Borderline PD/Depression/Alcholism-need advice pls?

bitterblue2511

I have BPD/Alcoholism & Depression with anxiety. My renewal for LRM DLA was turned down & am appealing against this decision & have been told could take 11 weeks, looks like theyre overturning everyones renewal atm. I have a support worker & an excellent dr. who have done supporting letter for me. Has anyone got experience of the tribunal process should I have to go, I live on my nerves 24/7 & my head is already analysing with my body trying to keep up. Does anyone else have BPD, no-one seems to know a lot about it. I know I am extremely impulsive & obsessional & deep mood swings. Any help appreciated, ty:(:(

strawberryfields

hi there, i also suffer from bpd, depression, anxiety and alcoholism (to a point on the last one), but i claim dla for my ms and the problems that causes, but i was told when going to a tribunal recently that i more than likely wouldn't get it because they are turning everyone down at the moment-i presume it has to do with the government trying to save money

bitterblue2511

thx for your post, it's hard enough dealing with mental health probs like yourself and also with a physical disability (i also have severe back probs). i worked for 20 yrs paying my taxes and what do i get for it? are you appealing against a dla as yours was up for renewal? have you got a date for your tribunal yet. i've heard somewhere that dla maybe scrapped in the not so distant future. it doesn't pay to be ill nowadays. alright for mr darling to write cq's for £50bn bailing out banks what about the disabled in this country who have to get by on a menial income, this country has gone to the dogs. sorry about the rant, hope you're on the mend..x

strawberryfields

hi there i was applying for the first time, i won at the appeal but the guy from the cab told me not to get my hopes up, i am glad i did get it at the appeal but don't want to go through all that stress and worry again, my appeal was last month btw, i don't understand this government at all, yes i am disabled and have to live off an income the government says is all i need to live off-i would like to see them try-i really would

bitterblue2511

i know abs appalling, check out the national debt counter 800 billion at the mo, disgusting & the disabled are having their benefits cuts. Brown & co need putting in the stocks..

msmoose

Hello there...

I too have BPD, when I originally got DLA (high rate care and low rate mobility two years ago) I didn’t have BPD diagnosed and I was just diagnosed with Depression and a possible Mood Disorder. We kind of went around in circles for many years!

This June I got the renewal forms to fill out and I was pretty much dreading filling them out again because so much had changed for me but the biggest thing was the fact I had a more definite diagnose.

I just pretty much filled the forms out as before but if anything my depression, anxiety and self harm and drinking had become significantly worse and I was receiving more treatment for that. I spent 10 months in group therapy for people with Personality Disorders.

I got the outcome about three weeks ago and my award stays the same High Rate Care, Low Rate Mobility and it's been awarded now for five years - but I don't expect to claim for that long as my current situation at the moment means things are changing for me and I expect at somepoint next year to have to ask them to review my claim!

No doubt they contacted my Psychiatrist for a report and or my GP. I also put in the application when it was sent some copies of hospital correspondence and copies of reports from group therapy I had been in to support my application.

The reason I get the low rate mobility is mainly on the grounds that I have a trapped nerve in my leg and not really on the grounds of anxiety or anything related to the BPD. The trapped nerve causes me a lot of pain (Meralgia Paresthetica). The high rate care is awarded because of the substantial distress BPD causes me day to day and particularly during the night when I am more at risk especially if I am alone.

I completed the forms alone with no help, but if you need help and advice then I suggest you go to your local CAB or your local Welfare Rights who will be able to offer you some advice and guidance.

Hope that helps you!

bitterblue2511

Yep, am trying to get to grips with the benefits system again & feel like tearing my hair out atm. Support worker is gr8 and am very lucky to have her, just fed up of saying the same thing over & over again to the DWP. I am appealing against DLA turned me down on my renewal for lrm, do I need to open a vein for these peeps??? Am 9mth sober but have got to be very careful whilst going through the process again...thanks for all ur posts.. xx

Zoelikesjam

have they given you a reason in your letter for refusing the DLA? whenever i get a renewal etc it say something like

care componant-awarded at soso rate because you need care during the day and not at night etc
mobility-because you cant walk far or at all but are not constantly in a state of being unable to get around(iykwim)

