ASTHMA and dla

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You might want to consider returning to education to improve your skills and train for something that you can do which will not affect your asthma. This should cost you very little if you're on means tested benefits.

i have 4 A's 2b's and 3 c's at gcse level i did many training courses with my previous employer also. if anything i found when i went for job interviews i was overqualified but was taken on due to experince in that job many factory jobs worked in retail in a motor factors and with RPS water on leakage, and still excessive sick leave in all jobs when i'm i'll from picking up an infection in work at home or what ever i can hardly walk due to breathlessness i.m weak due to lack of oxygen to my muscles and dizzy also, i am also in pain 24/7 365days a year i manage this with TRAMADOL capsules and pain management, it only takes one person in an office to have a cold or flu and i get it due to the problem that comes with asthma LOW IMMUNITY if that place has aircon also during the summer if some one in the building has an illness i get it because aircon uses a recurculation and compression system recurculated air with bugs in it.

many people see asthmatics as fit to work we have inhalers and preventers and after taking them we are fine AND WILL GROW OUT OF IT AS IT IS REVERSABLE the reversable stage is from diagnosis when young to the age of 21 with control i'm 25 it has got worse and not controlled eventhough im on the highest form of inhalers i also have a nebulizer i cannot go on oxygen therapy as i have too much carbon dioxide in my blood and for this reason oxygen therapy is not an option. i have the severe form SEVERE BRITTLE ASTHMA and each attack could be my last breath in life.

Oldernotwiser

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

i have 4 A's 2b's and 3 c's at gcse level i did many training courses with my previous employer also. if anything i found when i went for job interviews i was overqualified but was taken on due to experince in that job many factory jobs worked in retail in a motor factors and with RPS water on leakage, and still excessive sick leave in all jobs when i'm i'll from picking up an infection in work at home or what ever i can hardly walk due to breathlessness i.m weak due to lack of oxygen to my muscles and dizzy also, i am also in pain 24/7 365days a year i manage this with TRAMADOL capsules and pain management, it only takes one person in an office to have a cold or flu and i get it due to the problem that comes with asthma LOW IMMUNITY if that place has aircon also during the summer if some one in the building has an illness i get it because aircon uses a recurculation and compression system recurculated air with bugs in it.

many people see asthmatics as fit to work we have inhalers and preventers and after taking them we are fine AND WILL GROW OUT OF IT AS IT IS REVERSABLE the reversable stage is from diagnosis when young to the age of 21 with control i'm 25 it has got worse and not controlled eventhough im on the highest form of inhalers i also have a nebulizer i cannot go on oxygen therapy as i have too much carbon dioxide in my blood and for this reason oxygen therapy is not an option. i have the severe form SEVERE BRITTLE ASTHMA and each attack could be my last breath in life.

I'm not quite sure why you wrote all this as my suggestion was perfectly sensible. You'll hopefully have another 50 years of life and I'm sure you don't want to spend them living on benefits.

My husband has very severe emphysema, on oxygen 24/7 and I'm well aware of the risks of infection. You'll need to look at training for some kind of work where you don't have much contact with others, unstressful and in a clean environment.

If you don't want to think about work at the present you could look at doing a purely educational course, like the OU, for your own satisfaction and personal development. There are improvements being made in the area of lung disease all the time.

SuziQ

By the way,if you are putting it on your claim form-I am guessing you mean pneumonia?
I have seen many people completely incapacitated by Asthma in my years of nursing. If you cannot demonstrate a reasonable level of care need however the application won't be accepted.
If you open the document on this page (financial assistance and Asthma) you may find it useful:
http://www.asthma.org.uk/applications/site_search/search.rm?term=dla&searchreferer_id=1

Trasthmatic

If you are a brittle asthmatic you may have a chance of qualifying for DLA. Get your hospital doctor to support your claim. Without medical conformation of a brittle diagnosis you will be expected to be able to control your symptoms with medication most of the time.
I have to say that I am very surprised that a brittle asthmatic would be taking tramadol. I was prescribed it for my migraines and it triggered an attack. I was warned by my doc that this might happen so I was prepared for it. Difficulty breathing and tightness in the chest are well known side effects of tramadol.
On a side note with the racket I make when having an attack I'd hardly call asthma a hidden illness

Jowo_2

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

i am aware of this apeal and it was overuled by another tribunal by another person as the panel claimed that the claiment could use ready meals in a microwave for a main meal to elimanate steam and heat when challenged at another apeal the panel found for the claiment and throwing this judgment out as a reay meal is not a main meal and hand prepared and cooked on a cooker, by opening windows useing pan tops i come back to hot and cold air that irretates my chest and who wants to open a window when its pouring down with rain to get the floor wet and worktops my windows in the kitchen are obove my worktops and opening them in the rain would ruin any food preparation. so again a judge thinking stupid and i would of challenged that in the tribunal.

