Chronic Pain & PIP

[JeffMett]

Hi, I'm in the process of going on to PIP. I have learnt that Chronic Pain is not a reason to get any Benefits so I am going to ask my employer if I can go back onto full time even it means I have to do manual work. I shall ask the pain clinic for more morphine so I can do a full time job, I've tried for three year to get training and a office job, but no nearer to achieving this.

[Bananas5]

Morning JeffMett

PIP has nothing to do whether you work or not. It's aim is to meet the extra costs of a chronic illness or disability.

It matters not what your illness is - it is how you live with it. Can you wash and dress yourself? Can you prepare food? Are you mobile? They look at all these and you score points. Depending on how many points you get will determine the amount, if anything, you get.

This is all supported by GP and consultants letters.

If you have difficulties at work then you should ask your employer to make 'reasonable adjustments' for you/. That is the law but.....

If it causes you severe pain and your condition worsens by doing manual work then you say no and get him to provide desk work.

Then we get to reality but that is too painful to mention

x

[JeffMett in reply to Bananas5]

Hi Paton I've got Tender Nerves which means the more I do the worse I get. I'm not supposed to handle boiling liquids, I've dropped the kettle several times but use this at the back of the work unit so that means I don't get it on me. I don't handle pans of boiling water. I can't do the house work and do 16 hours at work. I can't do shirt buttons especially in the morning. If I loose my benefits I will lose my car ( I bought this myself) so I won't be able to get thing like food to the house. I walk with a stick mainly because I loose my balance sometimes. I do a manual job on checkouts which is making my condition worse, I have been told that at sometime in the future I won't be able to get to work because I will be paralysed and CAB told I will be able to claim then but at the moment I won't get anything, so I have got go back on full time. This why I am pissed off and angry with a system that is quite willing to sit there and let this happen. Mind you I should have none better, my Mother died of lung cancer and didn't get much care until a week before she died. My Father died of Parkinson's and Dementia and before he had to go to hospital I got 10 minutes a day help. I was there carer and worked full time and saved this country a fortune.

[Cb1963 in reply to JeffMett]

that's an utter disgrace I can understand your anger and emotions,and in the same breath the health secretary is saying only go to A&E if your really sick,nobody should have to work if your a danger to yourself ir others,and come the day your forced to finish work you'll then have all sorts of problems claiming benifits,and no doubt it'll be even harder,what gets up my nose is that if you've got medical issues especially long term ones that are in your GP'S notes and your illness and medications haven't changed why should the system think your fit to work,thus government is only interested in reducing the benefits bill so MP'S can receive their handsome wages and a gold plated pension,I've worked in the past with serious health conditions when I was alot younger but now I'm older my body is telling me not to push myself as it won't be A&E I'll be visiting but the undertaker!!! I totally admire you that you did your best for your family and yes no financial gain involved,so yes you've saved the government thousands,but think about yourself and try and get some support for anything that might be affecting your health wether it's physical or mental,unfortunately it's dog eat dog out there and the wolves are always ready to pounce so look after number 1,(yourself) and anything that you can't deal with seek any free advice,scour the internet,do your homework and as they say keep your friends as enemies and your enemies as friends,good luck in any future missions,cheers

[johnsmith]

You need to see an organisation which specialises in benefits law. Law is a specialised subject with word meanings that are different to that of the Oxford English dictionary.

Morphine is not going to help you do a full time job. You will start with a low dosage which will over time require to get higher and higher. You have to look at how to make you body movements more efficient. This will help with pain control as muscle movement has an influence on pain. Sleep is also very important. Not enough sleep and pain will increase. Sleep is required for fine tuning of muscle control.

If you can afford it see an Alexander technique teacher for posture and movement advice. This will make a lot of difference in your ability to do any work well. You need to consider the importance of not over doing things as this will lead to mental collapse which is difficult to recover from.

Hope this has been helpful.

[Hidden]

I agree that it is worth the cost and effort to obtain expert consultation for your claim.

[RAYJAYC]

Hi

Chronic pain most certainly is a criteria for receiving benefits!! It's not what the disability or illness is, it's how it affects you.

