Me too.

same... living with multiple invisible diseases

Sunshine Lindsay I'm so sorry to hear that. Sending you healing hugs 🤗 best wishes 😇🍀🦋🧚🏻‍♀️

Me Plife I'm so sorry to hear that. Sending you healing hugs 🤗 all the best 🧚🏻‍♀️🦋🍀

Me too

Samoyne AKA Pinkie Daniels Agree with you.. they should do a tally of how much money they spend a year. We should be able to see how much they spend where our money goes.. They get so much free stuff just because they run gov.

Plus all the money minor royals use on security and private jets like Prince Edward and princess Euginie. All from the tax pot.

Debra Vega Park

Politicians aren't inferior sub-humans like benefits claimants are.

On point!

And it all goes to France.

Yes. And it all goes back into government coffers - at least the corporation tax does. If the government aren't doing a fucking Starbucks on Atos too ....

Wealthy tax dodgers certainly cost much more , so does bombing innocent people in the middle-east .

@@DavidAndrewsPEC I bet the government have given them a big fat tax break!!

@@greenpedal370 Like they do with all their fucking friends.

The_Red_Queen nah ur just a lazy fuck who dosent wana go out and find the work

gta mods and more Rude.

gta mods and more ~ Or perhaps The_Red_Queen actually walks around with their eyes open and is aware of the very real situations people are dealing with. There was no mention that The_Red_Queen was out of work or struggling to find work or couldn't be bothered....most likely The_Red_Queen is simply not ignorant and holds compassion and respect for other people, especially those who are facing difficulties in daily life.

The tories cutbacks don't help though do they. Not to mention mass immigration. More people, less jobs.

I have only just noticed all of these replies. I’m self employed so not lazy or unwilling (and neither are most people who are unemployed, recent events ought to be evidence of this) but I am all too aware of how difficult it is in today’s climate to find work, and especially full time work with actual contracted hours.

And that have known them for a period of time instead of 20mins ._.

Bianca Bojer Christensen , agree. My specialist doctors wrote a 3 page essay about how my disability affects me, about the side effects of my medications, my history of my disability, references of other doctors that treated me, etc. I didn't expect the specialist doctors to write so much. They didn't write it all in one go. Because they had to contact other doctors.

Exactly! @ Bianca A shining example of how the government is involved in things they shouldn't be and don't need to be.....

Bianca Bojer Christensen A doctor does decide.

In Scotland (at least for me) thats how it works

I can sympathize. I’m trapped in a marriage I can’t leave because I’m unable to work and support my kids. Because I’ve been a stay at home mom, the government says I have not worked enough to collect disability.

@@sarahewson3607 if your trapped, go get help now because it will only get worse, you will be helped because you have dependants, honestly make an appointment with a Citizens Advice Bureau and take steps. Dont be afraid to break free dig deep n find the strength and courage, believe in yourself, all the best 👍

@@sarahewson3607 are you disabled though? If not you are not entitled to it.

almost all of them, actually. there are barely any cases of fakery statistically.

Even now, fraud isn't even 1%.

AGREED, SO IS IT FAIR JUST TO LET THE WORKSHY, LAZY, LEADSWINGING MINORITY HAVE THEIR LIVES AND HABITS FUNDED BY THE REST OF THE WORKING FOLKS?

well said

casperblackcat1975 so very true!

If you work but if you got very sick because of having a disability like he said you would get fired for calling in sick so many times.

True True

casperblackcat1975 p

I wish I could work. Before I had to give up I had 3 jobs earning 1500 a month now I'm on 250 a month. I miss my wages

Yeah..so true ..i will give my disability for free..I got paraplegia due to stroke..its suck just lay in bed everyday ..I WANNA GO OUT!!

You are condemned to a life of meagre to moderate financial support- whatever the state arbitrarily deems you are worth. I am fortunate and have managed to somehow live relatively comfortably. But I will always live in fear of some sort of scythe being swung and know I’ll struggle to ever be independent from state support.

even an 'invisible disability' that is well documented as being real can cause those kinds of thoughts. People simply don't believe what they can't see, yet they struggle with life altering difficulty, and the pain is very real.

Carol Hinse I don't even care about people faking disabilities to get benefits when there are people in the world with billions of pounds they got from exploiting people.

I have auditory processing issues which I don't know what I'd be diagnosed with. Trying to study just with one person talking in the room is impossible and everyday noise feels like torture, gives me anxiety attacks. And noise cancelling headphones don't work with talking so I listen to music and avoid people, will probably make myself deaf tbh and then happily learn british sign language.

THEN DEVISE A FOOLPROOF WAY OF BEING ABLE TO DIFFERENTUATE BETWEEN THE GENUINE CLAIMANTS AND THE REST OF THE 5CUM

Tahiti Baksh and give themselves massive rises

Tahiti Baksh yeah they always have plenty for that

If you want free money, you'll be told what to do not what you want to do.

Same. Read My ‘Story’ Below : TICCS is my local assessment centre, which I went to in November 2017, after 6-8 years without a medical assessment. They are just as bad as Atos. The letter came back saying I wasn’t entitled to PIP/DLA as I wasn’t disabled, they say, but the cover letter clearly stated I was disabled, but they then the points on the scoring table where totally different, most weren’t awarded that were disclosed in the cover letter. Even worse, the DWP doesn’t answer their appeals phone line, tried about 10 different times in the last 2 weeks, and on hold for over 20 minutes with no answer. It’s an absolute joke. Personally I don’t believe going to a tribunal should be needed, as the points awarded where clearly incorrect as the cover letter was contradictory.

