ESA Medical monday 08/08/11

[Horus1]

hi i have been "invited" to the ESA medical on this coming monday, 08/08/11, i have suffered for many years now with 3 prolapsed discs in my spine, and i also suffer quite badly with anxiety and depression, i have epidural injections every 3 months and ive been on anti depressants for a few years now, petrified of the medical and all the bad things that come after, can anyone give me any pointers for monday please???

 

much obliged!!

 

Horus

[honeybee13]

Hello there, welcome to CAG.

 

Have a look at the forum stickies, particularly the one by leemack about the Atos 'medical'. To find the stickies, go out of this thread using the back arrow and scroll up to the greeny-yellow section of the page, which is where the stickies are.

 

My best, HB

[Horus1]

hi i have been "invited" to a medical interrogation on monday with an atos doctor, i am 40 yrs old i have been suffering acute sciatica and depression for many years, walking sitting and lying down are painful 24/7, and i get serious attacks of anxiety when im outside my home, my doctor gives me epidural injections every 3 months and i have been on anti depressants for a number of years now, can anyone give me any pointers for the medical on monday please??

 

much obliged

[honeybee13]

Hello again. Here's a link to the reply I wrote to your last post. HB

 

ttp://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?249939-ESA-Medical(1-Viewing)-nbsp

[IdaInFife]

posts merged

[tidon]

hi i have been "invited" to the ESA medical on this coming monday, 08/08/11, i have suffered for many years now with 3 prolapsed discs in my spine, and i also suffer quite badly with anxiety and depression, i have epidural injections every 3 months and ive been on anti depressants for a few years now, petrified of the medical and all the bad things that come after, can anyone give me any pointers for monday please???

 

much obliged!!

 

Horus

Dont be forced into bending, squatting or doing any of the exercises the medical officer wants you to do as the extreme pain you are already suffering will just make is worser. Take your time and dont rush, even if it takes you 5 minutes to walk from the waiting room to the exam room and make sure you have your walking stick with you at all times as like you already know that you need that to help you sit and rise from a chair also you wont be able to sit in them chairs for more than 5 minutes without been very uncomfortable with the pain.

And dont forget to take your medication just in case you might have a panic attack with the stress and anxiety of the medical..!

good luck..

[Dilizjo]

Hi, Do read Leemacks sticky there is great advice in there. From personal experience try and take someone with you who you trust and who can interupt if needed when you fail to mention something, beacause if you are anything like me I do underestimate the affects of my condition, and they do act as a witness to what is said and requested. Do not under any circumstances be taken in by the firendliness of the Assessor, this is a show they put on to get answers to some of their questions.... i:e Do you have a pet? if you answer yes you are then deemed competant to plan and execute the care that the pet you have needs therefore are fit for work, so if you have a pet and answer yes make sure you also let them know that you are not able to personally able to take the responsibility of all the Dog's (in my case) needs, such as walks etc....... A lot of their questions are yes/no answers on their comp and a lot of the time they do not inform of any extra verbal evidence you give them. If they ask you to do things that you know are going to cause you great discomfort let them know that you do not wish to do them. Again if they offer help for you to get onto the couch accept it, I didn't cos "Miss independant" was in play:( and it was noticed that I managed to get on without any assistance not that she witnessed the method and time I used. I could open a door using a door handle, yes I can, well theirs I could but it was the way I managed to do it again and the time and effort taken to accomplish this. She also mentioned I carried a medium sized handbag, yes I did but it was nearly empty, very light and I carried it on my forearm not in the grip of my hands. Simple questions such as hobbies, I did say that my main one which was Dressmaking I could no longer do due to pain and discomfort, this was omitted from the report and she added that I did do jigsaws for 2 hours at a time, what she failed to put in that these jigsaws were done with my grand daughters and were big pieces and if I couldn't move them my grand daughters did...... I could go on but I'll get boring...

The idea of me writing this is just to make you aware of what they implimented in my case to get a lower score and deem me fit for work.

On the up side of my case I was told the result over the phone that I had been given 6 points only, which was for walking. I asked for a ring back from a Decision maker, which I got and she went through the report with me and for every point such as the jigsaw issue I told her what I had told the assessor and by doing this and filling in the gaps the assessor had failed to put in or lied about, I was advised to download an appeal form and get it in asap, I also requested a copy of the report. I posted the appeal the same day and recieved the report within 2 days, I went through it with a fine tooth comb and it is unbelievable the fiction it contained, even the medication doseage was noted wrongly. Two weeks later the same decision maker contacted me again via phone and asked a few more questions after my answers she told me there and then the decision was being overturned and I would be put into a WRAG group. So there is light at the end of some of the tunnels.

