I had a re assessment on the 16th dec 2011 and have received the decision today (23rd Jan 2012) they said that I didnt qualify and revived 0 points in all categories which i can understand why for these reasons:

I am virtually unable to and can walk less than 50m at a time very slowly in an extreamly poor manner

I need help to prepare a meal carry and lift safely

I need help to wash and dry myself dress and undress

I suffer from major back pain with perm. tense muscles in my back and degenerative discs

I had an operation on my foot that has left me with perm nerve damage and complex regional pain syndrome

I suffer with anxiety and outbursts of anger

I cant cope with spontaneity or change /change of plans

I get short lived (2-4 weeks) depression spurts that happen without warning

I have to have someone go with me where ever i go and have to return to a place of safety when my anxiety kicks in

My anxiety gets that bad that i get headaches and suffer from dacosta syndrome which mimiks angina (but isnt lethal)

The tablets im on are Amitriptyline, baclofen, tizanidine, diazipam, pre gabalin along with my inhalers (purple & blue) these tablets make me disorientated and most of the time send me to sleep, they also make me quite dopy and simple questions become a major task.

I have to use a crutch or a wheelchair to walk (the wheelchair is a push wheelchair not self propelled)

I am receiving treatment from the pain clinic for these problems and have to see my doctor every 2 weeks to review things, i receive cognative analitic therapy every week to help me with my mental disabilities and im awaiting numberous operations on my foot along with injections to help manage the pain.

I went tot he assessment which took a lot for me to go there and had numberous anxiety attacks i got there by a lift from my dad and took my girlfriend with me they saw how badly i was walking and to be honest the dr that assesed me cut me off mid sentence and seemed quite snotty. i took a letter from my phyciatrist which out lined my problems and also took in appointment letters from all my Hospital appointments but she seemed not to want to see them she took a copy of the letter though i also took a copy of my care plan from adult social services but she didnt want to see that either.

i left the assesment and paniced all the way through to today when i recived the letter cause i had heared of all the problems people have had with the atos drs and giving them 0 points they then had to deal with going through the appeal process which im now having to do just for it to get over turned.

the best part about this is i had a re assesment from the DLA as my certificate was due to run out in feb 2012 the DLA my decision came through from them just after i went to the IB to ESA assesment but was posted on the 10th of DEC they have awarded me high rate mobility and low rate care for the reasons that i cant walk 50m when i do walk i walk slowly in a extreamly poor manner, i need help preparing food and carrying and lifting safely i need help to wash and dry myself and to get dressed and un dressed.

they mad the desision by looking at my claim form from a health care professional that examined me 11/05/2010, from contacting my psychiatrist, from symptoms, test results medication and current treatment.

so how the hell have i scored 0 points in every aspect?? somethings got to be going on, either there not doing their job properly or there trying to catch up cause there so far behind they took a month and a week to decide. its not doing me any good my anxiety levels are through the roof and its brought on the start of a depressive state.

can anyone give me any advice or tell me how i need to go about this? im contacting MIND tomorrow to see if they can help me but im going out of my mind right now!!!

i have found a site that shows the points system and have totaled that i should have 119 but even if they dont give me full points on some of the sections the not being able to walk 50m entitles me to the 15 points needed to qualify straight off grrrrrr!!

1c Cannot walk more than 50 metres without stopping or

severe discomfort 15

2c Cannot walk up and down a flight of 12 stairs without

holding on and taking a rest 7

Cannot sit comfortably for more than 30 minutes without

having to move from the chair 7

4c Cannot stand for more than 10 minutes before needing

to sit down 15

5c Sometimes cannot rise from sitting to standing 3

6b Cannot either bend or kneel as if to pick up a piece of

paper from the floor and straighten up again 15

7h No problem 0

8c Cannot pick up and pour from a full saucepan or kettle of

1.7 Litre capacity with either hand 15

9e Cannot raise one arm to his head as if to put on a hat, but

can with the other 6

10f No problem 0

11f No problem 0

12f No problem 0

13h No problem with continence 0

Has an involuntary episode of lost or altered consciousness

at least once a day 15

15b Often sits for hours doing nothing 2

Is frequently distressed at some time of the day due to

fluctuation of mood 1

16e Sleep problems interfere with his daytime activities 1

16a Needs encouragement to get up and dress 2

17b Frequently feels scared or panicky for no obvious reason 2

17d Is unable to cope with changes in daily routine 1

17f Is scared or anxious that work would bring back or worsen

his illness 1

18a Cannot look after himself without help from others 2

18b Gets upset by ordinary events and it results in disruptive

behavioural problems 2

18c Mental problems impair ability to communicate with other

People 2

18d Gets irritated by things that would not have bothered before

he became ill 1

18e Prefers to be left alone for 6 hours or more each day 1

18f Is too frightened to go out alone 1

Get a GL24 and appeal.

Submit your appeal with copies of ALL your medical evidence and write in detail all the points that are wrong in their decision.

Fight it now!

