IB medical advice

daska wrote: »

but how about if your condition varies? e.g. today my hands are working, I could zip up a coat, use tweezers etc. but tomorrow I may not be able to do these things... some days I can hold a conversation, other's I get confused just by being asked if I want a cup of tea... so it does matter if you are judged on whether you were able to answer the phone on one day or get to a medical on another or whether a friends comes over and does your nails before you go.

Exactly.. The software is very simple, and is unable to properly take into consideration the wide range of circumstances that are unique to each individual.

It considers a YES/NO in the main for most questions....

The docs are not trained or encouraged by the company to ask questions that would reveal their is more to a situation than a simple black and white answer.

They may look at the form you filled in for the DWP about your condition and ask
"is that your handwriting" - (which proves the doctors inability to investigate the evidence as if you did write the form yourself you will also have signed the declaration on the form stating you filled it in yourself, if you didnt write it yourself you would have had to sign the part stating someone else wrote it for you and they would have to sign also......)

They or more likely the software could rule that filling in the form yourself proves a capablilty of some kind.

What they or the software does not ask, is although you filled in the form yourself

Did you get help and advice from friends/benefits advisors/cab/forums/partner/familly/doctor/cpn etc etc

Did you write the form out with no worries, in one go, or did you get extremely medically anxious over it, and have to spend several days trying to fill in the form, feeling sick after each attempt etc.

Did you have to take breaks due to a physcical problem, such as your hand being in pain from writing etc?

Were there any other things that you feel you could mention about filling in the form?

Instead, its simply its filled in, everything must be fine.

Almost every question the doctor asks, apart from cut and dry factual answers (name etc) they will just make either a assumption or not clarify if therer are problems- and peoples experience indicates that even if you yourself try to clarify there are further problems, its often completely ignored.....

There are many fluctuating medical conditions, both physical and mental, that can mean you may be able to do something on one day, or if you make a great effort, but they certainly dont seem interested if you have to make major effort, or it wipes you out for the rest of the week, if you can do it , all is welll.

Think about it, how can software cover every individuals circumstances? Especially when it expects cut and dry yes/no answers....

Not every medical is 'bad' apparently (although I have never had a good one yet that I know of, still waiting for the results of the latest one.. ).

If you can take a witness, such as a family member, or a benefits advisor with you then that would be a *very* good idea(possibly someone from the CAB you are volunteering at?), they can take notes of the medical. If you 'dispute' what the doctor says later on they can be used as a witness, they can also help you if you get upset by asking for a short break, or asking the doctor to slow down if needed etc.

Hopefully it will go wellf for you, you never know ATOS may be on their best behaviour at the moment after the mentions about them in the house of lords...

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

This happened to my husband, he got terribly stressed filling the form in and took nearly a week to do it.

So he wrote that on the form.

Same as if your condition is variable, like his is, you write THAT on the form.

Then the DWP will have that information, regardless of what the Doc says.

My husband's Dr at the last medical asked him TONS of questions, and allowed him as much time as he wished to elaborate. (Took 1.5 hours:eek:). So maybe it depends who you get.

Having said that, he hasn't had the results yet.....

My longest medical (the last one) was around 1 hour, before that half and hour or less, one was about 10-15 minutes, one even gave me the completely wrong medical entirely.

Im hoping ATOS is behaving itself for a while, due to the mentions in the lords and elsewhere etc, being on best behaviour so to speak, but not expecting to much as the last few medical reports resulted in appeals,complaints, etc.

Its only when the letter arrives and I get to read the decision, that I will know for sure, either way pass or fail, I will be asking for a copy of the medical report.

Hopefully the DWP decision maker will use the evidence on your form, but if the doc disagrees, its likely they may take 'medical opinion' over their own opinion as they themselves are not medically trained.... But 1.5 hours is a very long time for a medical, so you never know, it may go well....(was it a computerised medical, or was it all done on paper?)

Wish I had thought about writing about the effects of the form on the form itself.... So sickened by it all, could hardly think straight, took ages before I got round to even starting, then days to complete it a little at a time.

The problem with those forms, is they expect you to think of all the things that are affecting you, and for those with any mental health problem, that can make the problem worse, as all you are doing is concentrating on the negatives, and how bad life is etc.

Seems to get worse each time also, you no longer expect that they will decide not to call you in based on your own evidence and that from a gp etc, but each time so far they have... Then you expect the medical to be accurate, but each time so far the medical report knocked me for six, so far wrong it was like fiction...

Then you get to know how long they drag things out for appeal etc....

Gets to the point where just seeing one of those 'envelopes' can send you spiralling into panic and worsen the depression.....

I also struggled with the form but didn't think to write on the form that I struggled with it. I wanted to make sure I put everything down but I ended up rushing it really because i'd put it off too long and I didn't want it to be late

I don't really want to take anybody from CAB with me, thanks for the suggestion though cit_k - I just don't really want them knowing the ins and outs of my illness really.

What I worry about with these medicals, is the doctors must see a lot of people and a lot of them won't be genuine so they probably get really fed up with it all (although saying that, they should find another job if that is the case!) It just worries me a little bit, you could get somebody having a bad day and they could mark you down just because of that. I know, i'm so paranoid but i'm terrified they might say I have to go back to work

Just wanted to give you an update, I went for my medical today. The doctor was lovely, I was in such a state and couldn't even speak I was that upset but he tried very hard to reassure me and calm me down, he even aplogised to me, bless him. He asked my boyfriend all the questions and I barely said two words. He told me he would tell them I was unfit for work.

He didn't actually ask anything about my back, the whole thing lasted less than 10 minutes, I was so grateful for that, I wanted nothing more than to be out of that building.

Anyway I feel quite relieved now and although my horrible mum has just upset me a lot, I am going to try and cheer up. I'm going to chase the doctor up for my CBT appointment tomorrow.