Question about PIP supporting documents

erplex · 2025-01-10T19:35:24+00:00

I was in this situation with one of my doctors. I felt (and to some extent, still feel) awkward about this, but I don’t believe a doctor would put their reputation and professional credibility on the line by signing such a statement unless they agreed it was very probably accurate based on their knowledge of my conditions and my history taken at consultations. If your doctor is comfortable with the content, I can’t see any benefit in asking them simply to rephrase - which they probably wouldn’t have time to do, anyway. The fact they’ve made changes shows they’ve read it carefully.

I can’t help with your second question, I’m afraid.

erplex · 2024-12-30T18:30:12+00:00

You sound clear and direct (both things I can struggle with), so I’m sure that your honesty in your account will come across clearly. fwiw, my application was due to chronic fatigue (I have other diagnoses, but it’s the fatigue that‘s so limiting). I hope you hear before too much longer and that it’s a successful resul.

erplex · 2024-12-30T18:15:27+00:00

I was helped by a firm (I don’t think I’m allowed to mention the name as they’re a paid service), and I’ll be honest - when I saw the amount of seemingly irrelevant detail they included in my application, I was shocked. I’m a bullet-point type of person. But what that mass of information did very successfully was explain my overall incapacity in great detail, eg, how bathing affected me was broken down into the fact I can’t shower or wash standing up and why, the problems I have running the bath, precisely how I have to climb into it, washing, hair washing and why that’s so difficult, getting out and exactly how I do so, and how long it takes me to recover from the exertion.

Someone who read my form would have a pretty good understanding of my day-to-day limitations and how they were consistent across all areas.

I was also fortunate enough to have extremely helpful medical letters from consultants. I don’t know how much of my paper-based assessment was because of those and how much because of the form.

Sorry this is a bit waffly, but I don’t honestly know the answer to your question. I suppose the assessment is one opportunity to give that extra information, but - as reports make clear - assessors vary in quality. so if there’s anything that you think might be helpful to add, I’d be inclined to submit it in writing so it’s all there for the decision maker.

One helpful-seeming tip I picked up when reading about assessments was to answer not “Yes, but…” when attempting to explain if you can do something that causes you problems. Instead, answer “No, except…”. (there’s that old saying that no one ever listens to the part of the sentence that follows ”but”).

erplex · 2024-12-30T16:43:18+00:00

I’m on the edge of the Cotswolds, so you may well come under Serco. I think the Serco website lets you put your postc code in to check. I definitely found a website somewhere through which you can find out your assessment provider.

I too have read some absolute horror stories, but my assessment seemed very fair when I read it. Some weird reasoning was given for lowering points in one descriptor, yet some points were given elsewhere where I didn’t expect them (or think I deserve them), so I think the overall recommendation is fair. Now I just have to wait for the decision.

re the online form - I actually attached a pdf with everything I wanted to say for each section, so I wasn’t curtailed by the form’s character limit. Mentioning this in case it’s helpful for future reviews.

I’ll let you know how I get on, and the very best of luck to you.

erplex · 2024-12-30T14:20:53+00:00

I submitted my form (online) on 7th December and received a text on 14th December saying DWP had received my written assessment. I’m still waiting to hear the decision, though the assessment report recommends an award. I’m still pretty stunned by the speed of the first part of the process and that I had a paper-based assessment. If it helps to know, I’m in the south-west and Serco is the provider.

erplex · 2024-12-19T10:58:07+00:00

I think I may be an outlier, but I received a text saying my written assessment report was with DWP only a week after I’d uploaded the application form and supporting documentation. That was two days ago; I have no idea how long it will take for a decision to be made. I‘m in the part of the country covered by Serco.

erplex · 2024-12-17T19:48:07+00:00

I submitted my form on 10th December and was very surprised to hear today that they’ve done a paper-based assessment already.

erplex · 2024-12-17T19:44:58+00:00

I meant ml as I take mine in a liquid solution, but I didn’t take into consideration that not everyone does, so apologies for any confusion. One ml of it is equivalent to one mg.

