esa without a medical

[peely]

i posted my Atos form off 11th Dec and this morning i has a letter from the DWP . I have been awarded esa no medical. I have got more issues than fibro i have an immune problem ,permanent shingles and a back problem. I went against most advice saying 'not' to enclose consultant letters etc I did and I feel for me that has worked. I also gave lots and lots of information on how i cope day to day, in the 'other information' page. Im no expert but for me this helped and this is the reason I write this . There is hope and there are good news stories sometimes. Good luck x

[chilli50]

Hi

I have fibro, raynauds, depression, gastritis and suspected ibs and restless leg syndrome. I also think I have fusion of the bottom of my spine which I need to get checked out when I'm next at the drs. I suffer with sickness and vomiting every day as well as all the joys fibro can bring and my dr has written a very short letter stating that I have fibro and gastritis and saying that I can't work at present. It cost me £25 and is only a few lines long. Can I ask what kind of thing you put in your claim form? I'm VERY nervous about claiming ESA and DLA as there is a serious amount of stress in my life at the moment and I really don't think I could cope with a tribunal etc.

Thanks for your help and I'm really pleased for you that you didnt have to attend a medical.

Love and gentle huggles

Chilli xxx

[Hidden in reply to chilli50]

Chilli, do you have the Benefits and Work info sheets, if not we can send you them for free. They have lots of helpful info on completing forms, assessments and appeals etc. Please email us on [e-mail] and we will send them to you. Hopefully they will be of help to you.

Also if you pop along to the CAB, perhaps best to make an appointment first, they have a wealth of knowledge and can actually help you to complete all the forms. This can take a lot of stress off your shoulders because they are specially trained and most helpful.

Wishing you all the best Chilli, if we can be of any help to you, please just ask. We are always happy to help in any way we can.

(((hug))) xxx

Libs

[chilli50 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you libs.

I've put off claiming anything for a couple of years now because I'm so frightened of being turned down and having to go to a medical. I've had and am still having so much stress that I think I would have a breakdown if I had to go to a tribunal.

In the last year my mum and dad both had heart attacks but recovered thank goodness. My big sis was diagnosed with cancer last summer and thankfully is recovering now. Another sis, ( I have 4) has had cervical cancer twice and thought it had returned again, it was a cyst.

I got severe gastritis and gerd in June and lost over 2st. I'm still suffering and I vomit most days. I am having an endoscopy this Saturday so hopefully they will discover why I have this. I'm scared though that they will find something sinister.

Also, 10 days ago my 34 yr old sister had a stroke which paralyzed her right side and affected her speech. She is slowly recovering which is fantastic but I feel like I'm having to hold things together

4 years ago I took on full time care of 2 of my grandsons who have suspected ADHD and now I'm looking after my sisters two children as well until she recovers from the stroke enough to go home. Her husband will be looking after her then and hopefully her children will be able to go back home soon.

I'm totally exhausted mentally and physically and just feel like crying. I'm on 60 mg of duloxetine twice a day which has helped enormously but I just feel so overwhelmed at the moment. It's been a really hard 4 years what with getting the grandkids. I had abdominal surgery that had complications which left a deep hole in my stomach as I caught a form of mrsa. It took over a year to recover from that, then I was diagnosed with fibro. A few months after that my mums dog died from cancer and her beautiful Persian cat was savaged and killed by 3 dogs. I have also fought off 6 repossessions on my house and am going through it again at the moment.

4 years ago I was a very happy, healthy, and debt free. I was a personal trainer and was doing my level 3 nutrition. All this was literally wiped out in a day and every day since then has been a battle. I thought I had been through the grieving process and had come to the acceptance stage but today I think I might still be on stage 4.

I have been told to claim DLA and esa but I'm not sure if I have the strength to go through this too.

Sorry for rambling on. I'm having a tough day today. I'll email you for the benefits and work stuff and give it a go as I really can't work at the moment. I'll let you know how it goes.

Love and gentle huggles

Chilli xxx

[Hidden in reply to chilli50]

MY goodness me Chilli, I am exhausted reading all you have been through and have to contend with you poor love. Understatement!

You are an incredible person to come through all of that and still be poorly yourself. I hope the endo goes well on Saturday, please let us know how it goes.

Taking on all those children, what a wonderful person you are! I hope you get help looking after them all, it's too much for one person who isn't well herself.

Please know that we will do our absolute best to help and support you through the road that lies ahead and if there's anything we can do please just ask. We are always only too happy to try to help the best we can.

The Benefits and Work info sheets can be very helpful when completing the benefit forms whether ESA or DLA. Also remember you can make an appointment and ask the CAB to help you to complete the forms which will hopefully alleviate some of the stress for you.

