Disability living allowance for over 16's with diabetes

space_rider

My brother is a diabetic and when he got to his teens he knew best. He wouldn`t listen to his mother, me or even his consultants or the diabetic nurse. As a consequence of his poorly controlled diabetes he has had problems with his eyes, high blood pressure which resulted in his kidneys failing and 8 years ago he had a kidney transplant. I think teens still need alot of help and they do find it hard not being able to do what their peers do.

I have a 16 year old daughter with vasulitis who was refused care but she still needs an awful lot of care from me. She was given high rate mobility because she can`t walk far because of the pain.

lad6

Hi all

Ok not to be too mean but I am getting slightly ticked off by the people on this forum saying Diabetics shouldn't be entitled to DLA.

I am a Type 1 Diabetic and it has made my life a misery, especially in the last two or three years, and while I have been trying my absolute hardest to control it (which works for most Diabetics), mine has only gotten worse. I eat healthily, I (try to) exercise, I have regular hospital visits and do what they tell me.

I will just run by some of the problems I face every day:

1. I go hypoglycaemic up to six times every day. This makes me confused, gives me physical pain, makes me breathless, means I can hardly walk, let alone do anything else, and on occasion leads to Diabetic coma. Because of how often this happens I have lost all warning signals which means I can 'go low' and not even notice it happening. I am frightened to be alone and someone (my poor husband) has to always be with me to help me raise my blood sugars because by this stage I have no idea who I am, where I am, or what is happening to me. It is extremely frightening and as it often happens in the night also means I can't sleep through the night.

2. I can't work full-time because my condition makes me extremely tired and I find it very hard to stand and concentrate for 37.5 hours a week. So I am poor.

3. Me and my husband tried for a baby. It died because my blood sugar was low most of the time, which often happens with pregnant diabetics.

4. I can't go to the gym or go running, which I used to love, because my blood levels are so bad afterwards. Sex is a nightmare because of how low I go afterwards.

5. I have depression due to the constant stress of what my blood is doing.

6. When my blood is not low, it is usually high. I have been in hospital 30 times because of Ketoacidosis, a condition where your blood turns to acid. Again, frequent in Diabetics.

Now tell me I'm not entitled to DLA.

As for Diabetic gold-medal rowers, I'm fairly sure they get extra help from numerous doctors/dieticians/fitness trainers etc.

All I want is extra help.

space_rider

Lad6. I can`t count the amount of times either me or my siblings or parents have gone to my brothers house, unable to get him to answer the door, and have found him in a diabetic coma.

Thankfully he is now married and his wife can watch over him. He no longer gets the warning signs and because of all the medication he is on for his kidney he doesn`t get hungry. He has to be told to eat.

alba37

Hi Lad6

I wrote a long post and lost it! I just wanted to say I beleive many people with diabetes should be entitled to DLA. Diabetes does not suddenly disappear when someone hits 16, and hypos/hypers do not become less dangerous! Everyone with Type 1 could go into a diabetic coma at any time. Even those who think they have great control!

I empathise with you, and understand every point you raised. People who don't have diabetes cannot understand what a hypo/hyper feels like, and in my experience it's the minority who manage to get a good balance every single day with insulin, carbs, exercise, stress, the weather and every other variable that affects blood glucose!

SuziQ

Lad6,I think you are taking this very personally when in fact I think that your experience of diabetes has been very severe and I do feel very sorry for what you are going through. No one would argue that you are entitled to and need DLA.I worked as an Assistant diabetic nurse for 3 years and I saw (fortunately) few diabetic sufferers with diabetes as brittle as yours,and often the ones we did see responded well to a change of insulin ie pig to human or vice versa etc-it's been a long time so my knowledge of insulin is very outdated now. No one sadi that NO diabetics would be eligible,but to be fair many diabetics are leading near normal lives and do not have the obviously very real care needs that you do. I had a good friend a few years ago who also suffered very brittle diabetes having been diagnosed following a collapse aged 29,and she subsequently decided to remain childless bith due to the possibility of her condition deteriorating but also because she didn't want to risk passing the condition on. Quite a few times she didn't turn up for work and one of us would go out to her house to find she had had a hypo after her husband left for work.

Every suffer of an illness will have a different experience. I myself have had ulcerative colitis for 25 years. The first few years I was very ill,on massive doses of steroids and had 3 miscarriages. My daughter was a twin and I miscarried her twin. After that pregnancy and after the next 2, my condition got millions of times better. Had DLA been around back in the 80's I would probably have qualified-but not after I had my first child as the condition got better and better. Ironically I now have a growth so am having to have my bowel removed anyhow,but others I know with my disease had the op in the early 20's so I consider myself very lucky.

Might you benefit from a second opinion at a centre renowned for diabetes care? I really hope and pray that your condition will become more controlled as I know how debilitating and depressing it is to live your life around an illness.

cmg1234

When she is 16 she is actually entitled to the money in her own right, her own claim for her own money.

stoobdog

i am 24 and only been diagnosed for a little over a year i cant belive that someone could be so offensive as to tell me when my panceas packed up i developed a disease rather than a condition you catch a disease not just develop it apart from the cases of cancer ect. i am struggling to hold my job down due too diabeetes and depression i am starting to think the DLA is my last resort but it does not look promising. i quite often have hypos but i am new to the insulin so they may become few and far between but untill that time some help would be my right, would u not think? not for life. just for now.

alba37

stoobdog wrote: »

i am 24 and only been diagnosed for a little over a year i cant belive that someone could be so offensive as to tell me when my panceas packed up i developed a disease rather than a condition you catch a disease not just develop it apart from the cases of cancer ect. i am struggling to hold my job down due too diabeetes and depression i am starting to think the DLA is my last resort but it does not look promising. i quite often have hypos but i am new to the insulin so they may become few and far between but untill that time some help would be my right, would u not think? not for life. just for now.

Sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I don't see why you shouldn't claim, if you get an award it's likely to only be an award for a year or 2 then you apply again before it finishes if you want, they automatically send out a renewal form. It's best if you can get help from a welfare rights officer or CAB to fill it in as the forms are long and repetitive. Go for it you've nothing to lose.

I feel, in an ideal world anyone having hypos should be watched 24/7. We have had some very frightening experiences, which could have been disasterous if alone. It's not easy to get the right balance of Insulin & carbs, exercise etc. There is a good book by John Walsh, Using Insulin, and another called Think like a Pancreas which are helpful, if you haven't already read them.

N9eav

If anyone over 16 manages to claim DLA for Diabetes, please let me know. We had tried when my daughter passed 16, but no dice.

It makes me laugh sometimes when I see the druggies I deal with get lots of benefits cos they are 'sick' or 'disabled'!!!

Then the people I know with the new motability cars because they have a bad back sometimes?

alba37

I know a few who have it past 16. I also know adults with DLA for diabetes and depression. I know a couple of people renewing now, so won't hear for a while if they are awarded again or not, but I'll post when I hear. How old is your Daughter now?

A x