DLA advise

[jane1]

style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/bigsmile.gif i have read your site on benefits for lupus...i sent in a consultants letter and prescription form..regarding my meds..ect...they refused this....but i have asked for an appeal..i had to say that someone wrote my letter as my joints in my hand make it hard to write a letter...wish me luck....

jane

[bugsy]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a210/bugsy04jo/untitled.jpg

<span style="color:#CC33CC"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Good luck style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clover.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clover.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clover.gif with your appeal - let us know how it goes.

Take care XxX Jo XxX style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/hugbetter.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clover.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/hugbetter.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clover.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/hugbetter.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clover.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/hugbetter.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clover.gif </span></span>

[caper]

Hello Jane
I am sorry to hear you didnt get the dla but glad to know that you are appealing. I didnt get it 2 years ago, appealed & still didnt get it. I have recently re- applied & got it both for care & mobility. I used to work helping people with benefits etc, & thought I knew how to fill in the form however, this time I got help from our local Welfare Rights people (not an easy thing for me to accept!), who filled in the form for me, plus, a sympathetic GP, who actually took on board my difficulities & reported them back to the DLA. I would encourage you to get help as soon as possible from either Welfare Rights (who may accompany you to an appeal) or the Citizens Advice Bureau. I do wish you the best of luck with this, I know its not easy.
take care style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/flowers.gif
Caper

[jane1]

thanks.....im told that they re-look at the claim before they do an appeal? is this so? do you know?

jane style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Thanx.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Thanx.gif

[caper]

Hello again Jane
If you have had a letter saying that you are not entitled to any DLA, its up to you to make an appeal, I guess you know that it wont happen automatically. I suggested that you get help to do this, if its available in your area, because you will have another form to fill in, telling them why you wish to appeal, and decisions to make on which, like the original claim you made, its important that you use the right words & terms in order to be successful.I am not suggesting that you tell lies or anything, but my own experience tells me that unless its worded properly, & sent in within their timescale etc. you are less likely to be successful. Also if you go personally to a hearing it might be good to have an "expert on Welfare rights" with you.

Yes, they do look at your original form & all the correspondence (if any) from doctors etc. You can ask for them to send you copies of all this.

I found a lot of help from the www.bhas.org.uk site. (I think this has been mentioned by others on this Lupus site).
more good luck
Caper style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clover.gif

[caper]

Ive just had a thought, maybe itss too late to change things, but dont dispair, remember you can apply again if you are refused. I got mine after applying for a second time.
All the best
Caper (very hot & avoiding the sun style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/hide.gif

[sheila t]

Just wanted to wish you all the best with your appeal, don't give in. IT took me a few times to get mine sorted and got it in the end and back pay, we all don't need this stress as well.
Hugs Sheila xxx

[Clare.T]

Hi Jane

I suppose you did fill out a claim form ? Sorry to be silly, but I dont think a consultant's letter and a list of medicines would suffice. I didn't think the medicines play any role at all in the decision, nor does a diagnosis.
Isn't it based entirely on what you can't do and need help with ?

Just kick me if necessary style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif

Clare

[Christine UK]

<span style="font-family:Comic Sans Ms"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%">
Yes as Clare says..it doesnt matter what illness you have and if you are on 50 meds a day..its how the illness affects YOU and your day to day living...</span></span>

[jane1]

style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/bigsmile.gif Hi.........yes i filled in a booklet!!! wanting to know the ins and the outs... style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/faint.gif It also says you can send info..details of medication..dx ect...it all helps...so they say..hmmm

I dont expect it to be that easy...i have a 17 daughter with pfeiffers syndrome and she now get full DLA for care and mobility..we got that when she was 7yrs..but it took them 2years to argue the case of a syndrome they didnt know about...a bit like us lot?

I shall keep you informed..jane style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/foryou.gif

[Fishaholic]

It doesn't actually matter what is wrong. I got mine very early on before I even had a diagnosis. I did have to appeal once as the level they gave me was lower than my social worker thought I should get.

I think a lot of people don't get it because they don't fill in the form right. I filled in mine, then the social worker sent someone round whose job it is to help fill in these forms. She changed a lot of my answers, but it made sense. I'll give a couple of examples:

For instance on mobility:
How far can you walk before you experience severe discomfort? At the time, I'd said something like 100 yards.

I was told that pain is counted as severe discomfort. So as soon as you experience pain, that is the distance you should put, rather than "how far can I walk if I grit my teeth and ignore the pain and push myself as far as I can"? So it got changed to 10 yards, but was explained: after 10 yards I experience pain. If I continue walking, the pain increases until it gets unbearable at 100 yards.

On care:
"How long does it take you to have a shower?" My answer was 10 minutes (the amount of time I'm actually in the shower). The helper looked at me and asked me why it was then that I avoided taking showers and never had one in the morning. The answer was that it was exhausting. I had to rest afterwards. I couldn't get dressed straight away and would never get to work on time.

So she asked me "How long does it take you to have a shower and then be able to continue with your normal everyday activities?" That changed the answer to an hour and a half! Of course you have to explain all that properly, but you are given the space to do so. So for example we wrote that I only spent 10 minutes in the shower, but half an hour rest, another 20 minutes to get dressed and another 30 minutes rest.



Another thing to remember is that maybe you have stopped doing things because they are too difficult. You should still mention them in your application. For example I moved to a ground floor flat so I never have to use stairs. But I still needed to say that I could only manage stairs with help and two rails, how many steps, etc...

Hope some of this is helpful.

Hugs, Sarah.