I've been diagnosed with SLE for the last 3 years, I constantly have pain in my hips and knee joints and a lot in my arms and hands as well fatigue and general achiness and sometimes feeling weak and shakey. Im also currently getting almost continuous muscle cramps due to my flare up. I currently take 10 mg prednisone to take the edge off and on hydroxy 400mg. I've been to the rheumatologist and just been put on methotrexate. When I'm in a flare I can struggle to even get out the house at all. But on good days (not during my flare) I can walk a good 15/20 minutes without a lot of pain. I can push myself more but then I suffer for the next few days. I pretty much drive everywhere. I'm currently not working following having my little girl 16 months ago and my health hasn't been in a place I've felt able to work at the moment. As with these invisible illnesses I look fine. My question is, is there any point in applying for PIP? It's only really the mobility part I am wondering about. Has anyone like me been successful in an application?
I was also wondering if anyone has a disabled parking badge? Sometimes I end up not going in places if I have to park to far away but I know lupus doesn't class as a 'disability'.
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SLC03
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The thresholds for mobility PIP are extremely high. You only qualify if you struggle to walk over 50m - that's about 100-150 steps. There is some recognition of fluctuations, so they allow for you being able to walk further than that sometimes, but under 50m must be your usual limit. The blue badge criteria are less precise, but to qualify you must be "unable to walk or have very considerable difficulty walking". Most local authorities now use the same criteria as PIP. If you can walk 15 mins without much pain on the majority of days, you will not qualify for PIP mobility or a blue badge, I'm afraid.
Make sure you are rating yourself on your worst days. In the USA I was able to get a handicap parking placard from my general practitioner and I was sure to bring a cane. At the time I had pericarditis and pleuritis so there was no question. I'm better now but since I have a permanent placard I get a lot of use out of it.
Thankyou. I think by the sounds of it there isn't much point with trying for either as I'm quite stubborn and just push myself to just carry on walking despite the consequences. In general unless I'm really bad I can walk more than 50m I would say so I wouldn't qualify.
I have SLE and was awarded standard PIP and a blue badge. I took great care to keep talking about the dibilitating fatigue and how that affected daily living.
I currently hold a Blue Badge, though I have SLE, Fibromyalgia, Osteoarthiritis and Sjogrens as well as breathing difficulties. I cannot work and currently I am living on my husbands State Pension in a caravan as we cannot afford anything else. I want to apply for PIP, but the sheer thought of the form daunts me.
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