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welcome back sodem

Hi honeybee My friend is going to put in the complaint and welfare rights were great they won my tribunal for me and also put in for DLA which I was awarded with no problems for a year. Charities that represent people with PTSD are few and far between, and I only know of one called friends which is in somerset as I have a friends down there so I hope to eventually get moved there so support would be on hand when needed with rather than have to be reassessed then wait for a sessions of appointments. I hoping that I will be able to get back sorted and the PTSD under control before I have to go back to that farce ATOS. Still not had the report from them on the work focused medical nor appointment with adviser. I have however seen a work adviser via recommendation from my councilor and she was great. I have decided I would like to do training to go into advice and support work and just have to contact her once I am well enough. What we are being subject to is horrendous, barbaric, unjust and inhuman and most definitely discriminatory to those of us that have genuine illnesses and disabilities and i hope that in the future I will be able to help others suffering. Once things are all sorted with the government I do intend to write to them too.

Hi furnitman Thats a brilliant letter you wrote and also very much the same experience I had at the farce ATOS medical. My accident was over 10 years ago and and I was diagnosed with severe PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and suffer severe back pain ever since. I was lucky enough at the time to see a top specialist and had managed to control the PTSD till problems at work which led to me having to leave brought on a major recurrence. I still tried to continue to manage this myself and went onto JSA but unfortunately it became so bad that I became suicidal and had to be signed off and go onto ESA. But then came the farce ATOS medical and refusal and 9 months of hell waiting for tribunal and finally getting to see there lies. I won the tribunal based on my proper specialist medical evidence and did not even have to attend. Got another letter to go back to ATOS 2 weeks later, went and would not see me as it was same person who saw me he refused as the case had been against him, re booked for following weeks went and received interrogation. I lost in end and accused her of trying to kill me off, then to top it all got yet another letter to go back again , seems report was done manually and even though i had just been paid for attendance on both dates it had not been put on system. My friend had to deal with it and also asked for complaint form. I couldn't even talk. I am finding it very hard to get my PTSD under control with all this harassment. Had they not done all that I may well have been back at work by now instead it has been made worse. I am up and down like a yo yo I dread the thought of ever having to go back there and just pray that I can get both the PTSD and back sorted before I have to. Good luck with your tribunal and you might also want to look at applying for DLA as welfare rights also got me that which I had not realized I would be entitled too.

Hi cag trent Sorry to hear that you are having to go through this charade, Try not to let it get to you as almost everyone gets turned down on the farce ATOS Medical. I too have been through this and with the help of welfare rights won. Contact and get help from welfare rights, CAB or similar whichever is available in your area, they can help you put your case together. Get all the medical evidence and reports you can that will support your case. Mine took 9 months to be heard which seems very much average even though it is supposed to be lot quicker than that as there are so many appeals as so many claims are getting refused. In the meantime they will reinstate your ESA to the assesment rate but if you win you will get the award backdated to the time they stopped it which took a couple of weeks to come through after winning. make sure you request an appeal and not just ask for review. Good luck with your appeal.

Hi I sympathise with you. I have also suffered same types of pain for last 11 years and up to now have been unable to get an MRI scan, but finally have a further app with specialist so hoping I can get sorted. I also take tramadol which is morphine based but only when the pain becomes unbearable as its effects leave me like a zombie. Even tramadol does not relieve the pain just eases it and makes it bearable. Specialist did say if I suffered after 2 years then it would be permanent and confirmed that in a report. He did not recommend any further tests at time as he said it would not change his diagnosis and I would just have to live with it. Its got worse lately and I have always believed I have a trapped nerve or something similar. I have finally managed to get doctor to refer me to another specialist and hoping I can get the full tests done as to what is causing it. Keep on at doctors and try get further investigation.

Good luck this time round. Make sure you go armed for the medical, they prob will refuse to read it but might help make em act proper this time round.

failed mine in may 09 and was heard Feb 10 so just over 9 months to hearing

Commiekips I think you are really rude and sarcastic. People on here are in need of help and support for this barbaric system that penalizes genuine ill people and certainly don;t need to hear your sarcastic comments. I hope that someday you won;t need that same support and advise and have to suffer ignorant sracastic comments such as yours.