Today I got in contact with Disability Norfolk who are taking my case on hand helping me appeal the decision, they have told me that this is a regular thing and i dont have to wait for the appeal forms as they carry them, just looked over the esa form again and they said they used my medical assessment (no they didnt as if they did they would of seen that most of the questions deserved points) and the questionare (no they didnt s they got nothing that i put down there) they failed to use the phyciatrist letter i sent in as they didnt tick medical info from your dr and that outlined all my mental health problems and they didnt use my notes about the problem with my foot and back.

THIS SYSTEM IS A JOKE!!! Will be on the phone to my local MP soon something needs to get done!!!

Have now just got off the phone to my MP who is making sure a letter goes out to the district manager either today or tomorrow my appointment with disability norfolk who have worked on a case with me before is on the 1st of feb so hopefully i will get somewhere if there is anything else that will help me that i havent thought of here please let me know. oh and drs are calling em thi afternoon to organise a sick note

we have had a phone call of a benifits law solicitors today who has looked at the case and said that going by the letter of the law i should fall into the top end of the ESA and have told that there is a really strong case although my head is now spinning and now wondering even more how the hell the benifits center has come to there decision

Hello Richie.

Maybe you haven't had time to read around the forum yet, because it's littered with stories like yours. I'm not saying it's right, but we see it all the time.

You have good back up and I hope justice prevails for you. There is a forum sticky about appeals and tribunals if you're interested in reading up on how the process works.

My best, HB

I do feel for you riche2012...its a case of going in ill and coming out well thats why its nick named Lordes on these forums & they get paid to do it ...targets to meet for the gov. & we have to suffer ...see my post if you wish I got mine in the end

well now have mr dr sorting a sick note, my MP wrote to the district manager of the dwp here in Norwich yesterday, i have drs letters and my psychiatrist has already done a letter which they seemed not to even read before as it wasnt ticked that they had used it ass evidence and i have a meeting with disabled rights norfolk on the 1st feb to fill in my appeal forms and they will also represent me at the appeal hearing if it goes that far oh also have letter being written by my family and people who know me and are in contact with me on a regular basis so think i have done all i can do so far. Just got to hope the next decision maker looks at all the evidence properly and changes the decision if not its 9-12 months of waiting

Just got a copy of my medical report through today, i was seen by a nurse and she has falsified a good few things on the report!!

apparently i can propel myself in the wheelchair i have to use urm one problem with that when i have to use my wheelchair i cant propel myself because of my back its not even a self propel wheelchair i have its one with small wheels and someone has to push you

Apparently i didnt seem to shake with the tremors in my hands however my hands shake every min of every day, if the appeal board saw me they would see this if they were to ask anyone that knows me they always see my tremors.

Apparently i have pain in my ankle & have been refered to the pain managment clinic for it!!! urm no i have perm, nerve damage in my ankle and i have been refereed to the pain management clinic for my foot!!!!

my back hurts all the time he gets spasms in his back sometimes i take regular pain relief for it and it works most of the time, urm right i get spasms in my back permanently, i have permanent tense muscles in my back, i have sever pain in my back my medication does help but only bacause it loosens my muscles and sends me to lala land!!!

I am not suicidal now because im getting support from my gp and because of my girlfriend, what i said to her was at this present point in time im not suicidal but it comes and goes i never know when its going to happen and i now have support from my gp and girlfriend

She says i get paranoid sometimes and shout at people int he street, urm i get paranoid every time im out end up having panic attacks and anxiety attacks and have had a few encounters int he street i even rear up on my friends and have a big falling out over it.

she says i go to bed at diffrent times and sometimes sleeps well and usually gets up at 9am urm no not really if u call waking up between 9am and 1pm and going to sleep around 5am & 8am waking up ever now and then sleeping well (only this month when the dr upped my dosage of pain killers and put me on amitriptyline do i get to sleep before 2am but im knocked out till 10am-12pm have bad dreams wake every now and then up with panic attacks and feelings of anxiety last quite a long time then take my tablets for my back and feel groggy and fall asleep for a few hrs.

she said he walked 15 m to the examination room (didnt mention how slowly i walked or how i walked), her report say he says he can walk 50m before having to stop she faild to mention the sever pain i have in my foot when walking.

she said i will take my tablets when i wake up and he has cereal for breakfast he does not make a cup of tea because he hass hand tremors however he can make a cup of tea(yeah if i wanna burn myself) and i never have breakfast when i wake up haven't for years now!!

he occasionally goes to the pub however he doesnt enjoy it and does not go very often last year i think i went to the pub once for my birthday had 1 drink and came straight home as i dint feel safe there.

once i a while ill cook something depending on my tremmors ok how do you cook a sandwich thats about all i make especially with how dosey my tablets make me.

he will have a wash and get dressed most days yes with help getting dressed and in and out of the bath i also have adaptions in the house that help me.

she said i sat in the chair fior 30 mins yep figgeting like hell cause i was in pain from my back

