My DMP Journey...

Mara_uk7

Morning Mb, hows the back today ? Im a wee bit fragile on account of a dodgy glass of wine at the staff do last night .. I dont know which glass it was, but one of them must have been off to cause this level of thirst today !

Its a blustery morning up North ( dont mean Manchester , think about 600 miles further North ) , so I think a day of inside gentle house-stuff is in order, right after more coffee. Need to brave the garden at some point as the bird feeders are empty, cant have my three Robins starving !

Hugs for a pain freeish day Mb, stay cosy x

Monkeyballs

Evening all!

Bad stuff first, I need to get it out of the way and not dwell so... Frikken tinnitus! It's a real sod because it tricks you LOL if I do anything which has a noise that I can focus on then brilliant but it's easy to forget to focus and the moment you do it's back grrr...

Now the positive, Sunday was another good day and I even managed to finish a cuppa while sitting down!!!! Massive boost and while I can't say I was comfy I was comfy enough to not have to stop, get up and walk around

Today was ok too, not as good as there were a couple of times when I just had to stop and correct myself but it's still a million miles away from the dark places of the past year and I started to wonder if tinnitus is actually helping to distract me from my back? Not great I know but (currently) infinitely preferable... I'm starting to feel like a human being again!!! HURRAH!!!

In other news, I got a letter from the DWP about my recent ESA medical assessment telling me that they want to do a phone assessment because as it's been a couple of weeks they thought there may have been some change to my condition which could influence the decision?

WHAT???!!! LOL

Ok, so I have a call tomorrow afternoon but I'm not likely to say I'm feeling much better since I'm not back at work and if my ESA is stopped then I'm on ZERO income I hate being an honest person at times LOL

Mara! 600 miles North of Manchester? I thought you were somewhere around Greenock or am I thinking of someone else (as ridiculous suggestion as that may be ).

MB x

Mara_uk7

Quick hit and run answer here as i run to fetch the snow shovel to dig my car out ...... Orkney Islands .... Have a good pain free day x

Monkeyballs

Tuesday 16/12/14;

Ok... Well, that's been a weird morning.

I just got off the phone from the DWP and in their words "I can get out of bed unaided", "I can walk unaided for 40 meters in less than 2 minutes" and "as I stated I can make a cup of tea" I am no longer entitled to ESA support.

???!!!!WHAT!?!?!??! LOL I can't quite get my head around the idea that in my assessment I was told I was unfit to work?

Anyway, effective from today I have had my ESA cancelled and was put through to the Jobcentre to apply for JSA.

The woman I spoke to couldn't seem to get her head around the idea that I was unfit to work according to my GP and had been signed off from my current job and seemed to find the whole thing quite funny...

I even mentioned that I was hoping to go back to work on a therapeutic basis starting next year and if I would be entitled to any sort of "top up" if I was only doing a few hours a week building back up to full time but apparently not, I have to be available and willing to work full time and any work I do do will effect my JSA so in effect if I worked just 6 hours in my main job then every penny of my JSA would be lost since my JSA will be (assuming I'm told I'm able to get it, not convinced now mind you) £72.40 (same as ESA) and I earn about £15 per hour which after tax and NI will be about about £12 so 6x £12 = £72... Oh, I've also been told that I probably won't be able to claim any help towards transport costs to get to work either if I'm claiming JSA so taxi's to and from work are about £12 per day so if I worked a 6 hour day once a week I'd be £12 poorer and if I did 2x 3 hour days I'd be £24 poorer (this is per week obviously).

So I have an appointment to see an employment person at the Jobcentre tomorrow afternoon and we'll take it from there.

MB

Monkeyballs

Oh, on a more positive note my back is still "ok" at the moment so hopefully I'll be able to get through a rubbish month or two (at most) and then get back to work full time anyway.

Fingers crossed!

MB x

Monkeyballs

Ha, I suddenly thought I might be able to get free prescriptions if I'm on JSA as I'm currently paying £10 per month for a prepaid certificate...

If I get JSA it will be contributions based since I contributed over the last 2 years by paying NI.

As a result I still have to pay but may be entitled to a refund on the grounds of low income...