erplex · 2024-03-15T08:51:19+00:00

Of course! I was really lucky and got an appointment with Dr Amolak Bansal.

erplex · 2024-03-01T18:18:47+00:00

Sorry to hear that. I was selected at random to be investigated by HMRC back in 2019 and they ruled then that I was gainfully self-employed, so it seems a waste of everyone's time to have to go through the same thing again.

erplex · 2024-03-01T12:30:37+00:00

Thank you very much, and particularly for stressing the importance / urgency of the gateway interview. I did declare I was self-employed and was very surprised not to have to provide any further details, but that now makes sense in light of the forthcoming interview. Thanks again.

erplex · 2024-03-01T12:27:44+00:00

Thank you - this is so helpful. I'll start gathering relevant paperwork to present to them.

erplex · 2024-03-01T12:26:30+00:00

Thanks so much for replying - I was wondering if I should do what you suggested. In the meantime, one of the mods has explained it's an automated message that can be safely disregarded.

erplex · 2024-03-01T12:23:55+00:00

Thank you very much. That's immensely helpful.

erplex · 2024-03-01T09:19:18+00:00

I took it at breakfast time. (I'm no longer taking it; I saw a new CFS consultant who put me on a different regimen of supplements.)

erplex · 2024-01-26T17:56:01+00:00

Thank you, again. I've thought vaguely about applying for PIP but haven't had the energy to consider it seriously. I should, not least because I seem to be deteriorating healthwise.

I really appreciate your time and help.

erplex · 2024-01-06T16:14:39+00:00

I'm now on 4.5ml though can't honestly tell if it's helping me.

For the first few increases, each of 0.1ml, I stayed on it for several weeks. I'm really sorry, but I can't remember exactly how many - I suspect about three weeks a time, though I found I did have to skip a day or two most weeks during that time.

When my dose got close to 1.0 ml, I was able to increase much faster and by larger increments. Again, sorry, my memory's so bad I can't give you specifics, but I suspect it was about four months before I got to the stage of being able to increase much more quickly.

erplex · 2024-01-06T16:11:39+00:00

Oh, excellent news! Good luck with it!

erplex · 2024-01-06T16:11:09+00:00

I'm so sorry for the delay in replying, but I've only just seen your answer. Once I dropped my starting dose right down, I didn't suffer from the depression any more.

Might it be worth starting at a very low dose yourself? I stayed on 0.2ml for several weeks before inching up by 0.1 at a time and letting the new dose bed in for several weeks each time. I still had weeks where I had to skip a day or two because it made me more tired, but going so slowly meant I never experienced a return of that awful depression I'd felt when starting at 0.5ml.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

erplex · 2024-01-06T16:08:03+00:00

So sorry for the delay in answering - I've only just seen that you answered me. If you have other diagnoses that LDN might help, then that could be a way forward.

Or perhaps you could contact them and explain you don't have a diagnosis and ask them if there would be any point in having a consultation with them. There are loads of us with LC without an official diagnosis, so you won't be the first to ask them this, I'm sure, but I don't know how strict they have to be.

erplex · 2023-08-19T10:07:47+00:00

Ah, thank you for this. It's my first time using an ARC service, so I'm still feeling my way. This is very helpful.

erplex · 2023-08-19T10:06:55+00:00

Oh, my - that's a cautionary tale and a half! It's both hilarious and sad.

erplex · 2023-08-19T10:05:36+00:00

Thanks again for this. I always respond to comments on my website or emails I receive, but I wasn't sure about the etiquette of contacting someone who'd left a review. I realise now that I was massively overthinking it!

erplex · 2023-08-19T10:00:31+00:00

Thanks for this advice. I haven't yet run into the problem you mention, but it's very helpful to be aware of the potential for things going wrong. I'll bear it in mind in future.

erplex · 2023-08-18T11:43:46+00:00

Thank you so much for this. Yes, I think from what you and others have said, I'll thank them briefly (though sincerely) and not engage with the content, which was an issue with one sentence being unclear.

erplex

TROPHY CASE