My husband at 55 has just been diagnosed with young onset dementia, he has £52k in unsecured debt in a DMP and we have mortgage arrears I have been managing for several years as he was being treated for anxiety and depression, I assume caused by the mis-management of our family finances ( a seperate issue), something that only came to light after he was made redundant in 2012. My question is how to move forward - I am unable to pay these debts (in his name) as I only work part time and have no idea how much longer I will be able to do this with his diagnosis and need for care and he has not been able to claim benefits during most of this period as the dwp declared him fit to work twice - he received esa for the assessment phase and despite support from GP he was declared fit to work. when he applied a second time he was advised he did not have enough contributions - vicious circle. I have much to deal with moving forward but would appreciate advice on the debt above- unsecured. I have spoken to the debt management company who advised I should contact the debtors myself. I am in the process of obtaining an LPA financial.

Hiya back again.... My daughter has Anorexia Nervosa and Depression. She isn't in full time education as she has become too weak to do any work. She's 17 and weighs around 39kg (that's a bit over 6 stone). I wanted to apply for Personal Independent Payment. She's had difficulties with her eating since she was about 9, but in the past 18 months - 2 years she now has severe Anorexia Nervosa and we are waiting to see if she is going to be hospitalized. Would she be able to get P.I.P? I mean, does her diagnosis warrant P.I.P? It is a nightmare. Trying to buy the right sort of foods that she will eat, throwing food away or just not being able to get her to eat at all. She might fancy a takeaway and I jump at it, just so she eats something. The thing is, she had to leave college, she was too exhausted to attend and couldn't concentrate. I've been told by child tax credit that even though she intends to return to education in September, they only allow 3-6 months for illness and as its 7 months to September, she no longer qualifies for Child Tax Credit or probably Child Benefit. This means I have to support her on my DLA and ESA. Not that I mind, but what could be worse for the benefit system to do? Take away the money that pays for the food that she needs to get well again,....... WTG Guys!!! Sorry I'm ranting again lol Believe it or not, my actual question is, is Anorexia Nervosa and Depression are they a meritable reason to claim PIP??? Anyone got any ideas, please share Cheers :o)

Hi I wonder if some one can help advise me on what I should do about this. Six months ago my OH went to our GP as he was suffering from stomach pains, weight loss and passing blood. The GP told him to have a blood test and do a stool sample and that he wanted to referrer him to the specialist as soon as possible. He gave him some medication to help settle the stomach. My OH had the blood test and stool sample and took the medication. His stomach seemed to calm down and we heard nothing back so presumed the tests came back fine. 4 months later we receive a letter from the hospital with an appointment to see the specialist so my OH attends. The specialist was very concerned and urgently booked him in for a endoscopy and gastroscopy. When the specialist asked how long he had been experiencing these symptoms my OH told him he went to the gp 4 months ago. The specialist was shocked as they had only recieved the referral 3 weeks prior to this appointment and he said he should have seen him no later than 3 weeks after the GP appointment. The endoscopy showed a large stomach ulcer and my OH was given more medication for it but they had also taken biopsies. On Monday my Husband received a call from the hospital giving him an appointment to see the specialist which was today (yesterday actually now) The biopsies have shown that he does have stomach cancer and now has to have his whole stomach removed. The original GP appointment was around 6 months ago. I really feel that had he been referred immediatly like he was supposed to the diagnosis wouldn't have been as severe. To top it off my OH went to this same GP surgery not long ago with a chest infection only to find out that 3 years ago they diagnosed him with COPD which they failed to tell him of or to register it on his file. I feel so let down by our GP. My OH has always been in fairly good health since we have been together 13 years. We don't often visit the doctor maybe once or twice a year have never needed to but this year when my OH's health took a sudden turn we needed them to be there to do their job and it would appear they did not, resulting in a devastating and life changing diagnosis. Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, it has been a very emotional and stressful day.

I today went to see the mental health team regarding my stress and anxiety. The guy i spoke to said i probably have health and social anxiety and could probably do CBT therapy to help. Will i get a letter from them showing my diagnosis??? Because i will need this for my ESA appeal.

