Over the last couple of days I have been filling in the dreaded ESA50 to transfer from IB to ESA and it has made me profoundly depressed.
I live my life by not dwelling too much on the future or the past. Filling this form in has made me realize that I don’t dwell on the present either! I don’t spend much time thinking about what I can’t do I just get on with it. (after all what choice is there?)
After trying to put into my disabilities words I find that I am acutely aware of them. As I struggle to get up from the sofa I imagine an ATOS assessor watching. I can only walk a few M so that should be 15 points on descriptor number 1 and be done with it and yet I still have to describe my toileting etc.
Hey Ho. My best wishes to everyone currently cataloguing every nook and cranny in order to qualify for ESA or DLA.
Snap! I have felt too unwell to start my form,and it is due back in a couple of weeks.I have no idea what medical letters I am supposed to send.I am not worrying about it,just trying to get as well as possible having had a heart attack.
the best way i found with dealing with this dreaded form…book, is to just do 3-4 pgs a day till its finished, that way you dont get stressed all in one go and you can take your time and go thru what you have already put and need to put down, id put every letter and appointment letter to do with your conditions that you can get in with the forms aswell, the dwp decision maker told me that, to get as many letters down to appointment slips to put in the form aswell including a print out list of all medixcations you are on, she said that will help you alot better and go for you better than just filling the book in, i hope that helps, they want info, so id dump as much info at them as possible, neuro, ms nurse, dr, physio, occupational health, basically everyone you see and talk to.
Hi, I felt like that when filling in my DLA claim forms. I had to do it every 3 years and each time, it got harder and harder, as my condtioin progressed. Hubby used to help me with it and it took days, rather than hours.
We would think of other things to add. It made us feel tired, down and very frustrated.
Plus to qualify for Carers Allowance, we had to tot up how long each thing took to do.
How long have you been on Incapacity benefit?
I went on it in 2000 and expect to be migrated in 2015…but that`s when I get my state pension…at 62.5. I hope there isnt the need to do it all, just before I get my pension.
Hope you are successful, without having to appeal.
It is horrible when some practical need obliges us to face our situation head-on. I had something similar last week on a first assessment visit to the neuro-physiotherapist. It is remarkably difficult to take a cool, objective look at how things are, isn’t it? I was trying to just be unemotional and give her the straight picture, but found when I got home that there were quite important things (from a physiotherapy point of view) that I had forgotten to mention because I just had not remembered that normal people don’t have to do that, or that normal people can do that without thinking, or whatever.
Ideally, I think that we would be able to slip seamlessly into a different mode from the usual when trying to communicate clearly to civilians how things are for us, so that we could do that without getting too upset and then slip just as smoothly back to our normal mode of getting on with things while protecting our sanity by not dwelling too much on our difficulties. Hard to do, though.
If you are still feeling too unwell to do the form you must phone and ask for an extension. If you fail to send the form in on time they will just stop your IB. I think you will find that they will be sympathetic to an extension espesially as you have had a heart attack.
I am going to ask my neuro and the MS nurse for a letter. Not my GP because I never go to her for things MS. I have no idea how helpful these letters will be but I suppose they will prove that I have MS if nothing else.
if youve got a nice dr, you could always ask them to photocopy letters n stuff from your medical records, just ask them how you would go about getting letters n info about your conditions as youve got this book to fill in and you cant get letters in time, the dr shud have no probs in printing off any info you need. i did that with my dr, i just played the dummy card and said i had no idea how i was going to manage getting the info i need in time, and he just printed off a letter from the neuro saying i had ms and the psychiatrists report aswell to confirm the personality disorder, when i need stuff in a hurry i always find that usin the dummy card helps alot especially wen you tell them you have no idea how to get stuff in time and its important that you have them…always works for me
Im doing the same Jane, presently filling the form in, well tbh I’ve not even looked at it as yet, but intend to start jotting,things down as someone from welfare rights is going to fill it out for me, they recently helped me with my dla review. I’ve been like yourself on IB sine 1996 I always did my forms myself every three years but this time with what you read I thought best to get help. I was going to include the letter from my gp who supported me in my dla.
can i ask where is a welfare rights office? my job centre are as usefull as a chocolate teapot, they wont look over forms as they have no idea how too, im going to need help woth the next book that thumps thru my door as i keep having to scrub things out and the last form was a mess
Citizens advice bureau helped me and I was awarded first time. They know what they’re doing, know the right “speak” to use and alleviate the stress of trying yourself.
Just do a google search Vikki for Disability Welfare Rights organisations in your area that’s what I did. They helped me 16 years ago get my dla although under a different name I think.
Just do a google search Vikki for Disability Welfare Rights organisations in your area that’s what I did. They helped me 16 years ago get my dla although under a different name I think.