem. "

I wish I'd known this before my assessments . I think it's a problem though if you have multiple disabilities of different types, especially ones that encompass both physical and mental health problems . Not may ( if any ) assessors have knowledge of both fields .

[Hidden]

I certainly hope it's improved Lynn !

The initial assessor I had was awful , as I said I have multiple problems of both physical and mental health and he had little knowledge of any of them. In fact he had been a geriatric nurse . His attitude was appalling and I knew within 2 minutes of the assessment what the outcome would be, and I was right .

I appealed and also reported him , I found out later he'd been " removed from his job " . I wasn't in the appeal more than a couple of minutes before the decision was over turned. I had 6 months of stress and no income previous to that , as an agoraphobic I couldn't sign on as the DWP had suggested I should so relied on friends and family to help out . I felt like a charity case. I was so grateful to the lawyer from the local law centre who supported me through the appeal process , I don't think I would have managed it without him.

That was 4 years ago. I had another assessment last year ( a year late as they'd lost my paperwork ! ) and it was a different experience altogether . Much better .

This was all before the PIP and ESA assessments came into force though, so it will be interesting to see next year when I'm due my next assessment , what if anything has changed.

[gizzmo]

it is worht appealing against the original assessment,i got turned down first time i applied for d.l.a. after an assessment from medical exam that said i was fit for work in 3wks lol.it took me a year to appeal but i got reduced e.s.a. payments while i was waiting..The tribunal panel said it was obvious i was disabled and backdated my claim to the previous year and you have to tell them worst day scenario,i also didnt do certain tests as i knew id suffer after so dont feel the need to try,just to please those assessing you.remember you are going because you need help ,i told the panel i felt like i was on trial when all i needed was for someone to acknowledge i was ill and the stress was making it worse.i told them i spent more tme with paperwork and putting myself through it instead of concentrating on trying to get as healthy as i could just to make it through each day.

Please bear in mind that i was told by an assessor before my medical that 90% of medical get turned down and you have to go to appeal and yes they are there to trip you up so work on worst day scenario ,i know its hard having been there myself but despite the frustration you will get there and loads of members on here have either gone through ,are going through or like yourself waiting for it.its good to know that there is support and others who understand.

good luck and i wish you all a painfree as possible day and after the weekend i ve had i know that would be heaven xx

[floozy]

hi just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your helpful advice , i had my assesment , really could have done it over the phone , the assesor had my original application that id been told had been lost ? so my frantic photocopying and writing a letter how my condition has deteriorated, as i was told to do was a complete waste of my time and precious energy . i got a bit foggy and said my journey had taken an hour when in truth it had taken me two, The journey which i was dreading most wasnt too bad but im, feeling like i want to curl up and hibernate , hot bath neccersary .

[ClareWales52]

I filled in the form just before christmas and got a letter about E.S.A a few weeks ago, now today I`ve received one saying I must go for an assessment. I`m terrified as I have Agoraphobia and suffer with panic attacks, I am unable to go anywhere on my own, my husband takes me where I need to go. The thought of even entering a room full of people, let alone sitting in it, sends my anxiety through the roof! I was diagnosed with fibro 3 years ago, and the help I`ve had medically since then has been dismal. I`ve been `on` incapacity since 2004 but have never received a penny, just had my stamp paid apparently. I was on income support before they changed it to this, my hubby helps me all he can, as does my daughter when she isnt at uni or plowing through her heavy workload!, my father in law lives with us, he is 84 and hubby is his full time carer, the care allowance they deducted from my benefit, so he technically is an unpaid carer for his dad, whilst having to do more and more to help me, suffer my moods, my depression, my anger and my frustration at being unable to do what used to be normal household tasks due to the dreadful pain of my fibro and chronic IBS . My concentration is lousy, have had a lousy week, went to my 2nd week at a DBT support clinic this morning, which I`m finding really difficult, have a new GP who I`m hoping is going to listen to me and help me and am being refered back to the pain clinic and a consultant about my IBS, the psyciatrist I am seeing is sending me for an EEG ? I`m on diazapam and theyve given me stronger painkillers, but he wants everything investigated and tests done where needed as he says he wants to try to get me on the correct meds and diagnose my problems correctly rather than just `throw` another prescription at me. I just feel so useless and the thought of not being able to comply with their rules is scaring the hell out of me, I dont like being on benefits , but like so many others, have no choice, I just dont think I can deal with all this. I cant seem to put into words how I`m feeling and dont know if all this is making any sense but needed to share some of this, feel so isolated even though I have my little family.

Thankyou, very gentle hugs to all xxx

[floozy]

hi clarewales52 , i thought you could request a home visit for assesment on your application form , it sounds like it might be worth a try for you , i put that on my original application form which i was told theyd never received but when i turned up at the assesment the assesor had it in front of her .

[Sammicat15]

hi floozy, I came to this late for some reason. am glad you managed the assessment. it must be terrifying.

Clare, I really feel for you. The benefits system sucks.