don't know who to turn to regarding DLA

jetplane

It is common for GP's to take their time or say they don't know, they get sackfuls of these requests every day, it may take a few weeks to land on their desk and they are not always the best person to give evidence. DLA can take 11 weeks to make a decision, and longer if they are expecting evidence, so it is early days.

You can request and provide information yourself. Contact your GP and alert them to the DLA request, that is if they are aware of the extent of your husbands care and mobility needs, otherwise his evidence is pointless. Is there someone else who can provide evidence, his consultant, a nurse or carer?

Evidence does not need to come from a GP it is just habit that DLA request this. A consultant may be able to give a more detailed diagnosis and prognosis while demonstrating that the level of need is consistent with his current condition. A nurse or carer can give better evidence of how his illness affects him, you can also keep a diary detailing the care you give over a period of the next few weeks.

If you have been to the CAB I would assume that they gave you a full benefits check and you are in receipt of your full benefit entitlement. If so then you may need to go over to the debt boards and post a SOA for help in managing what you have, while you wait.

OP you could work all the hours in the day, leave your children to god and good neighbours and your husband to crawl around the floor and some people would still have a pop at you. However, you would still have the DLA to sort out and if the CAB are too over stretched to help you then you may need to gather the evidence yourself.

zaksmum

Parva wrote: »

How old is your partner? I ask because I'm 46 and have suffered bad psoriasis for a lot of years (since I was 7). That said, the psoriasis problem was and still is easily controllable, unless you can get xrays or suchlike and proof that the joints are shot from your doctor then I highly doubt that you'll get DLA.

Parva, would you mind telling me please how the psoriasis is easily controllable? My 13 year old grandson has it, and he's really distressed about it.

So far, we haven't found any way to control it and I'd be really grateful if you could give me any advice.

Sorry to hijack, OP.

sunshine76_2

my partners condition has just come on very quickly and its very severe....in september he was cycling 10 miles a day to work and now he can hardly walk....he barely has use of his hands as they are swollen into club like fists...he was put onto Methorexate almost straight away and he's already on the highest dose they can possibly give him, along with a daily dose of Anti inflammatory's(sorry i can't remember the name), codeine,lansoprazole(to stop the sickness and acids in his stomach from all the tablets,and now Prozac as he's severely depressed..(already had two suicide attempts)

I'm fit and well to get a job, but my partner isn't well enough to handle looking after the kids(even if they are at school, what would happen if one of them were sick and had to come home?)....presumably i'd have to sign on JSA, but i wouldn't be able to dedicate myself to finding a job as i'm more or less his fulltime carer now....some of you are so judgemental:(......I'm trying to find a way around all this and its scary as i've never been in this situation before

and Parva, he's not just got Psoriasis, he's got Psoriasis AND Psoriatic arthritis and he's been for countless xrays etc which was how it was diagnosed in the first place

jetplane

The mental health needs to be taken into account also. You can apply for the DLA on supervision as well as attention. Get your evidence from as many people as you can, copy it and send it in. Who is dealing with his depression, does he have insight and who assessed him after his suicide attempts? All of this adds up to a lot more evidence than a GP alone could give. If CAB are too busy is there no one else to help? Some organisations have assistance as do some mental health organisations, start ringing around and asking questions.

mazza111

Sunshine I'm going to skip all the posts of sarcasm from people who always think that they are worse/better than someone else and seem to know your circumstances better than you do.

It would be better to gather as much evidence as you can. Maybe if he's under a specialist etc. If the doctor doesn't reply, then it's common for DWP to send a doctor out to make an examination. Unfortunately this does take a bit longer as they would prefer to see something from your GP/Specialist. I would even ask his psychiatrist for a report if that's someone he's under

Dunroamin

mazza111 wrote: »

Sunshine I'm going to skip all the posts of sarcasm from people who always think that they are worse/better than someone else and seem to know your circumstances better than you do.