Ever felt like the system is against you? I'm now at a point where I may be able to get back to work but need a little help and everything is getting snatched away I just need to be very frugal...

MB

AleMrsT

I feel for you MB. I have had to reduce my hours at work because I have a bone marrow failure disorder, I am not entitled to any help at all, despite hospital admissions each month and a compromised immune system.
I hope you get something sorted, it's so demoralising. Stay positive though and hopefully your back continues to be ok.

Monkeyballs

Hi MrsT,

It's been a couple of hours now and it's starting to sink in...

I'm still not "angry" about it but it is quite stressful, I'm now wondering if it's even worth applying for JSA if I'm going to try going into work in January if I'm not actually going to get anything due to earning that same amount in a few hours?

I don't want ESA and I don't want JSA either, I want to go to work but my concern is getting to and from work if I'm not entitled to any help at all (I've been told that I'm not entitled to help with transport costs as I have been receiving contributions based ESA and will be on contributions based JSA too).

I need to do some research, I was wondering if I could get some sort of tax credit by not claiming JSA and instead saying I'm on a low income?

I'm probably stuffed LOL but on the bright side, it shouldn't be for long (crosses fingers, toes and anything else crossable).

MB

in_need_of_direction

Talk to cab urgently and appeal your disallowance. You aren't unemployed.

Monkeyballs

Morning INoD,

I'll call CAB this morning.

I asked the woman how I would go about raising a dispute yesterday when I spoke to her and she just said that that everything I need will be included in the letter and that I needed 6 more points and that when getting those points rely on proving difficulties mobilising blah blah blah...

I've heard people give bonkers reasons for not being allowed ESA and PIP (which I'm now assuming is completely pointless in trying to claim) but I guess I never expected to hear them LOL;

1) DWP lady said "according to the report I showed I could get from one seated position to another unaided" what I actually said as I declined a seat and explained why was "I haven't sat down for more than a couple of minutes comfortably since December last year and now prefer to either stand and lean" to which I was asked "do I need help to get out of bed on my own?" to which I replied "yes, I sort of roll in from standing getting in and roll out into standing getting out".

2) I was asked "am I able to stand still unaided without discomfort or pain?" to which I replied "Ha ha ha ha... No. But if I hold my hip with one hand and my back with the other and strike a 'rock pose' in which I extend my left leg out to the side or in front of me and lean back on my right leg, yes..." to which she asked "can I stand and make a cup of tea even?" my reply being "yes so long as I don't have to stand by waiting for the kettle to boil and if I've been standing for too long then carrying it is a bit haphazard as I may spill it".

3) I was asked if I could touch the back of my head and then the centre of my back and then raise my legs in turn bending them at the knee as I do so... At the time of the assessment I had been made to wait an extra half an hour and as my back was in serious pain and I was unable to touch the back of my head (apparently I was about a foot away with both hands), I could touch the centre of my back with my right hand as this is what I do to massage the point where the pain radiates from but not with my left. I didn't even try raising my legs as I was on my knees at the time...

4) One example for failing to pass the examination was because I displayed enough mobility to move an empty cardboard box on a surface at weight height at least 6" in either direction? As a result I would be able to work??? I just laughed at this point and asked "what job is there which requires me to do just that?" and I was told "a factory production line packing chocolates is one example" I asked for another example but she couldn't give me one...

Last night the thing which really started to annoy me is the fact that a half an hour assessment conducted by someone who knows nothing about me and had just met me but was able to prove I wasn't an inanimate object supersedes a medical certificate from my GP who has seen me at least once a month, knows I'm employed and how my work is affected and has told me that she is unwilling to say that I am fit for work? Bonkers!

Even worse, the woman I spoke to at the DWP when I asked her if the fact that I had a certificate stating that I was unfit for work said that I was unfit to do my own job but as I was no longer receiving sick pay from them then it was my responsibility after being fit to do other work which I could do even if it was to put my current job in danger!!! I asked which employer would ever hire someone with a valid sick note stating I was unfit for work and her reply was "you will not have to attend interviews but I will have to show willingness to attend interviews and that you are looking for work, I am being very specific with my choice of words I hope you understand?". So I am in effect wasting my and the Jobcentres time... Excellent LOL

MB x