Well he obviously still must have got the email even if not direct as otherwise he could not know that you had misspelt his name so why has he not responded before would be my question.

Hi Rae I would have thought that may well be grounds for further appeal on legal grounds. May well be worth getting some legal advice on it as I cannot see how his opinion could possibly be legally valid under UK law.

Hi Paul Sorry to hear about your plight with barbarian dwp and atos. I too have had to go through the same and understand how it does make you worse. I would advise for any future medicals you always take someone with you so they can be witness and support for you. Apply for your appeal, it will take about 9 months but in meantime they will continue to pay you at the basic assessment rate. Get all the medical evidence together you have and also contact welfare rights if you have one in your area they will help. They helped me and got mine overturned. Good luck with your appeal and keep us posted you will get lots of support on here.

Signed

when will the new rules be taking effect from?

hi where do i add my name?

Sorry to hear that you lost your appeal. It is absolutely ridiculous and barbarian treatment. Can you appeal to the higher tribunal and maybe contact your MP and press maybe that would put some pressure on DWP to stop this sort of treatment.

Hi BettieBoo I really feel for you same happened to me and I also scored 12points. ATOS do not care at all about illness, it is not a medical. Welfare rights helped me and won my appeal and also got me DLA. You need to gather all the supporting evidence you have and appeal which will take about 9 months as so many are being failed that the appeals service is inundated. Good luck with the appeal and keep posting on here for the support it is a very long haul, and one which is actually making our illness worse which actually makes our recovery to be able to get back to work longer because we are being denied the help and support we need.

Something does need to be done were all failing the medical and now even worse as even winning appeal is short lived relief. Following and accident years ago I suffer from severe PTSD diagnosed and treated by top specialist in the field and severe back pain problems which are permanent. Had major recurrence of PTSD following bullying at work which became unmanageable and had to go from JSA to ESA. Failed medical was only given 12 points on what should have been well in excess of 100 and had to appeal. Welfare rights helped and also got me DLA mid rate care and low mobility. ESA tribunal took 9 months and decision was overturned and qualify in the work related group medical evidence support the exceptional circumstances apply. Great at last I can concentrate on getting my life back but no 2 weeks later letter from ATOS arrives DWP request that following my appeal I have to have a medical assessment for my ESA. Of course not surprisingly this has sent me right back down, I have to go course or they will stop my ESA to the same place and have the same medical the decision was based on which was overruled, so this looks like there new way of trying to get out of paying us our entitlement.

Good luck on 25th for your appeal Rae. reduced rate of ESA is same as JSA while waiting for appeal and you have to continue to send them sick notes to get it.

Hi Rae Thanks for that Rae, looks like they only deal with military but maybe they can get me proper help with it. NHS does not really have support for it though depending where you live. I was lucky when I first got this I had no idea what was happening, thought I was going mad and did not even connect a lot of my problems to my accident such but my doctor knew of PTSD research programme with one of the top PTSD specialist and I was I was lucky to take part in that and was diagnosed and received free treatment which I could not have got on the NHS. I have even looked at going back to her but unfortunately at £150 a session on benefit that's not an option. Its a lottery on help available for this and in my area very little, all I can get is counseling which I still have to pay towards and get so many sessions, then when I go downhill I have wait to have an assessment to get another course of sessions. I have a friend in another area that also suffers from this even worse than me and I am trying my best to avoid getting that bad, he had been wrongly diagnosed for years. Its an awful illness and yet no professional proper treatment is available on the NHS. When I was diagnosed as severe I was not as bad as what I am now with it. I was warned that I could have a recurrence but had not realised it could be even worse than before and instead of being able to get proper help you get this crap making it even worse. PTSD can't be cured as reccurrence can be triggered as in my case bullying at work triggered it but with proper treatment can be managed and controlled to lessen the effects and that specialist treatment should be available on the NHS, why can't they see in the long run that would be cheaper to treat the problem instead of masking it with medication. I did not have to have medication before yet now I have no choice but to take it just to stop me going over the edge.

