DLA or Blue Badge? Should I?

Photo_Stylus

People keep telling me to claim DLA & get a blue badge but i struggle on & prefer to keep life normal. She seems to nag me like normal :rotfl:

I have a back problem with nerve damage that affects my toilet needs. Catheter to pee & No.2's give me little notice before i have to go.

What i think in my mind is blue badges are for people who cannot walk more than a few steps & need a wheelchair. I can walk, It can be painful & my back gets stiff if i walk too far but i can. I cannot carry anything as this causes severe pain after even short distances. As little as say 2 loaves of bread.

I can see the point of a blue badge, I could go out more often and dont need to wait until i have done a No.2 & if i need the toilet quickly i can park fairly close to one without worry of getting a ticket.

Anyone care to comment?

I dont qualify for high rate DLA i do get low rate even though they have never seen me.

Could i apply for a blue badge whilst on low rate DLA?

Thanks

tenacioust123

Hi

You can still apply for a BB, it is up to each individual council. Have a look on your councils website, you may be able to apply on line. It helps to get a letter from your doctor to explain your condition and how it effects you.

You do not have to be on HRM to get a BB.

Good Luck

BillTrac

Photo Stylus,

you dont need to be receiving DLA to get a blue badge. Basic criteria is your ability to walk distances without discomfort or support.

Easiest way is to apply. It certainly makes my wife life easier when she is having a bad day.

You will have to answer a few questions and your doctor will be asked to confirm

savemoney

As others said you can ask teh council for a blue badge. My daughter did 3 years ago claim and at the time she didnt get DLA. We got truned down for both before but appealed and got teh blue badge due to renewal next month. She now get high rate DLA

She can walk with a stick but she cant walk long distnaces and she has balance problems she often falls over

I say no harm in trying for a BB. It cost u a few quid to apply and two pasport photos. We did our own photos with digital camera and then printed the correct size out to save on costs

daska

I think you have maybe been caught by the way you have described the problem you face. If you just went out for a walk without waiting until you'd done a no.2 you would need to carry things with you in order to cope with that situation occurring while you were out. And the only reason you don't experience pain is because you're not carrying the things you need because you are avoiding that situation occurring. You are therefore not 'coping', you are avoiding. In the same way that I don't wear socks because they're a pain to put on, that's not coping either.

I would apply on the basis of your severe discomfort and stress both of walking because you have to carry supplies with you when you are out, and of the severe discomfort and stress of being caught short by a no.2 while out walking and not being able to do anything about it because you can't carry supplies.

The worst they can do is say no.

Do you have a RADAR key?

Photo_Stylus

Yes i managed to get a RADAR key, what a godsend that can be.

Do get some strange looks when using them though.

Thanks.

Brightness

Photo, apply for the badge it will make your life so much easier. I held out for four years before applying for mine - now I wish I'd done it sooner, it has improved the quality of my life so much more.

None of us wants to be 'disabled' or to be seen as giving in but sometimes needs must :beer:.

pipkin71

I would say apply for the badge, even if you're not in receipt of HRM.

Can I ask, has your condition deteriorated since you were awarded LRM? My condition deteriorated last year so I informed DLA and was awarded the higher rates, which automatically meant I could claim the blue badge.

That's something to think about

dawnsong

I'd say go for it - anything that gives you a greater quality of life and less discomfort is surely worth it.

Millburn_farm

Photo_Stylus wrote: »

What i think in my mind is blue badges are for people who cannot walk more than a few steps & need a wheelchair. I can walk, It can be painful & my back gets stiff if i walk too far but i can. I cannot carry anything as this causes severe pain after even short distances. As little as say 2 loaves of bread.

I get the higher rate DLA; I can walk; albeit slowly on a bad day, and one day quite well and another hardly at all; personally; if on somedays you need a wheelchair (I do sometimes; I ignore that ) then you should be on the higher rate, and I can carry a wee bit more than two loaves

I'd get honest with your self and talk to your local CAB and re-apply for DLA

The difference my badge makes to me is indescribaly good, and if I'm having a good patch, well park further away

daska

Millburn_farm wrote: »

I'd get honest with your self and talk to your local CAB and re-apply for DLA

The difference my badge makes to me is indescribaly good, and if I'm having a good patch, well park further away

Yep, good plan, just don't do what I used to do and park so far away that I would collapse and need an ambulance to get me back to the car park. It sort of defeats the object... :rotfl: