Extremely nervous about PIP assessment

[Cn657]

Hello everyone I hope you are all as well as can be and staying safe. I have my telephone PIP assessment tomorrow morning and I am feeling extremely nervous and my anxiety level has gone through the roof. This is my first time claiming PIP (I have osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia) and I am feeling totally overwhelmed by the prospect of it all.

[ellj]

I understand why you feel nervous, fear of the unknown is normal.

Take a few breaths and then calmly answer truthfully.

If you can have someone in the room with you it might help.

Perhaps have a few notes in front of you about how your health impacts your daily life.

Best wishes

Ellie

[Cn657 in reply to ellj]

Thank you for taking the time to reply and the advice. I never thought to have a few notes in front of me I will definitely do that x

[Hidden]

I don't know what advice to give, but try not to worry and the best of luck - listen to Ajays advice he is pretty good with all this let us know of the out come xx

[Cn657 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for taking the time to reply and for the moral support. I will most definitely let you know the outcome x

[hen-house]

Hi, good luck for tomorrow - i have mine on the 12th so im too very nervous and have been trying to see how other people have got on, i will say lately i have read more success stories with the phone calls than i have the F2F and also more people have said how the assessor has seemed understanding - so fingers crossed for you, is it super early? mines 11.45am so thank god not 8am as i would be a sleepy mess! xxx

[Cn657 in reply to hen-house]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. My appointment is also at 11:45 so thankfully like you said not super earlier.

I will let you know how it goes and wish you luck with your assessment x

[Cn657]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. You have given me some brilliant advise/tips which I would never of thought of doing thank you x

[hen-house]

thank you very much! Sending gentle hugs and positives to you xx please do let me know xx

[Blue1927]

Hi, I too have my assessment tomorrow morning and like yourself feel really nervous about it. I can’t wait for it to be all over. It was stressful enough getting the application completed and sent off.

I hope it goes well for you, stay calm and just answer the questions truthfully. That’s what i’m trying to tell myself! Will you have someone with you? Sending you big hugs 🤗 and good luck.

[Cn657 in reply to Blue1927]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Unfortunately I wont have anyone with me. I hope all goes well for you tomorrow too, good luck and sending big gentle.hugs back x

[Blue1927 in reply to Cn657]

Hope you manage to get some sleep, good luck tomorrow x

[Cn657 in reply to Blue1927]

Thank you and you x

[Fra22-57]

At least that person cant see you.You could be asked everything that was asked when you filled in your questionnaire booklet so try n remember.have lots written down so you can fall back on.Remember to say how much you struggle with every day tasks.One thing I said was I couldn't open a jar so levered it with a spoon.If you dont have anyone to support you make a strong point on this Remember it's not how you cope every day so tell them of your worst days. They cant judge you on how you look so if you have managed to dress ok etc they cant say that you manage ok.You will be great.good luck

[xBilliex]

I can understand your anxiety over this but rest assured, I imagine it will be less stressful than a F2F. I wish I had the option for a telephone call. You can’t see the person. They won’t be judging you on your every move or lying. Most of the telephone calls will be recorded so they can’t lie.

I had a full blown panic attack during my F2F which resulted in the assessor escorting me out the back entrance to leave and on the report it states I showed no signs of anxiety or stress. Not sure how they come to that conclusion?!

I am now waiting on a tribunal appointment. Devastated to have to do this AGAIN! 😔

I wish you all the luck in the world for today. Please keep us updated. Xxx

[Paddy1970 in reply to xBilliex]

I had a similar situation and went to tribunal for my son (he came, but was terrified) As I was scarred by the p.i.p assessment, I was scared, and sceptical when the people at the court were friendly. However, it went well - the panel had thoroughly read my response and aside from one area they questioned, they agreed with my counter arguments on all counts. We were awarded a fair outcome, so I was flabbergasted!

Where it didnt go right was due to my son having walked from where we parked the car to the court. They asked about it and determined he didnt have sufficient problems with mobility to receive the higher rate. However, what I failed to mention was he had stopped after 2 mins and afterwards he had to sleep for several hours. As we got the other points awarded, I decided to address that at his next review.

Good luck - I imagine it will go better than the face to face assessment. A high proportion are awarded what they should be, at tribunal

[stone-e]

There is actually a paper based form for the first part as well as the second part. DWP don't want people to know about this and it is very difficult to get them to send the form to you. I gotMP to get them to do it after being ignored three times.

A paper based form is much better as you have time to think about what you are going to put.