I have a 13 year old crossbread who I love dearly. on the outer ankle area of his left front leg he has what looks to me like an injury which has become infected. We took him to the vets yesterday, not had to bother taking him to the vets much as he is a really healthy dog so dont really have a relationship with a vet as such and I am quite upset and concerned by her diagnosis. Upon looking at the wound, which to be fair is quite grotesque, she immediately said that it is a huge mass and a tumour and needs to be surgically removed and that is what the foul smell coming from him was. This last point made my husband cross as the fould smell was his breath due to him licking this infection/abscess and annoyed him that she couldnt tell the difference. She cleaned the wound, gave him a lampshade to stop him licking it as this is making it worse, and some antibiotics and pain relief. She also quoted surgery at £650-£700. I told her that due to his age and cost I was unsure if this is something we would want to do and she just told me that we had to hope that it would heal then. Also that it could take weeks or months to fully heal. I feel in limbo as we have no idea what not operating would mean, it seems to us that she has implied we put him to sleep, but he is not in pain and apart from this is very health. We are following the treatment, cleaning 2 x daily and his meds, but after already paying £77 to her am a bit wary about taking him back on Monday as tbh I dont have much faith in her. Does anyone know if a person not on benefits could get help with a vets bill or would I be screwed???

Diagnosed with Autism in May last year and was told there's probably a local support group. Got contact for that and do sometimes attend. It was made clear to me from the first time I contacted the lady who leads this group, that it's not a substitute for counselling, etc. I discovered in July that I'd been discharged from CMHT and was basically left to deal with everything by myself. I was told to get an assessment from social services. Done that, but the lady I'm with (not my social worker) is obsessed with getting me back into work, (despite ATOS / DWP placing me in the support group of ESA) Actually, it generally seems that there's an obsession with getting Autistic people back to work; but no-one will offer support with things like relationships and communicating. I received a letter this morning from PALS regarding my complaint and they claim that they've signposted me to support. What flipping support? It was clear during my assessment (both times - it was done in two parts) that I have issues with communicating and generally making myself understood. I've been offered no support with that and I've been offered no support (nor been told where I can get support) for my issues with relationships.

Please excuse if this is a stupid question, I do have my moments. I am still on the old incapacity benefit, expecting the transition in the next couple of months or so. I have recently had a diagnosis of two other "new" conditions/illnesses, which affect my day in different ways to illnesses which I already have, so no overlapping symptoms if you see what I mean. Am wondering whether I should let the dwp know about these recent diagnosis's, if its classed as a change in any way? or just sit tight and add them on to any form I get when the transition happens?......

Hi, A while ago I attended my GP because I was ill. They did numerous blood tests and said I was fine. I kept getting worse and going back, which only seemed to convince the GP that there was nothing wrong with me and that I was some kind of malingerer. I am self employed and was too ill to work so I asked, several times, to be signed off sick and he refused. A little less than a year passed from my first attendance and it was discovered that someone had overlooked a blood test I'd had when I first went that proved I was indeed ill. I then went to another GP and explained the problems I'd had and she agreed that I must have been unfit for work during the time the blood test had been overlooked and signed me a backdated sick note for that period. Obviously during that time, because I'd had no option, I'd still been registered as self employed even though I'd hardly been able to earn anything. Now I am being told that the sick note isn't really worth anything. That I can't claim backdated benefits even though I should have been entitled to them at the time due to my GPs oversight and in reality I was very sick indeed. Can anyone shed any light on where I could get the correct advice or help - solicitors are no good, they are only interested in 'causation' not negligence.

So, there are no services for diagnosing adults with Autism in my area. The closest we can get to that is screening, which I've had done and quite frankly, it was a waste of time. I was told nothing that I didn't already know. First GP told me I don't need a diagnosis. Second GP doesn't know what to do with me. Originally, he referred me to CMHT and I ended up with huge problems due to the way I was treated and the refusal to give me anything other than a confirmation that there's a high chance I'm on the spectrum somewhere. When I saw him the second time, he said that he'll talk to the childrens service at the local develop centre. I have received a letter from my GP basically telling me there's nothing he can do to help me. CMHT just discharged me, (which I found out 3 months after they discharged me) and have left me with no support at all. They said I can go to social services (whose budget is being cut) and there's a local group I can attend. But the local group isn't a substitute for services that NHS are meant to provide. They can't provide things like counselling, a diagnosis and the other support that I may need. Will NHS pay for a private diagnosis? I can't afford it myself and there's no help from the psychiatrist for this. The closest centre on the NHS is Southampton. I'm in Plymouth. I'm not even sure if I can get referred there. The Autism Act says that a diagnosis must be provided; but there are no services in Devon for Adults. University won't help because it's medical and not an educational need. It's because of the lack of diagnosis and support that I've struggled with my education.

Do NHS recognise diagnoses done privately as valid, please? My GP won't refer me and the services for adults in my area is non-existent. If I need the assessment doing, I need a referral to a centre some 200 miles away. I've had the screening done; but from experience, that means absolutely nothing. GP says she won't refer because I've already been diagnosed - I haven't. I've been told I may have it. I also have no evidence at all of my diagnosis; so I can't get my disabled students allowance, etc sorted.