Have you applied for/ do you receive ESA? This is the benefit that you should be concentrating on first and then PIP as an 'extra'. You clearly can't do a full time job so need an income; whether it be JSA or ESA. Once that's been sorted, then apply for PIP to get the 'extras' you need to help you live with your disability. Like I and others have said, it's the way the disability or illness affects you that qualifies you for it. There isn't a set list of conditions that means you'll automatically get either benefit or vice versa - this kind of 'grouping' is long gone. You'll hear horror stories about people with downright obvious disabilities not getting PIP yet others with 'mild' or undiagnosed issues receiving everything!!

If you feel that your condition affects you enough then apply but it's not a pleasant process but if you have enough medical evidence to back you up and/or your assessment is done correctly, there's no reason you shouldn't get PIP (I say this loosely due to many, many people having a rough time with it but there are ways & means to get a decision changed).

If chronic pain isn't enough to qualify then a lot of folk on here wouldn't get it!!

Go for it......keep us updated 😊

RJC

[katieoxo60]

Hi you can get benefits with chronic pain, especially if you take strong painkillers. It is about how the pain effects your ability to lead a normal daily life. That is when it gets difficult as it is about proving the pain interferes with ability to do normal things like walk, cook, dress, ect Some of the things may be quite minor like having to wear Tshirts instead of button shirts or velcro fastenings instead of laces ect, adapted cutlery use, I could go on but think you need a benefits disabilities specialist which are often available at law centers or local solicitors offices. The local council often have benefit advice offices too similar to CAB. Do make a claim but expect a fight to establish your rights. Good Luck come back with any Questions we may be able to help.

[JeffMett]

I have a problem with shirt buttons in the morning I cannot do them up but later depending on if I have done something else I can fasten them. If I go back to work on full time which I have been told by CAB I could probably manage a couple weeks if don't do any housework or even my hobby Birdwatching. All the time I have to take more and more Morphine and Oramorph, I am already on a full dose others pain killers Paracetamol, Gabapentin, Amitriptyline also they have given me gels to rub and I go to special keep fit classes. So how do answer these question when most my answer would be yes and no depending on what else I have done. All the time I'm getting worse and could end up paralysed. Last night I did some housework this morning my neck is throbbing. I'm going to ask my Doctor on Wednesday if I can have that very risky operation which could let me have a reasonable standard of life or end up paralysed, this would solve the problem. The CAB did say they would look at my case again when I'm paralysed. This as now been going on two years now with 2 companies trying to get me training, but because I not wealthy I cannot get any training. These 2 companies are set up by the government to help people get back into work are just a front to make look as though they are doing. Both of these I was told to see them by 2 other government agencies.

[RAYJAYC in reply to JeffMett]

Have you applied for ESA?

Your amount of painkillers means you have pain that affects your life which is likely to make working impossible or may only allow you to work a limited amount of hours. By working, you're causing more pain which is then affecting your life even more.........

My point here is that you seem to be giving up without trying for any benefits. You need to request the appropriate forms for ESA and PIP and go from there. By the sounds of it you're a candidate for something; how's working and as a result of it becoming more disabled going to help you in the long run??

As I said in my previous post, get definite answers before throwing in the towel!! If you get ESA and PIP refused, there are ways to fight those decisions.

We can always give you hints, tips & advice and the Benefits and Work website is excellent for helping you filled in the forms.

RJC x

[JeffMett]

Yes I was offered ESA but they would have reduced my other benefits so seemed a waste of time. The pain clinic and the hospital told me that I could only make this condition worse not better, but if I was careful it wouldn't get any worse so I was advised to get a office job, but because have only worked in factories and on the shop floor I would need a qualification to stand any chance of getting a job. That is were things started to go wrong you can get a course like ECDL if you have got enough money to pay for a course. I went on to 16 hours the least I could do and keep the benefits, but the job I am doing is slowly making my condition worse. Now they force me onto PIP this year were I was told by CAB I would not qualify for any benefits because I can do things. An example I can go outside with the electric hedge shears and cut our huge hedge but I would not be able to do anything for the next 3 or 4 days. But because I can do that work I must be fit to work. Most things on them forms I can do, one at a time so my answer to most questions is yes and no. Another example when I get up in the morning I cannot do shirt buttons up, but in the afternoon if I haven't done anything I can do them up. I'm going to the doctors on Wednesday and I'm expecting a appointment with a senior member of the pain clinic this appointment is because I am on a very high dosage of medication and they are getting worried that my immune system may stop working. I have been trying to save the benefits people a lot of money. Three years ago I told them if get a little help now I am willing to go onto a full time job which would have been able to stop my benefits. They wonder why I am getting very annoyed with the idiots!!!