Disability living allowance for over 16's with diabetes

Fran

foxhaven wrote:

I can assure you that none of that is relevant for a diabetic. Epilepsy is an entirely different ball game and as far as the benefits agency are concerned, diabetes alone does not qualify or justify special consideration unless it's allied to either physical or mental impairment. And let me make it quite clear that diabetics do NOT need special foods or supervision to ensure proper control of the disease and a good quality of life.

You can't generalise like this! It affects different people different ways and some people are more able to deal with structured meals and injections than others.

foxhaven

Diabetes is not in itlself a disabilty, or a condition. It's a disease. Until a cure is found, it's for life. Managing diabetes to ensure a qood quality of life is within the remit of any normally intelligent person. Because of that the benefits agency do not list diabetes as a disability unless and if it's associated with some other physical or mental impairment. I feel sorry for anyone who's control is such that they have to be rushed to A & E but with proper and experienced medical advice (and there's plenty of that around) there's no reason why that should happen again. Schools are in the main well equiped nowadays to deal with diabetic children but other than that there are no special concessions made or needed. Nor are special foods or diets necessary other than perhaps to achieve or maintain weight control. Diabetics are encouraged to lead as a near normal life as possible to ensure the best quality of life and not let their diebetes rule. One of the biggest problems that a diabetic child has to overcome is an overprotective parent. Being placatory and making sympathic noises doesn't help the situation one little bit.

foxhaven

Fran wrote:

You can't generalise like this! It affects different people different ways and some people are more able to deal with structured meals and injections than others.

Of course everyone is different but the benifits agency assume that any normally intelligent adult is the master of their own destiny as far as diabetes is concerned and I agree with that concept.

foxhaven

Steviewonder1970 wrote:

DLA is awarded based on the meeds arising from a condition or disability, rather than the disability or condition itself. Two people with exactly the same disability could, quite legitimately, receive different awards. It could be that now a person is 16, they can deal with their own injections and medication, thus removing the need for care from another person. Each case is looked at on it's own merits.

Eaxctly! I couldn't agree with you more

margaretclare

N9eav wrote:

The quote above was a little ignorant because it fails to realise that Diabetes is a disability. Just because someone does not look physically impaired or has loss of sensual function it does not mean they just have a minor ailment.

BUT she cannot eat what she wants and just top up the insulin. That is a reckless way to live. The best way is to eat low sugar and healthy foods and control the sugar levels with insulin, but trying to do it with as lower doses as possible. The new 4 injections a day system seem much better. Anyway if anyone has the illness they will know how disibilitating it can be. It could lead to blindness which is scary. A friend of ours also had to have a limb amputated as the diabetes would not let his foot heal properly after an infection.

Anyway it would seem by some comments that it is unlikely she will receive further payments on her 16th birthday. I will try as the Diabetes support unit at the hospital said that if she is in full time education there may be a chance. I just wondered if anyone had gotten it?

No, no one has said that it is a 'minor ailment'. Foxhaven has already made it clear that it is a 'disease'. However, it is a disease that many people live with and have to cope with day in day out, at the same time as trying not to allow it to take over their life. It does have terrible side-effects and these are a direct result of faulty control of fluctuating blood glucose levels. So it is worthwhile learning as much as you can about it - the person affected I mean, once they reach adult years - and dealing with it in a responsible and adult way.

Perhaps foxhaven shouldn't have said 'you can eat virtually what you want'. Of course a healthy 'heart-smart' diet is ideal, as recommended for all of us, diabetic or not. This doesn't actually cost any more, because although you're buying good-quality meats, fresh fruit, veg, salads etc you are NOT wasting money on the junk foods, sweet fizzy drinks etc so beloved of most teenagers! In this house we are pensioners, I live with a man who is diabetic and has been for the last 25 years, and we certainly couldn't afford expensive extra foods. Diabetes UK do not recommend 'diabetic' sweets, chocolate, biscuits etc - it's better to have a little bit of ordinary chocolate from time to time as a treat. 'Diabetic' sweets are sweetened with sorbitol which has a horrendous laxative effect!!

