DLA with COPD?

zaksmum

A friend has been advised by her GP that she may be able to claim DLA due to being a COPD sufferer.

She works full time but is very breathless. Even the smallest task leaves her struggling for breath and her lips are always blue. She is on medication for the condition which doesn't seem to help.

Would it be a waste of her time to claim DLA? She does have an associated condition, can't remember the name of it but it begins with "alpha", something to do with enzymes I think.

tanith

Could it be Emphysema? Sho should claim she won't know until she tries.. CAB could help her with filling out the forms as they are daunting if you've never done it before..

PippaGirl_2

She's working full time. How does she get there and how far can she mobalise? Can she cook a meal? Does she manage her personal care herself?

It will all depend on those answers and what her diagnosis is, is largely irrelevant. Although people can qualify for DLA when working full time, I would say with her symptoms (breathlessness) that won't go in her favour.

ladymarmalade222

Alpha 1 Antitrypsine Deficiency - maybe this is what she has. I was diagnosed with it a couple of years back but do not suffer any problems with it. It was found via a routine blood test. The consultant did say however if I had been a smoker I would have developed emphysema by now. It also causes liver faliure he said later in life in most people.

HTH

xxx

Dunroamin

tanith wrote: »

Could it be Emphysema? Sho should claim she won't know until she tries.. CAB could help her with filling out the forms as they are daunting if you've never done it before..

Emphysema comes under the COPD umbrella.

If you have Alpha 1 Antitrypsine Deficiency you're more likely to develop COPD if you're a smoker. In the UK, most people aren't treated for this although people in the States usually have regular blood transfusions.

OP, she might be able to get DLA mobility at the lower rate but she'd be better concentrating on getting more appropriate treatment. I'd suggest that she asks her doctor for a referral to a period of pulmonary rehabilitation where she'll learn to manage her condition and the importance of exercise, diet and hygiene. A lot of breathlessness can be managed by learning breathing techniques.

http://www.blf.org.uk/Page/Pulmonary-rehab

zaksmum

Thanks all. Lady Marmalade, you're right, it is alpha 1 anti trypsine deficiency. A close family member recently passed away at a young age
with the same condition which several other family members also have.

Pippa Girl, I know that DLA can be awarded when working full time but she does manage personal care reasonably well, it would only be the mobility component of DLA if anything.

She can walk, it's just that she does struggle for breath when walking even the shortest distance.

I was surprised at her GP's suggestion, to claim the DLA - but perhaps it's worth a try for her.

Dunroamin, her GP does already have her on a management programme for the COPD

Muttleythefrog

I'd have a really good study of the criteria and see if worth applying.. nothing to lose.... but on the face of it I think it'd be tricky. Sounds like she'd have a helpful GP in the background and that could be crucial to an award... especially if they understand the criteria themselves.

Dunroamin

zaksmum wrote: »

worth a try for her.

Dunroamin, her GP does already have her on a management programme for the COPD

A management programme isn't the same as pulmonary rehab.

My husband is in the final stages of COPD with less than 20% lung function and he can still walk 50 metres without his oxygen without his lips turning blue.

Does she check her own oxygen levels when she's active?

zaksmum

Dunroamin wrote: »

A management programme isn't the same as pulmonary rehab.

My husband is in the final stages of COPD with less than 20% lung function and he can still walk 50 metres without his oxygen without his lips turning blue.

Does she check her own oxygen levels when she's active?

I don't know too much about her condition, but she has one of those peak flow meter thing that she blows into to assess lung function.

She doesn't use oxygen but is gasping for breath when walking even the shortest distance.

Sorry to hear your husband's so ill though.

nannytone_2

the problem with DLA mobility componant is its inflexibility.

low rate is almost exclusively for people that need 'supervision'. that is people with sensory impairment or mental impairment on the hole.
high rate is for people that are unable/birtually unable to walk.

the rules have changed regarding blind people..... but the numbers that have benefitted from the change, are so low that they are almost insignificant.

i wouldnt like to make a guess on the outcome of any DLA claim

princessdon

I know it's not the same - but I was genuinely suprised by my GM AA claim. Her GP said unlikely, her SW said - get ready to appeal, everyone said how hard it is.

I applied expecting lower rate and got higher rate. I didn't complete the form very well (I had no idea what I was doing). I just attached copies of the last 2 letters from each consultant, a copy of her care bills, a copy of her cleaners invoice etc and asked them to contact me and or her GP.

They haven't contacted anyone and made an award, so they took my limited information and her hospital letters.

The hospital letters do state how ill she is, a bit about her care and needs so maybe that is why they didn't need to. And of course the fact that she is paying a shed load of money for care out of her own pocket and wouldn't do so I guess.

On the whole I was impressed. I was expecting an appeal, an assessment and some trouble, but "for now" it is very smooth indeed.