I have bpd, treated with meds and need mostly constant 'supervision' sound like a kid lol, but if im left to my own devices and not encouraged to do things i wont. My partner does his best bless him, and he understands the illness. Like you i suffer most at nights as i have terrible nightmare and flashbacks mainly then and this would ordinarily cause me to self harm. other half knows if i am up at 4am or tossing and turning/moaning to wake me up and just hold me. Unfortunatly i also suffer from a problem with my hips and knee so cant walk without aid most of the time. The is progressively getting worse and im now on very stong pain killers to help me get up. Its a vicious circle as if i cant get about i get down and so on so fourth. I put in a change of circumstances claim 13weeks ago with DLA as gp told me to. He thinks i will get more for my mobility problems and im still waiting to hear from this. After reading all this about the tribunals though im getting increasingly more concerned as i really dont think i could go through a tribunal
good luck x

msmoose

zoelikesjam wrote: »

have they given you a reason in your letter for refusing the DLA? whenever i get a renewal etc it say something like

care componant-awarded at soso rate because you need care during the day and not at night etc
mobility-because you cant walk far or at all but are not constantly in a state of being unable to get around(iykwim)

I have bpd, treated with meds and need mostly constant 'supervision' sound like a kid lol, but if im left to my own devices and not encouraged to do things i wont. My partner does his best bless him, and he understands the illness. Like you i suffer most at nights as i have terrible nightmare and flashbacks mainly then and this would ordinarily cause me to self harm. other half knows if i am up at 4am or tossing and turning/moaning to wake me up and just hold me. Unfortunatly i also suffer from a problem with my hips and knee so cant walk without aid most of the time. The is progressively getting worse and im now on very stong pain killers to help me get up. Its a vicious circle as if i cant get about i get down and so on so fourth. I put in a change of circumstances claim 13weeks ago with DLA as gp told me to. He thinks i will get more for my mobility problems and im still waiting to hear from this. After reading all this about the tribunals though im getting increasingly more concerned as i really dont think i could go through a tribunal
good luck x

If your Mobility has got worse then they can review your claim but they warn you about how they review both sides of it. My mum was in receipt of the lower rate of care and high rate mobility for years and she should have been getting high rate care but was too scared to fill out the forms for fear she’d lose what money she was getting, she didn’t want the hassle of form filling again. I was her main carer...
In the end I filled out the forms and she was awarded the high rate care and the high rate mobility back dated six months this January and then passed away in March, too little too late... they really do need to reform the way the benefits system is done because of lot of people are genuinely put off claiming because of how complicated the forms are.
Good luck with your new claim!

jennilb

Hi

I too have bpd, depression, anxiety disorder and (don't believe in doing things by halves) epilepsy. I just wanted to give a 'positive experience' viewpoint.

I worked up until January when the bpd and depression got too bad - I was too sick to live on my own and stayed with friends. I have since been dimissed as being incapable of work.

When I felt more able to cope, I moved into a private rented flat and, on CAB advice, applied for HB, CTB, ESA and DLA. I got all of these first time with very little hassle, except for ESA (man those guys know how to ignore their email / post / phones when its a customer on the other end, but one call from the MP and...).

I get DLA middle rate care and lower rate mobility. I filled in the form online and my psychiatrist was contacted by them and wrote them a letter, which I haven't seen but clearly backed me up. The form isn't that much fun and you have to repeat yourself a lot, but I didn't need a medical or anything like that.

Hope this gives people some hope!

Jenni

msmoose

I just want to add that people with BPD don’t have to also let it rule there life forever... if you get the right treatment and I realise how hard this is especially in some areas of the NHS (you have to push for it..) you can begin to make some changes...

Just as a positive thing for you guys... I’ve had a pretty crap year, well the start was crap. I lost my mum, I went a little cuckoo, spent some time in hospital and in the words of my doctor I was experiencing a hypomanic / mixed episode when I was !!!!!!ing off travelling around Europe having fun at the same time as wanting to end my life, I spent 10 months in group therapy this year and last year dealing with the BPD which was perhaps the best thing that happened for me as I was really able to deal with lots of stuff.

Six months on from losing my mum, I have just returned back to college this week where I am fulfilling a lifelong dream of mine to become a nurse. I’m doing my Access Course in Nursing and providing this goes okay and my BPD remains intact and I can pass this course I’ll go onto university next year where I hope to do the Mental Health Branch of Nursing Degree. I really want to use my own experiences to help others. Nursing was something I wanted to do for years but my commitment to caring for my mum meant I couldn’t commit to college, I always wanted to do Adult Nursing but now mum’s gone and I’m throwing myself in at the deep end to see if I can do this. I am aware my BPD is not just going to disappear but thankfully my tutor is really supportive.