I am a 22 year old guy living in the South of England. I have just sent my forms to DWP for my PIP claim. Included medical record, letters and referrals and a PIP diary for two weeks.
I have ADHD, severe anxiety, depression, severe OCD and Fibromyalgia.
Absolutely terrified about the whole process, the forms gave me the worst anxiety ever and resulted in my crying like mad. I am so worried about what I've read that the F2F medical assessment will end up being a "prove it.. prove it... prove it..." situation. How do you "prove" a collection of invisible illnesses to someone that is in the mindset to dismiss your claim
Any advice or help from own experience with this or similar issues? I am at the point of panic attack every time I think of the assessment!!
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jtsh1995
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I’m so sorry to hear that you’re so stressed out about your PIP forms.
I don’t know if you got help filling out your forms, or if it’s the first time you’ve applied .
The thing thing to remember is....you don’t get PIP awarded on the Conditions/ Illnesses that you have, but on how they affect your daily life.
So, say for example you were going to an appointment with the Dentist, and you had allowed plenty of time to get out the house. Then as you were leaving to go, because of your OCD You had to go back into the bathroom to check if you had turned off the tap, then you had to wash your hands 2 or 3 times, and do whatever else your OCD routine made you do. The result of this was that you were late getting to the Dentist and missed your appointment, the Receptionist was cross, and you still had toothache, but couldn’t get to see the Dentist until next day. This caused you Anxiety, which made you tense, and that made your Fibromyalgia worse. You had to get home to get your pain relief, and you just thought of all the hassle , and that made you feel Depressed. Give every single detail about how your Conditions affect you every day, and how each Condition affects the other. Leave NOTHING out, even if it is embarrassing you probably will never see these people again.
A lot of people get turned down first time applying, but you then get a Mandatory Reconsideration and take it from there. There will be people come onsite later who have been through this, and I’m sure they’ll give you advice.
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Good luck, and remember, be honest, but leave nothing out, as what they award you points for is how your Conditions affect your daily life.
Hi Hidden , so glad you found my reply to be helpful.
That’s what this site is all about......helping each other.
We all have Fibro, and often other awful conditions, so we know how debilitating day to day life can be.
That’s why I give the advice on filling the PIP forms, to tell it as it is. Yes, you may feel a bit embarrassed, but hopefully you won’t see these people again, and I’m sure they forget us the minute we walk out the door.
I felt that way today, feels like they want to catch you out. I have invisible illnesses too and trying to explain how they affect your daily life is difficult. I had my assessment at home and my daughter was here for support. I really couldn't judge it at all. The health professional was very nice but I don't know what the outcome will be.
Hope you get the right result. I've got Nash , fibromyalgia, osteopenia to name but a few!! Sent my form off about a month ago. Love and hugs to you all Lynne xxxx
I tried to be as detailed as possible - typed out all my answers because I was too scared to write paragraphs on the form. I did it by myself with a bit of help from my partner to stop me from deviating and getting distracted.
This is the first time I've applied - I wrote about 800 words for each applicable question and tried to explain in full how much everything affects me and link it to the descriptors as best as possible.
I'm just scared about the whole process but my doctor was super supportive and said they'll help in any way they can. I just hope that the assessors read it and understand what I'm going through
@ DMT14 - I'm sorry that you feel that they were trying to catch you out It's great that your daughter was present to support you so that she knows everything that was being said/discussed as well. I think a third person perspective can really help in those sorts of cases. I really hope you get the right result!
My partner is really good with that sort of thing; he will be the one to call DWP to check my PIP docs got there ok - he's also offered to come with me for the F2F appointment.
I don't leave without another person because my anxiety and OCD is so bad and I have to get taken to and from work each day by my partner because a) I can't walk very far without being exhausted because my fibro pain is so bad and b) being out in public is terrifying for me with my anxiety, ocd and ADHD in play.
I literally cannot take public transport - every time I've tried I end up freaking out. I just hope they understand that and be actually take all of the above into account.
Thank you Vibrantlinda1964 . I am so sorry your husband suffered so much - he is lucky to have someone like you that understands him. I'm hoping I can keep it together for it x
jtsh1995 its like your in my head mate couldn't have asked that question better. I've got one coming up soon and I feel the exact same. Why would you be made to prove an illness only a professional can diagnose you with. It's confused me because fibro is every day all day but come in big waves and small wave which are out of my control that's exactly what I'm gonna say in my F2F. Try not to worry.
I'm sorry you are going through this too, but it means we are in the same boat together! I just hope we both end up with assessors who have some understanding of fibro instead of someone who knows nothing about it. I wish you the best of luck and please let us know how you get on
Wish you the best of luck too. If we stay positive but prepare for the worst and keep fighting, we should be ok(sounds double negative but I think you know what I mean). Let me know how you get on too!
Just been told out my PIP forms haven't been delivered - despite sending them prior to the due date by Special Delivery with UK Mail. It turns out UK Mail aren't able to deliver my PIP forms because they "don't deliver to that address" - bare in mind they've rearranged it twice, their website says they deliver to the address and it's now gone past the due by date.
Waiting for them to return them to me now so I can re-send with Royal Mail by Special Delivery. The most hilarious thing is I have to now pay for it to be returned to me.
I swear this is the most debilitating and drawn-out process ever and now I'm in the midst of a panic attack because I'm scared they're going to disallow the claim.
Aww goodness. How terrible and how stressful for you. 14 years ago when I first applied for dla,I was turned down, went to tribunal and even with proof of meds & scans, on my spine etc, was turned down at tribunal.
I went through same process months later and the next time a welfare rights advisor attended with me.(at tribunal) She was confident. I again was turned down.
The advisor said let's try one more time(I was ready to give up) so she filled my form out.i got it immediately, no reconsideration or tribunal. So it pays to keep going, and try not be too stressed as in the end outs you and all is with illnesses who suffer. Wishing you all the best and thinking of you. Btw.pip went same way. Refused.then given low .then before sent to tribunal they awarded me highest rate for both components. we get there in the end.xx
Vibrantlinda1964 thank you for your kind words I'm hoping it's relatively straightforward (that may be incredibly naive but it's all I've got!). I will try and keep strong and just push as hard as I can - this process is just unnecessarily stressful and anxiety inducing!
Please let us know how your husband gets on and sending all the luck and love your way xx
Hidden They received them in the nick of time! I sent them back with Royal Mail in the end and got the standard "We have received your How Your Disability Affects You.. form". Hoping to hear back sooner rather than later.
Forms and more forms are enough to give anyone anxiety,nothing is ever simple,and i swear they make it difficult hoping you might give up,but do please persevere,your health is so important.
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