Hi Rae yes was a bad accident years ago I suffered severe PTSD and severe back pain since which specialist says will be permanent. The re-occurrence however was caused by bullying at work which forced me to to leave my job. I took employer to tribunal which I did win though he wont pay. I still tried to to manage my PTSD and tried to find alternative work, however it became unmanageable and I had to sign off sick and claim ESA as it became so bad that i became suicidal and needed proper help. It just feels like I have somthing stamped on my head saying get me. Last week i felt quite positive that I would get control of my life back and then the bombshell arrived that I have to go to ATOS for medical assessment same people who failed me in first place. Luckily my councillor extended my sessions as he was concerned about the appeal now this week I will be going back to my councillor feeling just as I did before seems like I am continually taking one step forward then bang things out of my control send me 10 back.If they do stop it then WR advisor will sort out appeal again but this one took 9 months I don,t want yet another 9 months of being like this. As for medical I have read that where there exceptional circumstances of significant harm under the the mental health aspect is excempt from medical and appeal judgment states that I qualify under the exceptional circumstances but WR say I must attend or they will stop it so I will have to go. Getting anxious and irritable now and not able to sleep so god knows what i will be like on that day

Hi Rae Thanks the support and virtual hug is extremely helpful. Winning my appeal and getting my esa work related and being awarded DLA mid rate care and low rate mobility has helped ease the financial burden. If however that gets taken away again due this ATOS assessment I have to go through then I can see no choice but to give up my home obviously this is not something that i would want to do at my age as my home is a secure tenancy and if I gave that up I would never get housed again as kids are now grown up and I have no dependents and I can't afford private rent. I just pray that they accept my medical evidence and don't fail me again like last time. I have been looking up the rules and I should not even be sent for medical as mental health side of my illness PTSD as diagnosed by specialist falls within the exemptions rule as severe.

Thanks for the support honeybee, it certainly helps just to even be able to get it off your chest. I couldn't afford to give up even if I wanted to, though at times wish that I could just say to hell with them and just concentrate on getting myself better. I live on my own in housing association house with no dependents now children are all grown up and left home so have bills to pay. What they give you barely covers the basics. the backdated money they owed me after winning appeal has alraedy gone on bills and debts as have not been able to afford to even cover those bills and eat on the £60 a week I was getting, Half of that each week went on gas and electric and there has been many a time during that time when I have run out of gas and electric especially when we had the snow and really cold weather. Just hope that I don,t have to go through it again so I can just concentrate on me getting well enough to return to work and be able to retrain to help others in similar situations. I am normally a very strong determined person especially against any injustices and I want to get back to being that person, once I do I will carry on fighting to put a stop to this sort of treatment. I know what this has done to me I dread to think how many have actually gone over the edge by this treatment.

no they didn't there judgment states I am entitled to ESA work related group so I was expecting to get appointment with my work advisor not this assessment again which is fine as no matter what group I got put in I was going to opt for that help as I desperately want to get back to work just need the support and help to be able to do this. This is what is so stupid about this as all stress this has made me so much worse if they had not failed me I may well have been back at work by now instead I become more anxious which has led to major social and psychological problems. I just feel I have no control of my life anymore everything I try to take to get that control back is being undermined by them. I don't want to even wake up in the morning and face another day, just don't know how much more of this crap I can take, I break down for no reason so can't go out in public alone and I can't stand being like this it is not a life its an existence.

Well what a surprise conveniently they have lost the reports where you qualified. Similar happened to me on my tribunal appeal conveniently for them they lost my ESA50 and said it would have been available for the medical services at the time they failed me. There medical report actually showed that it had not been read or looked at. Luckily for me I had copied it before sending it off following advise from a friend. I would not worry about it though obtain and put in as much evidence as you can. I would also suggest to all of you that you automatically copy and keep anything that you send them, that way if they conveniently lose it as seems to be the case with anything that would support you then you will always have a copy if needed. Welfare rights submitted previous specialist medical reports as well as copy of my ESA50 and GP's report so would be a good idea to get copies of these and anything you may have that supports your case. Good luck with your appeal