My husband tests his blood-sugar before meals and he gives an amount of insulin according to the result. This has caused upset at times, especially when he was in hospital having knee surgery. He insisted on being in charge of his own regime, testing and giving his own insulin, and had several fallings-out with junior doctors who thought that he shouldn't vary the dose of insulin according to his test result, he should *always* give himself what *they* prescribed. The higher you go up the tree however, the senior consultants and specialist nurses all talk to him on a different level, accept that he knows what he's talking about and after 25 years he knows a lot more about it than some of the juniors. More importantly, he knows how it will affect *him* because everyone is different.

Leg amputations can happen, again, it's the blood-glucose control, the damage to the insides of blood-vessels. Also, dare I say it, it is absolutely crucial for a person with diabetes not to smoke. Diabetes damages the blood-vessels, smoking damages the blood-vessels....a double whammy!

My husband has a small degree of diabetic retinopathy (eye damage) but it hasn't actually got any worse over the last 3 or 4 years.

Maybe your daughter will be eligible for the new Education Maintenance Allowance, payable to young people staying on at school. This is only payable if the family is on a low income. The school will have all the details. Unfortunately my granddaughter can't get it - parents are both working. I am a great believer in claiming all you are entitled to.

Aunty Margaret

penrith

N9eav wrote:

Anyway it would seem by some comments that it is unlikely she will receive further payments on her 16th birthday. I will try as the Diabetes support unit at the hospital said that if she is in full time education there may be a chance. I just wondered if anyone had gotten it?

I wouldn't necessarily say that...just maybe the emphasis and approach taken when filling in the forms may have to be slightly different. e.g. when as a child the emphasis may have been on how the diabetic child needs adult supervision to ensure they took their insulin, to cook them meals if they were young and could not be left to use a hot stove etc etc maybe as an adult DLA applicant the emphasis needs to be slightly different and not so ''paternal'' i dunno just a thought. Certainally don't give up on DLA, apply when she's 16 and see, they can only say no....

penrith

margaretclare wrote:

The diabetes-related problems you describe are as a direct result of faulty control. The fluctuating levels of glucose in the blood can and do damage all of the smaller blood-vessels resulting in the eye problems you describe (called diabetic retinopathy), feet problems (diabetic neuropathy) and there are other things which may not have shown up yet. I don't think the mental health problems are a direct result of diabetes.

Aunty Margaret

I absolutely agree! His current physical health problems are due to him not controlling his diabetes during his rebellious teenage years. His mental health problems are a seperate issue as in origins of the problems, but i do think his lack of diabetes controll in his teenage years was in part associated with his low self-esteem, depression, lack of self care etc etc that he has had since being a teenager.

penrith

Fran wrote:

He clearly can't cope though and does have care needs given what you said. It's a shame that he hasn't taken the advice and got help with the forms, the stability of a little bit of extra income could help him sort things out better.

i agree with this post too! I do think the stability of a little more income would help him become more stable and probably face up to some of his mental health problems. However you can only offer advice and assistance a certain number of times before you stop trying because the person appear to not want to help themselves. Sadly i think it'll have to get to the stage of a mental breakdown and then recovery before problems will get faced up to. Anyway, i feel a bit like i've hijaked the OPs topic so I'll shut up now...

N9eav

penrith wrote:

I absolutely agree! His current physical health problems are due to him not controlling his diabetes during his rebellious teenage years. His mental health problems are a seperate issue as in origins of the problems, but i do think his lack of diabetes controll in his teenage years was in part associated with his low self-esteem, depression, lack of self care etc etc that he has had since being a teenager.

Agreed this is the most difficult part of diabetes in teenagers. To be honest they don't want to eat veg, fruit and other healthy things. They don't want to do blood tests or take their insulin on time. Part of the original claim for the DLA was based on the fact that we as parents had to constantly check everything was done, get rid of high sugar foods etc. Pester daily and monitor the condition. The money has nothing to do with it. Like I said I could'nt believe they would give us it anyway as is was'nt disabling and things were generally normal. The only thing that stumped me was there is no difference in her attitude and needs from age 15 (365 days) and now being 16. Still I guess you have to draw the line somewhere........

Ted_Hutchinson

The guidance available to Decision Makers is available online in The Disability Handbook You may find the following section discusses the issues of older children.
Chapter 42 - Diabetes Mellitus in Children

You should be aware that the changeover from child to adult claims is a point where a significant number of awards are lost. In the 10-15 age group there are 137,800 awards but in the 16-19 group this is more than halved to 62,900.