Dear All, I had my ESA Assessment on the 18th of December. This was the worst interogation of my life, which lasted an hour.Beware they will watch you like a hawk from the moment you are called into to assessment room, you will be asked how you got there,how long it took,how far you walked to the centre,who you came with etc...Last week i managed to get hold of a copy of the Assessment, well i was absolutely horrified to see that Fibromyalgia wasnt even mentioned on the the list of "Conditions medically Identified" or "other Conditions Reported" Conditions recognised : CFS/Diabetes/Back Pain/Anxiety/Depression/IBS. In fact Fibromyalgia doesnt get a mention until page 18 of the document,and thats all it does get! I had gone to the assessment fully expecting that the nurse/doctor doing the assessment would have full knowledge, of the illness and its related,illnesses,obviously not. I received 2 letters ten days later, one an interview at the Job Center regarding going back to work! The other letter was from DWP stating that i have been put in the work related bracket,and awarded ESA for eighteen months,(they told me that last year)! and my benefit had been reduced by ten pounds straight away. I have my first interview tomorrow at the Job centre. I am however going to appeal the decision, my doc has been fully supportive, and is writing a letter for me listing all my ailments. He also told me that ATOS/DWP arent interested in what problems /illnesses you have, its not what you cant do but what you can do!!! So please if youve got an ATOS / assessment coming up, PLEASE emphasize to them every single related ailment to Fibromyalgia that you suffer with, I am totally horrified that after reading through the assessment, the absence of things i had mentioned ,and also things i hadnt said ! If your going to be sat in the chair for an hour
and ten minutes enduring the interrogation, dont forget to leave the make up off, go in your scruffs,keep rocking in the chair(it proves youve got anxiety, complain about not being comfortable in your chair,as youll be sat there a long time ! and go smelling of beer. unfortunately i will have to endure all of this again for my DLA asessment, which was supposedly Indefinate. Best of luck to you all.!
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Hi , its awful what we all have to go through , iam waiting on a appeal , just the thought of having to go through this gives me a headache and makes me feel sick , I would love these people to feel what we feel and they would then know , I would also like them to feel the pressure we go through including not being able to work anymore when we loved our jobs , dealing with our personal life , depression , financial, anxiety ect , I could go on but we all know what its like , its not fare , I feel like getting people together and making fibro aware to all and what we live with , by contacting papersor tv , I hope you are doing ok today after going through this my love to you xxxxx
Really struggling at the moment, ive been dreading the New Year coming,with all the stress and anxiety of going for the Atos assessment,waiting for the letter, having my benefit cut and sent to the job centre for an interview (tomorrow) plus in April im going to be hammered for the bedroom tax, which will cost me £100 a month!
Im fed up with it all. I will let you know how i get on tomorrow. Thankyou for your kind words .xx Nigel
So sorry to hear all this Owen, it can be quite a gruelling process can't it. We hear similar tales from other members all too often I am afraid.
Wishing you all the best with your appeal. Do you have the Benefits and Work info sheets, we can send them to you for free. They give helpful information on ESA and DLA, completing forms, assessments and appeals etc. If you email us on info@fibroaction.org we will be happy to send them to you.
If we can be of any further help to you, please just ask. We will always try to help you as best we can.
Hi I had the same problem with my medical hardly mentioning fibro I also have hyper mobile syndrome which was also ignored and everything was basically put down to depression. I couldn't understand most of what he asked me his accent was so strong but I was a bit rude when he asked me if I was depressed I said wouldn't you be if you spent every moment of your life in pain and having to take a million pills a week that don't really work but you take them just I case they might be doing something. Then after making me get on a bed and poking me all over he tried to grab my shoulder when I was trying to get up what part of I can't be touched didn't he understand trying to grab anyone without asking is rude let alone someone with fibro and hyper mobile syndrome. I do think if you are being assed by anyone they should be an expert in the problems you have or at least know what they are. As you have probaly have guest I failed my medical and I'm now in the proses of appealing. Good luck to you.
Hi Sarah, Thankyou for your reply.I am still very angry after reading the copy of my assessment,it seems almost every mention of FM had been erased and other things i hadnt
said had been put in. I had my interview at the Jobcentre yesterday, i must say everybody was very nice,nothing like the nightmare i endured at ATOS. They explained to me that i am able (*****) to work 16 hours a week and up to £99.00.without it affecting my benefit.The obvious problem being is finding the work and being able!! and that was it. All thy are going to do is call me in four months,by which that time i must have created an email address!! My next biggest problem being the introduction of the "bedroom tax" on April 1st, Then i need to find £25 a week for having 2 spare rooms, its a never ending nightmare for us all. Take care, Nigel.
Oh I am sorry to hear about your ordeal. I have read so many dreadful replies they way we are getting treated, and what we have to do to get what we are entitles to. They make you feel like your robbing the government. The Government know what they were doing when they put them in place giving them £100 for every person they see, when they have not a clue about how we suffer and the pain we are in. We our existing for living. But it helps reading feedback like yours. Thanks very much for taking the time to write your comments. GOD BLESS YOU AND I WISH YOU LUCK NEXT TIME.
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