hi,just wondered if anyone like me is in support group with Esa and has been awarded the blue badge?.I have just started the process of applying to find that doctors charge £20 for a three lined letter with a copy of medication attached.I have paid the fee as they were charging £20 just for last prescription of medication so it made no sense not to request the letter at same time.I will need a medical i'm told as i do not get any form of DLA. I have other conditions alongside fibro and very little mobility ,i avoid going out because even driving hurts and walking is near impossible,i only go out for hospital or doctors appointments.How old am i ? i FEEL 90 but im in my early 40s with a four year old who is due to start school in September and i am already worrying about parking or having to walk.,hence applying for b.b.Has anyone on here got one without getting Dla? Any comments or advice would be great thanks,jo
fibro and blue badge: hi,just wondered... - Fibromyalgia Acti...
fibro and blue badge
My gp had to fill in a part of the application booklet, he didn't charge.
Have you applied for DLA?
sandra
Hi Sandra,thank you for response.I think docs can decide if they want paying and mine did so you were lucky .No to DLA i was self employed until April this year had to give up my shop as i was out more than in ,then the esa process only just gone on it and i had heard so much bad about it i was convinced i would fail so im just very relieved to have got this far and b.b would be an enormous help to me hence applying so fingers and toes crossed 
x
Hi. Cannot help with the BB, sorry
You should apply for DLA. It sounds like you need it. Sadly you could have been on it for some time as it is for everyone and not related to what benefits you are in receipt of or if you work at all.
Check on the main Healthunlocked site for guidence. There is a wealth of information there and from the tags here. best of luck. Fi xx
Hi Fiona,Thank you for you input much appreciated.I am finally learning to accept that i need help it's a hard lesson for me as i have been independent for many years and it makes me feel weak to ask .The whole process has been a shock ie claiming esa as i felt like i was begging? strange but true i found the atos ordeal humilating and i was very very lucky with lady who saw me as she did'nt contest my conditions nor force the medical upon me.I thought that you needed to be 99% dead to get Dla? I am not sure that i would be accepted on dla? xx
Hi jolow,
You dont have to be on DLA to put in for a blue badge, you should be able to get the forms from your local council, just fill them in and send them off, if you can get ur doctor to sign it to all the better good luck
love and gentle hugs jackie xxx
Hi Jackie,Thanks for response ,i have applied for b.b on Wednesday ,i paid doc £20 for letter and copy of medication as they charge £2o for copy of prescription so it seemed stupid not to have letter done at same cost.Letter consisted of just 3 lines easy money lol and had to wait a week to have it typed.I will need a medical as i do not get dla (if you get dla the b.b is granted without medical).I will post the result if any on here but thanks for the support from everyone xxx
hi i was at the time working when i applied for my blue badge and got it. the interview is really to see how you get there, i used my sticks as i really am the same as you and struggle and never go out. they just ask you questions. then they pop it in the post. when you pass which i am sure you will. It makes so much diufference good luck
Hi webby,Thank you for response.I did not know that i could have applied when working but this is all new to me not the pain just the benefit system it's a minefield! I am not looking forward to another interview it's not nice to be judged when i try hard to be as i was before the onset of fibro on top of my other conditions but i will post the result on here so fingers and toes already crossed ,xxx
hi webby,Thank you for reply.I did'nt know i could apply when working as i was self employed ,too late now though i gave up my shop in April this year as it became impossible.I hope i will be able to have a b.b as it would allow me to want to go out a bit more rather than staying in to avoid walking,lifting carrying or getting my kids to do shopping.My main concern is that my youngest starts school this year as there is a 13year gap between my children , i have failed to pass my mot tests these past few years and struggle with everything but walking is my biggest nightmare so i want to be able to park near as i can to school.I will let everyone know on here if i manage to get a blue badge, xx
Hi Jo,
Definitely do apply for DLA. Once you get the paperwork, get in touch with CAB and ask them to help you fill out the form. (They KNOW what to write, trust me!)
I, like you, had a business with my husband...now no longer, basically due to the recession and my health.
I was awarded ESA Support and DLA and a blue badge. Yep. I felt like I was/am begging, but now I'm at a stage where I have accepted how I am, and am grateful for what I get...but equally, both my hubby and I paid a lot of taxes with our business. And from our business many other businesses were busy due to us requiring theiur services...and they all paid tax. I didn't choose the situation about my health. And I'm cerrtainly not scamming the system. My hubby and I have paid a lot in to the system. I/we needed help now and thankfully we've got it!
Definitely go for DLA and get CAB or a disability advice group (some advocates do offer home visits).a.
hi got a blue badge in mach i justfilled in application form sent i 10 pound cheque and 5 days later it dropped on my mat !!!!!! i am not getting any benefit only income support with sickness top up i applied for dla in may but was refused and idnt re apply or appeal as the dial man said there was no point as if my gp had written a letter to back my claim anyway just put in an application and answer questions as if it was your worst day ove to you and good luck love diddle xxx
hi Diddle,wow you had the foresight,courage and a dash of cheekiness to add £10 with your application ,wish i had thought of that !!! it's brilliant! well done to you xx
Im confused about everything! The system, benefits but most of all my ever changing health! My ESA had just been stopped after being on it for 2 years. I had to leave my lovely job working with children because I had so much time off and my lovely boss asked me to resign as she didn't want to sack me and to come back once my health was sorted...oh only IF eh?