I raised from the seat twice without help (failed to mention how long it took me and that i struggled)

i can bend forward and reach half way down my shin yeah ok so my shin is my knee now!!!

can crouch on the floor and stand up again with difficulty took me a while and i nearly fell over!!! but she failed to mention that

i have full strength in my left leg yeah so thats why i have severe muscle wastage in my left leg

I did not make rocking movements (rocking may indicate anxiety) nope you god damn right i didnt rock do you know how much that hurts with spevere pain in my back, my foot right foot goes 10 to the dozen my knee jumps up and down and i rub my hands or figget with them but she never mentioned any of that!!!

i was able to sit still in the interview urm which interview were you at obviously not mine!!!

smiled at appropriate times urm well if u as my mom dad girlfriend and anyone that knows me i dont smile that often and especially not when i peed off at someone which i was with the interviewer as she didnt listen to what i was saying and cut me off mid sentence

i have a problem with my left foot was what she stated but not the fact i had a operation go wrong that i have complex regional pain syndrome that i have pins hanging out my toe, that i need corrective surgery, that i have to have operations & injections to sort out my complex regional pain syndrome before the surgery can be done and its been 2 years so far!!! oh and that ive been refered to to pain managment clinic for this.

these are just a few things that they had got wrong on the report and falsified even my dr will tell them that there is no way i manageed to get down to my shin will tell them that my tablets make me laps in concentration and awareness, that i have anxiety attacks just going to the drs, even my DLA examiner who did my assessment contradicts all she has had to say. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr angry!!!

this post would be too long to list all the wrong things they put in plus got to go to the mental health hospital now for my weekly therapy, you never know she might of done me a favour with the 2nd decision maker as i can provide so much medical and photographic evidence to show just how much she has got wrong especially a photo on my wheelchair that doesnt have self propelled wheels, a picture of my calf muscles side by side.

he does not make a cup of tea because he hass hand tremors however he can make a cup of tea(

Is it me, or is there a contradiction here? In order to qualify, you must not be able to repeat actions. For example, if you can make yourself a cup of tea once a month and not burn yourself, it's reasonable to say no.

This a perfect thing to highlight in an appeal document. My assessment contradicted itself on different pages, but is this really in one sentence?

My best, HB

yes this is in one sentence repeated on 4 pages maybe 5 including the summary. another contradiction was my medication she said on the 2nd page that my ankle pain (which isnt ankle pain it s foot pain Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) I have permanent nerve damage in my ankle) was controlled by a stron pain killer on the summery she said it was controlled by a moderate pain killer

bare in mind she had to look up all the medication in a medical dictionary too

we have been through all the pages and marked everything down that she ha fictionalised (as in she never did the test lifting my legs while lying down) i have nerved damage in my left ankle which prevents me from liftin my toes up off the floor but apparently i can. she missed out the actual problem with my foot, i can get dressed myself and washed myself most days this is a no i have help, my DLA form says all this and that re assesment was done 6 days before my esa i mean im 30 this april and the DLA have put me on indefinate which the benifits law solicitor said they would only put me on that is there wee real problems and the fact they cam to the decision 6 day b4 my other medical using drs letters psychiatrist letters, treatments, symptoms, medication, side effects and my medical assesment with an ATOS DR let me stress DOCTOR from may 2010 who said i am going to need significant time too recover!the DLA had put alot of work in to coming to that decision so that should help my cause too.

think the slogan forATOS is we dont give ATOS

hopfully the disability right norfolk will sort this out as they now have so much ammo its unbelievable, one thing the solicitor told me was that if it goes to appeal and it doesnt get overturned by the tribuneral if it goes that far then it can be taken further to independent benefit law solicitors and as he is one he can see that i am entitled to it and sop should they.

think anyone who has had a problem with them should get intouch with their local mp as something needs to be done about this at a government level!!

According to the ATOS nurse i can self propel myself in a non self propel wheelchair

according to the nurse i can self propel myself in this wheelchair

Hello again.

I think you're building up a good case and hopefully your homework will help Welfare Rights. I know someone else from the forum went through the Atos report and I think used my sticky and their Welfare Rights rep found it all really useful.

Your jest about Atos will ring a bell with a few people here .

M best, HB

Hi Riche,

I just found your thread because I searched for Baclofen, which is one of the many medications you mention in your first post.

My doc has given me this for severe back pain this week and I feel completely space out or in 'la la land' as you describe it!

Hopefully my back pain will be short lived but goodness, if you suffer permanently with what I have for the last few days, it must be awful for you!

I hope you get your claim sorted soon, these people that have falsified your claim really should be taken to task and investigated, if it was the other foot, you could be done for fraud!

Every interview really needs to be recorded, it is the only way to stop this.

I have sent in my appeal and they have now started to process the payments at the lower rate when asking how long a decision maker will take to look at it to see if it can be over turned they told me upto 6 months, i hope this isnt true as i was told 4-6 weeks by other people can anyone who has been through this let me know how long it took for them to get told weather they were overturning it or having to take it to appeal please