Brilliant news, congratulations and all that, it took me years to get the DLA and now it is all changing lol.

Angie, good news on the dla,i am on what your on and i aslo have blue badge and a bus pass. You have had it rough this year haven't you,lets hope that this is a turning point for you and the next few months are brighter for you. I know what you mean ablout getting comfy,i am downstairs as i now have a bag of peas on my knee. I hope i will be able to drift off to sleep sometime soon.

take care sylvi.xx

Well done Angie that's one big hurdle you've made it over so enjoy it please - hopefully it will help make symptoms lessen now as stress doesn't help the conditions much either. TT x

That's good news Angie. RA is hard enough as it is.

Can I ask people how do I apply for a bus pass? I've rung the DLA to apply is it done through that or another source?

Thanks

Traceyanne

Thank you for your praise. Traceyanne you apply for bus pass through your loacl council or county. I live in kent and got mine through kent county council. All information is available on the web. Have a look at your council website and go from there mine took a week to be sent after I applied. I am off to cornwall saturday and the bumper backpay is a bonus too!

Hi Angie, congratulations on getting your DLA. I get high mobility and middle care and it makes a massive difference to my life, without my motability car I'd be housebound.

Enjoy your weekend away, with the knowledge this battle is over you should have a very happy weekend.

Beth xx

hi, well done you, go out now and enjoy your holiday, i think you deserve it, and like tilda said less stress could help you , take care, sue x

hi angie i have ra too i so understand the sleeping thing..................do you find that youve become more isolated?when i go out with my friends im so tired and in pain that night i find sometimes if i just stay home the pain wont be so bad !but when i pop to the shops having been in bed till lunchtime people say oh you look well ,yes i have a touch of arthtritis too .....not knowing that some days i have to go back to bed after the shop visit..the continous daily pain gets you down eh?peace and love to you.....rhian x

oh yes and well done for dla results thats, what i have too !rhian x

Congrats I am glad you got it now think about joining one of the ra groups so you get out aylesford one has some younger members. Enjoy your hols

So glad you didn't have trouble with the DLA. Hopefully that's a good sign and everything will be on upward path now, and you're recovery from the encephalitis will speed up, and RA get under control. So enjoy life after 40 as much as you can. Pollyx

Thank you all for your great responses. This site is a godsend and allows us to rant and spread good chear and support fellow sufferers. I love getting my daily update to see how everyone is. You find that the information learnt on here far outways anything else you would find on the web but this site has the personal touch.

My twins have Jubilee celebrations at school tomorrow so my hubby is making sandwiches and cakes for them to take in. I'm lounging around as my shoulder blade and right side of me has been hurting all day. Nothing I do is making it go away.

Have a fab weekend one and all and enjoy as best you can. I will be reading post while away - speak to you when I get back saturday week. Xxx

;}. Angie

congratulation for your battle. atleast you tried to do the application unlike others who feel shy. am so happy for you. enjoy yourself but dont forget to take your meds out of the excitment.xxxx

Hi Angie yes I started going two months ago and have found it quite good it gives you a chance to meet people with the same probs and you can escape from family and moan without being judged and get some ideas.I will be going t o the next one if you feel OK come along Chris

well done on getting DLA i am still fighting for mine , going to tribunal now so waiting for a date back,

Angie congratulations on getting the dla you need it and you deserve it. Hope you feel a bit better as time goes on.

Am glad it finally came through.

Congratulations on getting your DLA. I'm new to this site but i have been diagnosed with RA for 18 years (27 yrs old when first diagnosed) just woke up one morning with severe pains in my fingers and then feet. I too receive DLA high rate mobility and middle rate care, i still work part time and also receive Disability element of Tax Credit as i am a single mum and i also claimed carers allowance for my son who is my carer. I advise everyone to seek help from their local CAB and read the Government website on benefits for disability. My work place have had to put things in place for me and adjust my working hours to suit me and have arranged that i can have time off for my flare ups as RA is covered under the Disability Act. It took me a long time to accept i had RA and even longer to apply for benefits etc but now i don't hesitate in applying, this extra help has made life less stressful so i can concentrate on my health. Apart from the symptoms of RA the one thing that gets me down is people's perception of RA, "oh yes i have a bad knee, i know how you feel" and "my god you are always tired" at one time i used to just nod to people and feel ashamed that i had been for another rest but now i tell them straight what RA is and i certainly don't feel bad for having plenty of rest, it's only my health that suffers if i don't. Good luck to everyone and sorry if i have gone on but it has felt good to talk to people who understand what's going on.

Hi, just mulling through past comments and came across your success with dla. Can you give me any advice please. Have tried once before and was refused. Since then my knees are suffering too and I can walk but sometimes with pain and a feeling that knees will give way but up to now they have not. I work full time at a desk job, but finding minute taking more and more difficult. I drive but today the pain in my knee was making it difficult, and my hands feel like they have been trapped in a door. Is it possible to be refused because. Have not taken time off work, or because I work? Have had times when feel so tired just want sleep, this comes over me like a wave, even when I'm busy and I lose concentration too.

When you fill in the forms complete has though it is the worst day you can have, don't put that you can manage, imagine you don't have any aids. My best advice is attend your local CAB and if you are having bad days you can request a home visit but tell them what you are like on bad days, when they ask how often you get bad days tell them you cannot give an accurate answer to that due to the nature of the condition. With work have you told your employer you have RA, they should be offering you a work place assessment through Occy health, tell them you suffer while taking minutes they should provide equipment to help with this or ask someone else to do this. Ring NRAS and ask for the leaflets on work, they really helped me. I also went on the CAB website and found out my rights as this condition is covered under the Equality Act as it is recognised as a disability therefore they are by law required to put things in place to help you in the work place. Do not suffer in silence tell them and ask them to make you an appt with Occy Health. Hope this helps.