Low Rate Mobility to Higher Rate - Not Sure What To Do.

TheBottomLine_2

krisskross wrote: »

You might do better to ask for a referral to a pain clinic to try to get the pain under control. Is the pain in one joint or several?

I've been referred, just waiting for a letter from them. I have the pain in almost all my joints even fingers - I used to play guitar but now I get pain in my hands after fretting chords for about fifteen minutes. Sometimes even my toes hurt! I've got some painkillers but they don't do a lot and I think the doc is reluctant to give me something too strong due to my mental state.

idvi

according to my dla leaflet it says:

"you may be able to get the higher rate [of mobility] if any of the following apply, even when wearing or using any equipment you normally use (for example a false leg):

- if you cannot walk at all
- if you can only walk a short distance without discomfort
- the effort of walking could threaten your life or seriously affect your health
- if you are both 100% blind and 80% deaf and you need someone with you when your outdoors
- if you had both legs or feet amputated at ir above the ankle, or you were born without legs or feet
- if you get the highest rate of care and you are severely mentally impaired and have severe behavioral problems"

ash4becks

idvi wrote: »

according to my dla leaflet it says:

"you may be able to get the higher rate [of mobility] if any of the following apply, even when wearing or using any equipment you normally use (for example a false leg):

- if you cannot walk at all
- if you can only walk a short distance without discomfort
- the effort of walking could threaten your life or seriously affect your health
- if you are both 100% blind and 80% deaf and you need someone with you when your outdoors
- if you had both legs or feet amputated at ir above the ankle, or you were born without legs or feet
- if you get the highest rate of care and you are severely mentally impaired and have severe behavioral problems"

i wonder if this applys to myslef aswell as the op doc wrote this

ashleigh is discribing herself as been in severe pain. generalised joint pains escially affecting her hands,hips,knees and ankles, at times she finds walking very uncomfortable and this makes her feel unbalanced she is extremely tierd also

she also describes intermittent joint swelling and tenderness. she feels she is limited to approximately 100 metres of walking but this is with severe discomfort

idvi

ash4becks wrote: »

i wonder if this applys to myslef aswell as the op doc wrote this

ashleigh is discribing herself as been in severe pain. generalised joint pains escially affecting her hands,hips,knees and ankles, at times she finds walking very uncomfortable and this makes her feel unbalanced she is extremely tierd also

she also describes intermittent joint swelling and tenderness. she feels she is limited to approximately 100 metres of walking but this is with severe discomfort

it doesnt help that the dwp dont say what 'short distance' is exactly

Indie_Kid

It's not just about the distance - it's also about the speed, manner, etc.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

TheBottomLine wrote: »

I've been referred, just waiting for a letter from them. I have the pain in almost all my joints even fingers - I used to play guitar but now I get pain in my hands after fretting chords for about fifteen minutes. Sometimes even my toes hurt! I've got some painkillers but they don't do a lot and I think the doc is reluctant to give me something too strong due to my mental state.

I can't help with the main point of your question, but I couldn't pass on this seemingly innocuous comment....

Have you considered getting a luthier to lower the action, adjust the truss bar, shift the bridge - or even switching to bass so the force is distributed over a wider area of strings under a lower tension? (and the pressure required to fret on an electric is so much less than that required for a Spanish). Another possibility is to get a fret put at the location of the nut, which again makes the sound clearer with slightly less force applied to the fingerboard, or to switch to using a slide (the broken bottle blues are within your reach still ) or fewer fingers and doing as best you can (as per Django Reinhardt).

The picking motion on an acoustic is also different to that on an electric - it's more of a fingerstrike down than a pluck up, and you could always get a six string with the higher strings to keep the EADGBE arrangement, or if you want to keep the plucking motion, an acoustic bass or a Kala uBass (which is an insane electroacoustic Bass ukelele with polyurethane strings, roughly the size of a viola and weighs next to nothing). Not to mention that switching to playing bass means you tend towards playing the components of a chord throughout the bar rather than having to fret everything at once - barre chords are the invention of a sadist, in my opinion .



Stopping playing, as well as being a crying shame, can make pain, weakness and inflexibility worse because you aren't exercising your hands anymore (and can't be healthy for your state of mind). The music shop/school where I spend too much money is going to adjust my new bass specifically to accommodate my [STRIKE]limitations[/STRIKE] idiosyncrasies.


Sorry that's nowt to do with your main question, but I gave up music for a very long time because I thought there was nothing I could do once I couldn't hold a barred chord any more.

It turns out there was tons of get arounds. If you feel music, just knowing inside your body exactly where the sound is going, not thinking academically 'right, I'm off to Am7 now', I know letting it go is going to hurt deeper than any pain in your hand ever can.

Best wishes.

TheBottomLine_2

Thanks Jojo, I'll investigate those suggestions although I always had a low action on my guitar anyway. I've got a keyboard these days as I just couldn't stand to be not making the music.

spikeysoul

Ditto on the adjustments to insrument - I can't play an electric bass any more, pushes the joints in my fingers out (HMS) but my BIL has a fab acoustic bass - really gentle on the fingers very nice.

I believe the distance used to be 100m but has been 'rethought' to 50m (at least that's what I have been told by welfare rights). It's very hard to get with 'only' pain as the problem (I say only from the POV of the DM).

I also sent in a supercession form very shortly after renewal - it's frowned on apparently - and they want you to have a very good reason as to why you didn't include change of circumstance on the renewal. Did you think it wouldn't remain as bad long enough to put it on the renewal (3 months before claim at least 6 after) but the x-ray confirmed it's going to be stable or worse permanently for instanace.

TheBottomLine_2

Today I shall phone the DLA people and explain the situation, hopefully they can advise me on what to do. I don't really feel that I'll be eligible which is why I never claimed before, and I think I'll get it in April 2011 due to my VI anyway. I hate filling in forms, the renewal was just a matter of ticking a box and signing it, much easier than the hassle of claiming more.

TheBottomLine_2

Just an update for anyone who's interested. I phoned the DLA people and all I had to do was answer a few questions and the lady updated the info. She said I'll hear from them if they need more info and I'll probably have to have an examination. Easy! Just have to wait and see the outcome now, thanks for all the help folks.