Incandescent but lost the heart to fight

[Shortnsweet54]

so i open a letter yesterday and ffs it's an Atos medical form to fill in. I was only put into the support group in June!!! double whammy really as i've just found out from my eye consultant fibro is making my eye disease far far worse and giving me secondary pain. Feel like ripping it up and sending it back referring them to the appeal i won in July 2011 and the fact i was sent home by taxi at my last medical as i was so ill my blood pressure was toxic and i was put into the support group. Exactly how is this all money saving for the gov't when folk are repeatedly sent for medicals...Atos and gravy train springs to mind. I should now be following the advice i've given others, but i just haven't got the heart i feel so crushed. Is there no end to this cruelty. xx

[julieevh]

It is cruelty, there is no shadow of a doubt about it; hopefully when you do go and show them how poorly you are they will leave you alone for a few years.

((((( gentle hugs )))))

Julie xx

[Shortnsweet54]

Thanks juileevh, this whole system drives me insane and there is no logic to it. a doc and consultant say i am not fit for work, so the dpw over ride that, because obviously they are medically trained and know better!!!!, and send me for a medical, fail that strangely!! then at appeal 14 months later, a JUDGE and panel of doctors say i am not fit for work, move forward 9 months to May 2012 and another medical, as soon as blood pressure was taken, assessment stopped and i was sent 30 miles home by taxi...they couldn't get me off the premesis quick enough!!, dwp find me unfit for work and i'm put into the support group in June 2012. now the dwp totally contradict themselves and send me another form to fill in, and we all know where that will lead. looks like i will have 2 assessments in 6 months. bastards. how can they keep finding people unfit for work then send them for an assessment again a frew months later, do they think eye disease fibro and arthritis will be magiced away??. i know i'm one of thousands and many will understand, it's just the futility of the whole sort shambolic system xx

[Lima6MCT]

Same thing happened to my husband, he won his tribunal end of March & 8 weeks later he had to start all over again. His 365 days runs out in 2 weeks so now we have to re-apply for income based ESA & because he will be claiming for me as well I could be called to attend a work related interview!

[meme55]

Hi .. I know exactly how you feel ! I took my ESA to appeal and won in March of this year , in July i received the form to fill out again from ATOS , i counldnt believe it !! To make matters worse it came the day of my Mum's funeral !! I filled the form out yet again but i also pointed out that i had taken this to a tribunal and won and added a copy of my tribunal letter and i went on the internet and printed out articles about Fibromyalgia and how it affects you . The articles included not only the pain but also about fibro fog and how it affects you , the fatigue and also i found one explaining that when you have Fibromyalgia you have it for life and it will never go away and i pointed out that the letter from my DR said i was severely and permanently disabled and wounldnt be getting any better . I received my reply from them about 4-5 weeks later and they said i would be staying in the support group and they would get back in touch with me in 18 mths time . I know its hard , i sat and cried when mine turned up but please dont give up , thats what they want ! Sit down and go through your form and get together as much info about Fibromyalgia and your tribunal letter and a updated letter from your DR . Photo copy everything , i've photo copied all my ESA forms and keep them as reference ... Dont let those so and so's beat you hunnie !! Good luck !!

[hollykarma]

My work related ESA ran out at the beginning of October. I am now trying to live on my DLA and failing miserably. I am waiting for my case to be heard at a tribunal but was told this could take up to 12 months ! What am I supposed to live on until then ? As well as the constant pain I am in. I also have the worry of where my next meal is coming from. I worked all my adult life (until July of last year). My condition was triggered by an injection I had through my work in sterile services at a hospital 11 years ago. I have struggled all my life and now when I need the help there is none there. I sometimes feel it would be easier to end it all

[bumblebee57 in reply to hollykarma]

You can re-apply for ESA. I was on it, failed the medical, appealled,lost that, was told to go onto jobseekers, had to -no choice, that sent my blood pessure and depression sky high and I was a jibbering wreck so my Dr signed me off. Jobcentre stopped my JSA. So I thought I have to live on something, so I re-applied for ESA. it took them 7 weeks to sort it but i got it in the end, backdated to when I applied. I was getting pretty desparate and very depressed by the time i got the money through and the worst thing was that there was nothing I could do to hurry them up. they kept "forgetting" to get info from me and "forgetting" to tell me vital stuff. If theyd done their job properly in the first place, it would have been sorted quicker...probably... I had to rely on family to get me through it, but it can be done. You can only try. Good luck.xx

[Shortnsweet54]

Hi bumblebee,

Thanks for your good wishes and i will press on.

It really makes me so cross that the dwp seem to have such a hold on our lives and can do just as they like. I'm pretty sure they don't mean to (forever the optomist) it must be a rubbish overloaded system they use with one dept certainly NOT connected to another.

It's all very well backdating payments but in the meantime what are we to live on??

take care

Jan xx

[Shortnsweet54]

WELL!!!!Update...phoned yesterday and spoke to a dimwit..sorry ..lady as to why i'm being sent another form after only 19 weeks..."eerrrr becasue we continually re-assess people!!!" glad she wasn't stood in front of me, she'd have 2 black eyes by now(not usually violent btw). Another phone call today, played the dimwit..a lovely lad said even he was surprised it was so quick. He also said he would email the assessment and get someone to ring me today or tomorrow to see what is going on and will email the department to arrange to get my medical notes sent to me. different day...different person. xx same shit though me thinks xx

An afterthought though..the person i spoke to today immediately asked for my NHi number etc etc and asked the security questions...the person yesterday made no attempt at any of this...hmmm strange, Will certainly be mentioning this in my venomuos letter when everythging is sorted out xx