I'm aware that appeals cannot suggest a person must use a microwave in place of a cooker but I am not aware of one which has ruled on the impact of rain on the Cooking test.

I have come across another which suggests that kitchen ventilation as a solution to minimise exposure to steam can be considered when making a decision on DLA.

"there seems to be no reason why the claimant could not take the common sense step to alleviate any discomfort by opening a window or door to ventilate the cooking area. Secondly, the “cooking test” is in any event a hypothetical test of planning ability, bodily function and dexterity. In the light of the conceptual nature of the test, it is arguable that it is not meant to encompass such particular consequences as the effect of heat and steam. And even if such consequences are admitted, I submit that one is not prevented from considering the remedy of ventilation".

It recommended that the decision maker must consider the layout of the kitchen, the position of the windows and any other matters which they consider relevant. Also, that a solution can be devised, it should say what it is and why it is thought to help matters.

http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/disability-living-allowance-(dla)/dla-decisions/506-cdla42142002

Therefore, be sure to detail on your form why the layout and facilities in your kitchen won't help matters (which sounds a bit more robust than an anxiety about rain fall).

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Jowo wrote: »

I'm aware that appeals cannot suggest a person must use a microwave in place of a cooker but I am not aware of one which has ruled on the impact of rain on the Cooking test.

I have come across another which suggests that kitchen ventilation as a solution to minimise exposure to steam can be considered when making a decision on DLA.

"there seems to be no reason why the claimant could not take the common sense step to alleviate any discomfort by opening a window or door to ventilate the cooking area. Secondly, the “cooking test” is in any event a hypothetical test of planning ability, bodily function and dexterity. In the light of the conceptual nature of the test, it is arguable that it is not meant to encompass such particular consequences as the effect of heat and steam. And even if such consequences are admitted, I submit that one is not prevented from considering the remedy of ventilation".

It recommended that the decision maker must consider the layout of the kitchen, the position of the windows and any other matters which they consider relevant. Also, that a solution can be devised, it should say what it is and why it is thought to help matters.


Therefore, be sure to detail on your form why the layout and facilities in your kitchen won't help matters (which sounds a bit more robust than an anxiety about rain fall).

this case was based on care componant of dla that is a separate claim for a carer to fill out not disability living allowance dla and motability was awarded and was not in question in that case also that was 2002 and would of been challenged before now. i would challenge it because being breathless and weak, dizzy i would not excert myself as to make my condition worse and i cannot have a ventalation hood in above my cooker as the gas pipe runs from the ceilng to floor behind the cooker and as i live in a housing assoitiation house and have asked to re-root the pipe before the put theyre new kitchens in but was turned down because of cost. but i also have other complications suspected osteoperosis and have pain in my wrists this is what i take tramadol for and my gp put me on a short course to see how it would effect me because of its known side effects but i didnt have them so he prescribed them on regular basis.i am 100% confident that i satisfy the cooked main meal test no doubt about that.


anyone who can offer advice and support would be greatly appreaciated

MrsA1939

My husband had a stoke last October that left his left side useless and he was only awarded low rate care because they reckoned he could cook a meal, which of course he cannot.

dmg24

Has a medical professional agreed that you cannot prepare a meal?

Being breathless and weak would not preclude you from being able to cook a meal for DLA purposes, because you could sit down whilst preparing the meal, and again, you could take your time over it. These are far from ideal, but if it makes you more independent, can only be a good thing.

dmg24

MrsA1939 wrote: »

My husband had a stoke last October that left his left side useless and he was only awarded low rate care because they reckoned he could cook a meal, which of course he cannot.

Not being able to cook a meal is one of the tests for LRC. It would not be a factor in deciding on a higher award.

Jowo_2

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

.i am 100% confident that i satisfy the cooked main meal test no doubt about that.

Stats that I came across (albeit from a few years ago and for Northern Ireland because I can't find any recent UK breakdown) indicated that only 2% of DLA awards go to Asthmatics as their main disabling condition.

That's twice the rate of Multiple Sclerosis sufferers but people are 54 more times likely to have Asthma than MS (100, 000 MS sufferers in the UK versus 5.4 million Asthmatics).

Therefore, since muscular/skeletal and mental health conditions statistically have the greatest chance of securing DLA, your best bet is to concentrate on these areas and get a firm diagnosis for your osteoporosis.

The likelihood of being awarded DLA for your asthma appears to be extremely low despite your encyclopaedic knowledge of the appeals system and your evident tenacity.