Epilepsy

donnajunkie

sorry but i havent read the whole thread so i am sorry if this has already been covered.
i have epilepsy. the type of seizures i have are the full blown kind were i even bite my tongue. i also often have absences and minor seizures. luckily i have not had one in any particularly unfortunate situation like crossing the road or at work.
what i want to know is do i qualify for incapacity benefit because many people ask me why arent i recieving it. they say they know people with epilepsy who are recieving it.
so how severe does it have to be? does it have to be severe? would i have to make out it is worse than it is to get what i am entitled to? how would that affect my treatment?
i am not employed at the moment so at least i dont have a good job that is at risk because of the condition. however i am claiming jsa and i am often sent on courses by the jobcentre that i have no choice about doing. these courses often involve working at companies doing tasks that are very risky for someone with epilepsy and anyone nearby. well for example at the moment i am working in a charity shop and spend alot of time steaming.

sharon59

I think you should contact the CAB or DIAL and get help in completing a DLA form-its certainly worth trying for this.If you have good evidence that you need care to keep you safe etc and that despite medication your seizures still happen then think you should try.Also look on Epilepsy UK web site as they give good advise on claiming benifit.Good luck!

donnajunkie

thanks.
what does cab and dial stand for? sorry if it is obvious but that is a side affect of the medication, it affects my concentration.

donnajunkie

regarding evidence. well how can i prove if i have had a seizure? i dont always bite my tongue and that is usually the only visible sign.

[Deleted User]

Your doctor will be the person providing the evidence, via a medical certificate and/or a written statement which the DWP will send to them. If you see your GP regluar and they know you have seizures and prescribe you meds to control them they should be able to provide all of that.
You will need to go ask your doc for a medicial certificate though. Oh and if you're claiming now you wont be getting Incapacity Benefit, thats gone, it's now ESA which assesses what you can do rather than what you cant, ie I couldnt reasonably asked to do a driving job, work in a night club with flashing lights, with dangerous machinery etc etc. But they can say I can work in a shop, do admin type stuff etc etc. So you may be assessed as being on the stream to get into work rather than staying on benefits.
Having epilepsy or any other disability no longer has to mean 'disabled in life'

minigirl762003

Well we finally got the reply to our appeal for DLA which was taken off my hubby. They still say he is not entitled to it and even state in the reason s for not letting us have it that he is at NO RISK OF A FIT, no risk of falling and no risk of harming himself. Phoned them Thursday to go to the next stage of appeal and to tell them that his epilepsy is UNCONTROLLED.

Then to top it all he had 2 fits on Sat nite, we had to call the ambulance as he stopped breathing for so long he went blue/grey and scared the life out of us.

donnajunkie

minigirl762003 wrote: »

Well we finally got the reply to our appeal for DLA which was taken off my hubby. They still say he is not entitled to it and even state in the reason s for not letting us have it that he is at NO RISK OF A FIT, no risk of falling and no risk of harming himself. Phoned them Thursday to go to the next stage of appeal and to tell them that his epilepsy is UNCONTROLLED.

Then to top it all he had 2 fits on Sat nite, we had to call the ambulance as he stopped breathing for so long he went blue/grey and scared the life out of us.

that sounds horrible. as far as your appeal goes i would suggest going to see his gp because surely if his gp provides the right evidence then you should win your appeal. i am just guessing though.

minigirl762003

We got copies of the GP and specialist reports. GP report was filled in and signed by a locum who has never seen hubby for his fits, specialist report states he is uncontrolled and that he has no idea if it will ever be controlled. It is so annoying, he had DLA for 5 years and the suddenly reviewed his case and changed their minds. Nothing has changed i his condition so why change it?

donnajunkie

i would seek independant advice of some sort, perhaps from the citizens advice bureau. i would possibly still go and see his doctor and ask him or her for advice. i would ask them(cab) to go through the forms you filled in if you have a copy. sometimes we can make silly mistakes that other people spot straight away.

minigirl762003

Yeah going to make an appointmant with CAB. Seeing his specialist on 18 Feb. Appeal has to be in before then but will tell them that we will be sending more stuff in after we have seen him.

Its just annoying that they (DLA) have the front to state that hubby is not at risk of having a fit (do they know better than his doctors?), that hubby is not at risk of falling or at risk of hurting himself.