Will be thinking of you on Monday and hope all goes well. Take care

[Horus1]

thank you all for your time and replies, zero hour has arrived

[tidon]

thank you all for your time and replies, zero hour has arrived

Good luck.. !

[honeybee13]

Fingers crossed for you. Please come back and tell us how you got on when you're not too tired.

 

HB x

[Dilizjo]

Hope all is going well)

[Horus1]

Well im back from my ESA interrogation, i think it went ok, (obvoiusly i wont know for a week or 2) , it was with a woman, (not 2 people as i had expected?) i did notice though that she didnt ask me the questions as they were written in the online version of the test you can take (edit) , she did say she thinks it will be ok, but i may have to attend a couple of work related interviews?????,

 

i did warn her that i was very anxious and that there was a risk i may vomit, she asked me if i use my walking stick indoors or just use the furniture to get around, ....of course i use my stick indoors.

 

still very nervous, i certainly do not want to attend any work related appointments???, but lets see, will keep u posted, thanks again everyone for your support and replies.

 

love and freedom

 

Horus

Edited August 11, 2011 by ErikaPNP
unauthorised link removed

[Horus1]

well i had my medical and was awarded 15 points and placed in the work related activity group, i appealed with a superb letter my friend helped my write explaining that i can and do lose control of my bladder when under increased stress and anxiety, and having to attend interviews would certainly increase my anxiety and stress levels, they refused the revue and i am now awaiting a tribunal date, this is just bullying to keep people living in fear, they know full well how my medical condition affects me and still the DEPARTMENT FOR WAR ON PENSIONS does not give up its war on the sick and disabled, what a disgusting and vile government we are ruled by!!

[rainbo]

well i had my medical and was awarded 15 points and placed in the work related activity group, i appealed with a superb letter my friend helped my write explaining that i can and do lose control of my bladder when under increased stress and anxiety, and having to attend interviews would certainly increase my anxiety and stress levels, they refused the revue and i am now awaiting a tribunal date, this is just bullying to keep people living in fear, they know full well how my medical condition affects me and still the DEPARTMENT FOR WAR ON PENSIONS does not give up its war on the sick and disabled, what a disgusting and vile government we are ruled by!!

 

APPARANTLY there are ONLY 2 groups - 1)Work Related Activity Group, and 2) Support Group. I have been told by DWP, ATOS and Job Centre that you ONLY get put in the "Support" group if you have 6 months or less to live. So if this is true across the country, WRAG *is* the only group you could have been placed in.

 

Please try not to worry too much, they CANNOT force you into work or training, and if you have such stress-related problems you can (or should be able to) phone in advance to ensure a private interview room each time you are requested to attend. Make sure you get the name of the person you will be seeing, take someone with you on the day, and be prepared to walk out immediately if you get there and they refuse your previously-arranged requests.

 

Keep us updated!

[Horus1]

APPARANTLY there are ONLY 2 groups - 1)Work Related Activity Group, and 2) Support Group. I have been told by DWP, ATOS and Job Centre that you ONLY get put in the "Support" group if you have 6 months or less to live. So if this is true across the country, WRAG *is* the only group you could have been placed in.

 

Please try not to worry too much, they CANNOT force you into work or training, and if you have such stress-related problems you can (or should be able to) phone in advance to ensure a private interview room each time you are requested to attend. Make sure you get the name of the person you will be seeing, take someone with you on the day, and be prepared to walk out immediately if you get there and they refuse your previously-arranged requests.

 

Keep us updated!

 

Thank you very much for the info!

[sparky514]

APPARANTLY there are ONLY 2 groups - 1)Work Related Activity Group, and 2) Support Group. I have been told by DWP, ATOS and Job Centre that you ONLY get put in the "Support" group if you have 6 months or less to live. So if this is true across the country, WRAG *is* the only group you could have been placed in.

 

Please try not to worry too much, they CANNOT force you into work or training, and if you have such stress-related problems you can (or should be able to) phone in advance to ensure a private interview room each time you are requested to attend. Make sure you get the name of the person you will be seeing, take someone with you on the day, and be prepared to walk out immediately if you get there and they refuse your previously-arranged requests.