It would be better to gather as much evidence as you can. Maybe if he's under a specialist etc. If the doctor doesn't reply, then it's common for DWP to send a doctor out to make an examination. Unfortunately this does take a bit longer as they would prefer to see something from your GP/Specialist. I would even ask his psychiatrist for a report if that's someone he's under

Can I point out that it was the OP herself who brought up the possibility of her starting to work and it's this suggestion that people have been responding to by quite constructive comments. Pushing someone onto a lifetime on benefits might well be seen as the less helpful solution.

FBaby

In the end, you are in control of your life. Either you don't work and provide the care to your partner that you believe he requires, and accept that this comes with stress and lack of financial control, or you consider together what he and the children could cope with if you went to work. It is all about motivation and what you really want to do. If you genuinely want to work, you probably could sort something out with much planning and preparation. Saying that you couldn't work because of what could happen if one of your children was ill is focusing on the negative to justify why you can't do something. The chance of your child being poorly enough to have to come home early, that your partner could in no way possibly take a taxi to pick the child up, that no friends or family could do it instead, that your job absolutely did not allow you to take your lunchbreak at a different time allowing you to pick the child up, drop them home and return to work, is just very very low.

There are probably ways for you to manage working and supporting your family, but you need to want to look for these together with your partner and try your best to make it work. In the worse case scenario and it just didn't work, you could always revert to where you are now.

LL30

So sorry to hear your partner is still struggling, I hope he's being persistent with his rheumy! I can completely understand how awful it can be, as I was wiped out by PA last year too. I am making progress though, albeit slowly. It is a long process adapting to the limitations which are presented by PA, psychologically, I think it's just as hard as the physical problems. I truly don't believe that anyone can understand until they've been hit by something similar. Saying that, you do find ways to adapt, there's no choice, it's just that it's very hard going through the process. I'm a single Mum doing my MA and there have been times when I've wanted to throw the towel in because it's so damned hard. Has your OH considered counselling? It's helped me to come to terms with my life now, and given me some invaluable tools.

In terms of work and juggling the children, have you thought about before and after school clubs? This is what I'll have to do once I've finished my MA, quite simply, because there's only one of me. Tax credits will help with the cost. It sounds like you're muddling through at the moment, so the choice is either you continue this way, or you decide you want change. How long is it since you've worked? I know it can be daunting if you've not been in the work force for a while, maybe you need a bit of support with looking for work to help you overcome the barriers?

mazza111

Dunroamin wrote: »

Can I point out that it was the OP herself who brought up the possibility of her starting to work and it's this suggestion that people have been responding to by quite constructive comments. Pushing someone onto a lifetime on benefits might well be seen as the less helpful solution.

Yes she did, that doesn't give people the right to say things like...psoriasis for a number of years, easy to control. When it's not psoriasis her husband has. It's psoriatic arthritis, which is a total different kettle of fish. And psoriasis problems being easy to control. Maybe this person's is, that doesn't mean everyone's is. Trust me, from the mother of a child who gets taken into hospital for 2 weeks at a time for tar treatments and then goes to the hospital 3 times a week, even some psoriasis is not easy to treat, never mind psoriatic arthritis.

I hope he gets a treatment that works for him soon OP.

Or things like "the magic number for carers allowance"


No one is pushing anyone onto a lifetime of benefits. The OP has to decide what's right for her and her family.

All I have done is given her advice on DLA and what can happen when the GP doesn't fill in the forms or take a while in doing so. I hardly see that as pushing someone onto a life of benefits.

Because your husband is home all day, doesn't make him more or less disabled than this chap who can't get out of bed some days. But we're to take that you are genuine but because some disabled people live as active a life as possible that they are not genuine. Double standards.

Dunroamin

mazza111 wrote: »

Because your husband is home all day, doesn't make him more or less disabled than this chap who can't get out of bed some days. But we're to take that you are genuine but because some disabled people live as active a life as possible that they are not genuine. Double standards.

"Is home all day" makes it sound as if he's not trying hard enough whereas others are really making the effort to get out and about! :rotfl:

It's good that people should be as active as possible but it's frequently better to put one's energies into education, training and voluntary work if one isn't up to holding down a job as opposed to going out doing unnecessary shopping just for the hell of it.