friend needs help and advice please

tea690

hi all my friend has chrons disease..this has taken her in and out of hospital..she weighs less than 6 stone, shes 25 and 5ft 8, she has chronic diareaha, sorry about spelling, she has problems walking as it tires her out very quickly and can only spend 15 mins doing tasks before she needs to rest often needing a sleep to regain energy

she had her ela medical and failed..she gained 6 points..the doc didnt talk to her as such and just asked qustions from a screen

we phoned the job centre after her authourising i can talk and have the apeal letter being sent out and she was advised to go for a crissi laon which she is doing in the morning

question is have i missed anything...she really is very vunerable and stress does accelarate her condition so trying to help as much as i can..so if you guys can think of anything ive missed help wise she can get then please let me know

thanx in advance

oh should add she has a partner who is on con jsa but recieves no money...due to him leaving his job to care for his child while she was in hospital...she has one child which she gets cb and ctc for

suelees1

Don't wait for a GL24 (appeal) form to be sent out. Put in an appeal in writing as she will continue to get ESA at the assessment rate whilst the appeal is ongoing

She could try to claim DLA as well

tea690

thanks for that

sharski

My other half has Crohns...

This website is fantastic - there is even a whole section on how to deal with DLA claims & appeals..

http://www.nacc.org.uk/content/home.asp

SuziQ

When I was that ill with colitis (very similar to Chrohns) I couldn't get help either. It's crazy,isn't it? One thing she should consider is going to a specialist hospital if she hasn't already. I don't know where she lives, but St Marks in Harrow, St James in Leeds and lots of other places up and down the country are more expert in this dibilitating condition. NACC will help her with advice and information,as sharski says. There are lots of newer treatments available now than when I was so poorly and even surgery may be required it the drugs don't work. Unless people have exerienced these diseases they would have no idea how awful they can be and I really sympathise with her. If she is still able to care for herself then she is also unlikely to get DLA. She would be well advised to get expert advice and help in completing DLA forms if she decides to apply.I'm annoyed that the specialist nurses at her hospital haven't addressed this aspect with her, they could even fill out part of the form for her to back her claim.Most decent GI units have these specialist IBD nurses and it may be worthwhile you contacting her hospital to find out what they have available.