[Blue1927]

How did your assessment go this morning? Sending hugs 🤗

[Cn657 in reply to Blue1927]

It wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be.....how did yours go? Sending gentle hugs back xx

[Blue1927 in reply to Cn657]

Glad your assessment is over so am I. I was a bag of nerves. Just wait now, I have my fingers crossed for you. I don’t know about you but I am absolutely exhausted now, so afternoon relaxing 😌

[Cn657 in reply to Blue1927]

I have my fingers crossed for you too hun. I too am extremely exhausted so an afternoon of relaxation in definitely in order x

[hen-house in reply to Cn657]

Fingers crossed for you - hope it goes well, i have read on here that some peeps have had a decision in 2 weeks after the call, are you going to phone and ask for a copy of the report? i called after 2 days with my daughters claim and got a copy the next day, u can normally get an idea of what your award will be from that! xx

[Cn657]

Hi everyone, thank you all for replying and being so supportive and giving me advise. I have now had my telephone assessment, The lady I spoke to did ask some very strange questions which I feel had nothing to actually do with my health conditions as well as a lot of questions about my health conditions and what I can or cant do, although she did seemed nice. Now.its just a waiting game to see what the outcome will be. Sending gentle hugs and loads of love to you all x

[Cn657]

Thank you as soon as I know I will let you all know xx

[Needsoda]

Wishing you all good luck for your results. It is so stressful and worrying for us all, I had enough stress and worrying filling in the form. I am waiting for my date to come through not sure how long everyone had to wait to get an appointment for f2f or telephone assessment I sent my form in March and have had a letter to say they gave received it but nothing else. Any ideas how long I have wait. It is so worrying it makes me feel quite ill with the areas of it all??keep well and safe everyone x

[Blue1927 in reply to Needsoda]

I had confirmation on 26th March from DWP to say they had my application. I had a phone call roughly about 3 weeks after asking asking if i’m happy with a telephone assessment. Had appointment letter through about 2 weeks ago and had the assessment today. I hope that helps. May be worth ringing dwp and just mention you haven’t heard anything. Timings could be different in various Boroughs. Wishing you luck and hope you hear something soon 🤞🤗 x

[Needsoda in reply to Blue1927]

thank you so mu h for letting me know, i have rung them and was told f2f suspended 3months and they should be in touch that was on the 23rd March and nothing since so i ma ringing them as i type, well holding on as i type. it is so frustrating as i am trying to get sickness benefit and that is too taking ages and have contacted them but was told to wait to hear. it is so difficult as i have no income and just thank god for my family who are helping out and have been trying to get this all sorted since January, but i suppose we are all just have to play the waiting game, especially as i sent my claim in before all of the lock down. well hopefully they give me some info. best wishes and good luck with your call and have a lovey weekend to you and all of my fellow sufferes x

[Blue1927 in reply to Needsoda]

Hope you get some answers, keep us updated x

[hen-house in reply to Needsoda]

i sent mine in last year and i have my phone assessment on tuesday 12th - its luck of the draw i think! xx

[Needsoda in reply to hen-house]

Wow that is a long time, good luck on Tuesday will be thinking of you and thank you for letting me know. Have a lovely rest of the weekend x

[hen-house in reply to Needsoda]

Thank you very much, ill keep you posted! enjoy ur weekend too, thank you xx

[Needsoda]

just spoke to pip and they said i can call the assessment direct and it may help but of course it did not just told me sorry but will hear but could not tell me any time line, just that i will get a text and then a couple of days later a letter, so i still have to play the waiting game for this and the same with the sickness benefit, it is so hard trying to manage but thank god for my wonderful friends and family. have a great stress free and pain (please god) free weekend. hope your assessment goes well, keeping everything crossed for you even my eyes

[Blue1927 in reply to Needsoda]

It is ridiculous isn’t it. It’s so stressful without the waiting. I’m sure you will hear something soon 🤞. Hope you have a pain free weekend too and try not to worry, easier said than done I know 🤗

[Needsoda in reply to Blue1927]

Thanks blue x😄👍

[LJS13 in reply to Needsoda]

I’m the same as you . Pip received my form beginning of February and I haven’t heard anything since. Not sure how long it takes really . If you do get awarded does the payment get backdated diss anybody know?

[Cn657 in reply to LJS13]

Hi, I applied for PIP back in November of last year and like you hadn't heard anything...then I had a text end of April from them asking me to ring them to arrange an assessment over the phone, which I had on the 6th of March.....I am still awaiting the results of this which can take up to 8 weeks.....but yes if you get awarded it they do back date the payment. I hope this helps x

[Needsoda in reply to LJS13]

When I spoke to them they said it is backdated. Good luck hope you hear soon fingers crossed for both of us to hear soon especially as it will be a phone call and so less stress??❤️

[LJS13 in reply to Needsoda]

Keeping my fingers and toes crossed lol, it will be a lot less stress not having a f2f , just hoping we all get the outcome we hope for 🙂

[Treewade]

Have you got someone who ll sitwith you n who can help you if you start to struggle not sure if phone assesments a good or bad thing xxxxx

[Needsoda in reply to Treewade]

No as my other half is useless with anything medical and would make me nervous. But just can’t stand the waiting. Thank you so much for your reply. Have a lovely rest of the weekend.

[Treewade]

How dod it go xxxxx

[Cn657 in reply to Treewade]

Hi sorry for late reply have had a really bad week with my OA and FM flaring up.

I woke up yesterday to find a lump sum in my account from PIP although not sure what rate I have been awarded as I haven't recieved the letter yet x

[Treewade]

Thats really quick cool xxxxxxx