 

Keep us updated!

 

Hi, I am in the support group, and I certainly have more that 6 months to live, so whoever told you this is not telling the truth, the support group is for people who have more severe problems, than those that are put in the WRAG, if you think you should be in the support group, then you must appeal, you will need a GL24 form, and have 1 month from the date they told you what group you where put in. You must also get as much evidence as you can, from your GP or any consultants that you see. Please let us all know how you get on, there are loads of lovely people on here that can give you good advice.

 

Please read Leemacks sticky at the top of this forum.

 

Good luck x

[Horus1]

i already appealed sparky and they refused the revision and now they told me to wait for a tribunal date, i suffer acute sciatica, i cannot put my own socks on and severe depression, i also on occasion when i have anxiety attacks wet myself in public, and still the bullying continues....

[sparky514]

Glad to hear that you have appealed, while you are waiting for your appeal date now is the time to gather as much evidence as you can for the tribunal, I would be better to send it before the date, so the board have a chance to read everything beforehand, always remember to keep copies of everything you send, a good letter from your GP will help. Also remember to put your name and national insurance number on any paperwork you send.

 

You will also get a copy of the medical you attended, you must go through this. Also use Leemacks sticky in the sticky area at the beg. of this forum, that will help you a lot.

 

good luck and keep us upto date.

 

Sparky x

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

I think it's more the other sticky you need, for appeals and tribunals. Leemack's sticky is about filling in the ESA50.

 

My best, HB

[sparky514]

Sorry HB, I meant yours lol

[45002]

APPARANTLY there are ONLY 2 groups - 1)Work Related Activity Group, and 2) Support Group. I have been told by DWP, ATOS and Job Centre that you ONLY get put in the "Support" group if you have 6 months or less to live. So if this is true across the country, WRAG *is* the only group you could have been placed in.

 

Please try not to worry too much, they CANNOT force you into work or training, and if you have such stress-related problems you can (or should be able to) phone in advance to ensure a private interview room each time you are requested to attend. Make sure you get the name of the person you will be seeing, take someone with you on the day, and be prepared to walk out immediately if you get there and they refuse your previously-arranged requests.

 

Keep us updated!

 

That is simple not true,there are a few people in the support group posting on the forum and are Not terminally ill........

 

It's scare tactics by DWP, ATOS and Job Centre..

[rainbo]

Hi, I am in the support group, and I certainly have more that 6 months to live, so whoever told you this is not telling the truth, the support group is for people who have more severe problems, than those that are put in the WRAG, if you think you should be in the support group, then you must appeal, you will need a GL24 form, and have 1 month from the date they told you what group you where put in. You must also get as much evidence as you can, from your GP or any consultants that you see. Please let us all know how you get on, there are loads of lovely people on here that can give you good advice.

 

Please read Leemacks sticky at the top of this forum.

 

Good luck x

 

GGRR! Then they've been feeding me flannel! When my ex-husband was put into the WRAG, I phoned DWP, ATOS and Job Centre to query this (there's no way he can cope in an activity "group") and was told that the "Support" group is only for people who are terminally ill, or with less than 6 months to live! Even when he was interviewed at the Job Centre, his advisor said the same thing!

 

OHH I'm so mad now! It's too late to appeal this, going to have to wait until he fails the next medical now!

 

Sorry I gave the wrong advice everyone, I didn't imagine I had been lied to across the whole system!!

Edited February 23, 2012 by rainbo

[Horus1]

I got the formal scare letter today asking me if i want to continue with my appeal and if so i have to tell them so they can arrange a date!!

[BritBrat]

GGRR! Then they've been feeding me flannel! When my ex-husband was put into the WRAG, I phoned DWP, ATOS and Job Centre to query this (there's no way he can cope in an activity "group") and was told that the "Support" group is only for people who are terminally ill, or with less than 6 months to live! Even when he was interviewed at the Job Centre, his advisor said the same thing!

 

OHH I'm so mad now! It's too late to appeal this, going to have to wait until he fails the next medical now!

 

Sorry I gave the wrong advice everyone, I didn't imagine I had been lied to across the whole system!!

 

Maybe you should contact your MP as they do say they record the conversations. You could ask for a copy of the recording but I don't know if you would get it.

 

Being given false information it totaly wrong.