I moved towns and was instantly targeted by the benefits office. They sent me for an Atos medical and the findings were embarasing but my own doing if im honest. I don't like to be looked at as 'disabled' because im not in the old fashioned sense of the term. I consider myself as un able instead. I painfully force myself to do 'normal' things but I can only manage oneor two of them! I walk in pain in my hips, back...well everywhere! I can't use a stick or crutches to help my back because my arms are too painful. I was thinking that if I showed the nurse I look after myself and don't let myself wither away by telling her that I do light gardening when I can but its literally on the floor on a mat and pulling a few weeds up and im done, then I've got to try to get up again! I walk my dogs so I don't seize up completely and told her we have many flat fields around my house close by. And many other things to make myself seem better than I am because im embarrassed.... wrong! She twisted it all and made me seem like an athelete! I did tell her that EVERYTHING I do even relaxing is always painful and walking my dogs gives me pleasure as its always been a hobby of mine. But now im limited to walking very painfully slow and watching my dogs play by themselves instead of me throwing sticks for them 
hence to say I failed the test and was found very able bodied. I wrote an honest letter explaining of the ill feelings everyday, the crippling pain of almost every task and the 12 tablets a day im on don't all help all the time and that im very lucky to get through whole day without a sleep in bed! Strangely this letter has vanished! They stopped my money....anyway I have appealed and I shall not be showing off about my GOOD days this time! Seeing as they are few and far between anyway. I think im more ashamed of myself and embarrassed that im less fit than my 70 year old father 
I don't drive so a badge would be of no use but a bus pass would help so much. I live in a suburban village which is lovely but dreadfully boring at times. Because its so far out of the city the busfares are extausionate and difficult to afford on a regular basis. Id love to work to cut the bordom but really who would employ me? My healthy son has just got a job in the local supermarket but he was very lucky because 45 people went for the same job!!! 45! And that's for able bodied people. If I worked it needs to be a non physical job that's not taxing on my struggeling brain cell, that lets me sit or laydon so I don't get back spasms, one that will let me sleep when my body says NOW! And one that will allow me time off on days that I can barely get out of bed!
Sorry for rambling on your blog, very rude of me! 
nice to 'see' you Diddle xx
Good luck jolow in getting the bluebadge xx
Hi, the fact that you have been put in support group for ESA gives you a greater chance of being awarded dla as they will check to see what you are on. The fact that you have undergone a DWP "medical" should help enormously with a DLA claim and I would advise you to contact the CAB ASAP about submitting a claim.
I too have worked all my life and found the benefit claiming humiliating. I wish you all the best and 'get claiming' Aileen xx
Hi Aileen,Thank you for taking the time to respond,much appreciated. I was put into support group after interview with atos but i did not have a medical exam the lady decided that i did'nt need it .I did ask if that was good or bad (i thought bad i failed) but lady just smiled and did not answer so i was astounded to be told i had passed.Stupidly i do not wish to appear greedy and i feel that having a b.badge would be a massive benefit to me as i may be more likely to go out if i can park near to where i wish to go hence applying for that rather than Dla if i am approved then who knows i may get the courage to apply for Dla .Thanks xx
I was originally awarded a Blue Badge without being on DLA, I got it through asking my GP if she would back me if I applied for it. Touch wood, I've never had to pay for any letters or form filling by a GP. The nearest we came to it was for hubby's ESA appeal but the GP said that if we asked the CAB to provide a letter requesting a report then it wouldn't cost us anything.
I'm not sure if the process is the same in England and Wales as it is in Scotland - instead of being a different form issued by each Council there's now a general one and all the rules are the same. My local council don't charge for the badge but there are others who do.
hi lima6mct,thank you for your comments and glad you got the b.b.Well done.I think that different regions have different rules and doctors can charge what they wish for any medical letter most i have heard of is £30 again its doctors discression to charge or not charge.The £10 fee goes to issuing and postage i believe that is a set amount throughout the country.I will post result here when i know it,thanks to everyone who responded it's great , xx
go to FibroAction site,
click on fibro and benefits
this should take you to the benefits and work link where you can download the pdf booklet that helps you fill in forms for DLA - it goes through each question. good luck. sandra
hi,
I applied for my disability badge via my council, the dr completed the forms as they asked for a report not me, so no charge to me. the £10 standard charge is standard for proccessing and postage. You will defo be permitted it with fibro.
also should look into motorbility and dla.....if refused should appeal, its irelevant if you work, etc as its classed as charity support.
also if you need things to help you at home the dr can arrainge occupational therapy and they will fit things in your home to make life easier...iv just got a bath lift, its so much help for me....x
Hi Carollynn, Thank you for you comments.I did get the forms from local council and asked at my doctors for them to state how my conditions affect my mobility ,the response from docs was that they do not need to fill in any part of form and that there is a £20 charge for copy of medication so either way letter or medication costs £20 so i said well in that case you may as well do both at same time .the letter consisted of 3 lines the medication was much longer lol . I will be accessed by another medical as i am not in receipt of any DLA. If i am passed for b.b it may give me the will to try for dla in any form but one thing at a time it's all i can manage these days.My docs are not great they just pass more pills and tell me the level of pain is to be controlled by my stress limits ie meaning it's physosematic what tosh!!if it's in my head then why is my body bent in pain?time to change docs i think start afresh so maybe i won't be told i'm depressed when in fact i'm angry and frustrated gone from being very active to this is hard to accept and when i force myself to battle through the pain whats the point when it puts me in worse pain?Sorry i'm ranting now grr lol but thanks for advice ,xx
blue badge
blue badge
blue badge?
Blue Badge