Wishing you all the very best my dear. (((hug))) xxx

Libs

[peely in reply to Hidden]

ps i think this is a great site and the help the admin give is wonderful xx

[peely in reply to chilli50]

As much information as possible !! I am no expert and I might well not be giving you the right advice but i detailed my day (on the other information page) I detailed how i needed help , how much pain i was in, that i wanted a home visit etc. I also had some reports from my consultant too. Get to the drs to check your spine enclose the information on this , every snippet every little detail , on extra paper if you need to . Best of luck my love

[Hidden]

So pleased for you Peely, thank you so much for posting, it's always lovely to hear of members' success stories. Well done!

(((hug))) xxx

Libs

[Hidden]

Hi

The same happened to me last week. I had a wait of 5 months from August to January before I heard I had been put into the Support Group. It can happen. I have heard that if you are already on IB then you have a better chance of being migrated over to ESA without needing a medical, than if you are making a new ESA claim from fresh.

[Evadne in reply to Hidden]

What is IB?

[peely]

thanks Liberz yes it is a good news story in a haystack so to speak of cruel adjudications. Fibro is so mis understood and greeted with a skeptic smile . I have friends who have had to go to a medical and got turned down WRONGLY and have had the nightmare of appeal. I unfortunately also know people who are swinging the leg so to speak and i am horrified that they have been awarded esa and unfortunately we are tarred with that brush. I am very lucky to have the support of a great GP and Consultant which i know is not the case for many fibro sufferers. Silverstar perhaps that indeed help xx

[Lyndybird]

Thankyou for posting this, I am sure it is going to help many people in our difficult situation.

Hugs for you

Lyndy xxx

[Ozzygirl64]

I am so pleased for you. I have Fibro, COPD, osteoarthritis of the spine, hemiplegic migraines, menieres disease, vision loss, stomach and duodenal ulcers, stomach scarring, oesophagul scarring, acid reflux, hiatus hernia, raynauds, gout, cluster headaches, IBS, other stuff and recenlty ruptured Plantar fascii, right heel and ruptured large tendon ankle on the right too. And I am still classed as fit for work, the mind boggles. But my daughter was also put straight on ESA and awarded DLA indefinite due to her illness. So I am pleased she has not had to go through this hullabaloo, but in the forms they were told that stress actually will trigger her illness and most likely land her in hospital xxxxx

[Allpainedout]

Hi all just a quick note make sure that if on your ESA award that you realise if it says. 365 days that your money will stop after the 365 days and all they pay after that is your ni contributions !!! Even though they know your too ill to work !!!! So if you need to keep your money you have a month to appeal to be put into the support group then your money stays the same ,if your month has ran out you can ask for a reassessment at any time if your situations changed !!!!!!! If your on low income you can inform there are options for you

Hope this helps take care out there x

[peely]

thank you for all your replies and good luck to you all in trying to cope with day to day life on top of the pressures of Atos'ers etc. Thank you for pointing out the 365 day thingy Allpainedout I am one of the fortunate few not to have this on my award but it is something I was quite un aware of x

[ginge]

i also listed every ailment i had as well as fibro and m.e....i listed all the thoings that we get with fibro to.....when the esa rang me she said that cause i had so many ailments they put me in surport group...so i would say put EVERYTHING down on paper........best wishes.xx

[peely in reply to ginge]

i agree totally i was advised not to send info in but im pleased i did now x

[Paxtonie]

I've been on Incapacity with severe disablement component and DLA medium personal care and lower mobility since early 2003 and have never had to have a medical. I sent off the forms a week before Christmas to have my IB/severe disablement switched to ESA and am cacking it. I have autoimmune arthritis disease, psoriasis, an autoimmune brain disease intracranial hypertension, Sjogren's syndrome, autoimmune hypothyroidism, low sodium, fibro, bipolar and am now undergoing investigations for a gastro prob for which I'm already taking thirteen pills a day before they even know what it is. I inject chemo and immunosupressants every week and regularly have fluid drained from my brain. I wrote in depth all my symptoms and how much I struggle getting by on a daily basis. I didn't enclose any reports but I gave details of my GP and my six hospital consultants. I feel constantly worried about the whole thing but I guess it's just a case of wait and see ugh! XXX

[peely in reply to Paxtonie]

Hi Paxtonie I too have DLA ( medium care and higher mobility) i have had 3 medicals for the IB over ten years of course these were the old type so I may not be the best individual to give you advice on this as the Drs i saw were Drs and very pleasant not what I have heard at all about the ATOS'ers . I do have chemo as you however and I do think this was a factor in my ESA award. I sent reports in from two of my five consultants ( i detailed what treatment i received from the others) and i wrote EVERY date of a treatment etc. I do empathize with you it is awful awaiting the brown envelope. LibertyZ seems to be very knowledgeable and in deed helpful. Keep the faith and good luck xx

[ginge]

loving the Atosers...lol

[Paxtonie]

Thank you peely. I guess i'm more worried as one of my best friends has recently had a bad experience with all this and i've seen what it has done to her mental state with all the stress and worry. I'm gonna just take each step as it comes. XXX

[Lozzy64]

Iv been told this WK i don't need medical, i wouldn't of known if i hadn't rang n now im worried sick why not