Zero points on pip claim for severe anxiety

teddysmum

Geoff1963 wrote: »

What I'm saying, is that it is very hard to prove one needs help, no matter how deserving, when the symptoms are so variable. In a parallel to physical disability, some people have days they can walk for miles, and other days when they cannot even stand up. A "snap inspection" by DWP would often conclude malingering.

I know of someone who walks round carrying a pair of crutches, because on odd occasions they suddenly need them. They might well qualify for disability benefit, even though they could often walk a mile to the disability assessment centre.

This is why I have never claimed. Over more than 8 years my symptoms from herniated discs (over a third of them to some degree) have changed in frequency and severity.( Perhaps it would have been successful, as a poster said her husband has a herniated disc and gets PIP for pain and its psychological effects, though the pain actually goes away)


I have gone for weeks with very little problem (though helped by a number of drugs and careful about what is done),then had terrible weeks with such probems as pain, spasms throughout the night or during the day making me drop or throw things, suddenly being unable to move when on a night time toilet visit because I have lost most sense of balance and co-ordination or have severe pain . I have also been unable to get out of the bath on occasions; sometimes unable to lever up, other times just being unable to climb out.


I therefore only dare have a bath when my husband is at home and would never dare be alone overnight, just in case, as things can be unpredictable,but this doesn't count as constant need


I didn't know about the constant, repeating etc criteria until reading on here,so thought they would dismiss me for being petty, as seeing a neurologist, who has puts me various drug trials, at least twice a year and having a number of MRIs showing possible spinal chord contact, don't actually prove any need (especially as I retired at 60). Besides,seeing some of the sad cases at the hospital clinics, actually makes me feel that those with problems as minor as mine are undeserving, anyway.


It's too late now, as I'm 68 and very unlikely to get AA because it has stricter criteria. eg I can only make a meal without taking breaks, but AA ignores that and just needs to know that you can't actually eat the meal....Well that's how it comes over to me.

Alice_Holt

I have gone for weeks with very little problem (though helped by a number of drugs and careful about what is done),then had terrible weeks with such problems as pain, spasms throughout the night or during the day making me drop or throw things, suddenly being unable to move when on a night time toilet visit because I have lost most sense of balance and co-ordination or have severe pain . I have also been unable to get out of the bath on occasions; sometimes unable to lever up, other times just being unable to climb out.

Re: variability (as raised by Geoff) the following applies -
PIP should consider how you are on the majority of days (at any point in that day) over a 12 month time period.
So if you are (and keeping a diary is a sensible plan) unable to do an activity reliably, repeatedly, and to an acceptable standard for 183 days over 1 year then you should be counted as not being able to do it.

This is nicked from Benefits & Work:
"At any point during the day
According to law a descriptor applies to you for the whole day if it applies at any point during a 24 hour period – unless it is just "momentary". So if, for example, the painkillers that you take first thing in the morning work straight away and allow you to wash and dress, etc, without delay, that would not count. But if, as in practice with most painkillers, you have to wait a disruptive amount of time for the painkillers to take effect, you may score points
Guidance issued by the DWP clarifies this by explaining that:
‘If a descriptor applies at any point during a 24 hour period, it is considered to apply for the entire day, whereas in DLA it would have to apply for ‘the majority of the day’ in order to apply.’
So, for example, on most days you may be unable to put a shirt or a jumper on first thing in the
morning because your arthritis is at its worst, but after an hour or two your symptoms ease and you are able to dress yourself.
If this is the case, the DWP’s view seems to be that you should score 4 points for:
6 e). Needs assistance to be able to dress or undress their upper body.
This should be the case even though for the majority of the day you don’t need assistance to dress or undress."

It's not just medical evidence that matters, evidence from carers, family members should be taken into account.

BTW a disadvantage of PIP compared with DLA & AA is that care needs requiring someone to be overseen for their own safety (in case of a risk of a intermittent condition occurring) has largely been lost.

For you an AA claim may be successful if you have a condition that requires someone to keep an eye on you. As you say, neither the cooking test nor mobility is considered for AA.

teddysmum

AA is really against older people, isn't it ?


A younger person may have problems with cooking (such as lifting a pan from the cooker)but be perfectly able to eat that food. However, an older person, even if they, too, can't lift a pan or even whip eggs, can have no points unless they are unable to eat the food they couldn't prepare, so have to rely on someone's goodwill to provide food or live on unhealthy ready meals full of salt, sugar and preservatives.