And that's the way it should be, MD's are qualified and probably are the most unbiased regarding this decision. How can you trust the opinion of a government flunky. Most are lazy fools and essentially, they themselves, are on disability. It's called working for the government. LOL

I heard Holland has excellent pain care as well. America needs to watch and learn from Holland instead of pushing people off of their pain medications and sending them to the streets for relief.

@@Bluelilly40 Definitely ! I don’t know much about the system in Britain, but I guarantee America’s system is even worse. Only junkies, seem to have an easy go of it! They, turn down most people, out of hand.

You do need drs records in america

Paul Croft That's a shame.😒Sorry for your loss, Paul. Hugs.❤️

That's appalling - I'm very sorry to hear that, truly.

That's fucked! Sorry man 😘

Its not a few scammers.....its 50 percent

As they said here, it was something like 1%.

50 per cent

+be frank No, less than half of one percent. That's less than .5% not 50%. Pay attention.

just because it was on the tv, it doesn't mean that it's true. There are plenty of people on benefits that don't need to be - why would faking disability be exempt from that?

Clark Kent , it's not completely fair in Australia. Each state is slightly different. Also a person's disability determines how many hours they can work. Some people on disability still have to do volunteer work or attend programs on how to get a job when you have a disability. I know one guy paralysed on one side of his body. He had his disability pension stopped, because he stopped attending programs. He doesn't have a carer to help him. A church end up helping him get his disability pension back. It's common. There's so much red tape in the system, and some disabled people don't fit in a category. So they are put in areas of the system not suited for them.

Here in NZ, I have a family member who quit her job working as a case manager for work and income support, she said that it was stressing her out that the people up stairs were being hard on her for not trying to get people back into work.... She said that staff are given pay bonus packages for every client they get back in to work and off of the benefit...... She said it became so stressful for her that she ended up handing in her resignation and found another job.

good. it's time to stop catering to giant pussies

What part of mental illness didn't you read? MrLTiger - you're an absolute jerk. May life give you a good dose of what it's like to be disabled, and then we'll see if you're still singing the same tune.

gworf74 ', I had a Down syndrome guy sit next to me every day looking for a job. I sometimes had to help him, which was hard. Because I can't talk properly, and my hands shake. So communicating is sometimes a nightmare. He finally got a low paid job in a factory, putting jewellery in little bags. When I heard about him getting the job, I was happy for him. But I couldn't stop crying. It is such a simple job, yet I can't physically do it. After that day I started to have lots of panic attacks. I know how it feels to lose hope, and suddenly overwhelmed. I too hope that person you talk about is alright.

The role of jobcenter staff is to shut down a claim in any way possible. Once you make an agreement you have to stick rigidly to it. People can apply for 50 jobs a day and be sanctioned for failing to do an agreed task.

lymarie1974 many of them are not even medically qualified

It's obvious when someone is healthy enough to work and usually obvious when they are not. In Canada, you need a doctor to approve any disability. Leaving it up to some idiot government flunky to assess and decide your fate is just wrong.

I agree ive a illness that affects my brain and kidney disease but to them you are fine .

They can be, I don't know why the word of your own gp isn't good enough, they're not going to lie for people so why do you have to be further assessed by someone who isn't even medically qualified?

The pressure is put on the assessor too. That is why they check their legs and arms and give them 0 points and say they can work.

Pensions are NOT welfare - we were paying into a pension pot through National Insurance contributions - and now have been scammed out of that - men having to wait until 70 and women until 67 - shame on you for targeting people who have worked and paid into the pot

My husband and I between us worked 90 years paying National Insurance. My husband died at the age of 64, so never drew a pension. We didn't have tax credits, child allowance, minimum pay, living wage etc. I draw one pension, the other one just went into the pot., which went to pay for health cover for children, pensioners, people who could not work, people who would not work, etc. I think that people who say that pensioners are on welfare, don't know what they're talking about. If you pay on an insurance policy for over 45 years you expect it to pay out at the end.

@@christineaygin4330 I don't think the comment was intended to offend pensioners. What the poster means is that the welfare bill all comes out of the same pot, paid for by our NI contributions... which means that we *all* contribute, regardless of whether a taxpayer makes it all the way to retirement or whether their health gives out sooner. Pensions are classed as welfare in terms of calculating the total welfare bill and are included in national statistics as a form of welfare. It is just a label, nothing more, and it goes to prove that the majority of people claiming money from that pot are retirees and not the "lazy scroungers" that the govt likes to pretend are lurking around every corner. However, that feeling you felt of being targeted is a very real and unpleasant one. Please spare a thought for those who are being aggressively targeted in spite of *also* having worked their whole lives and now, after their health has gone south, are treated like the dregs of society. Nobody deserves that.

You are right except for the state pension bit. Only a portion of state pensions are allocated to people who have not paid any or enough NI contributions and can therefore be termed welfare. But the main point you made about the majority of disability benefits being made by truly disabled people is absolutely correct. The amount of money that’s fraudulently claimed is small comparatively. This Tory government absolutely demonised sick people as being a burden and that’s unforgivable. They’ve backed away from it a little recently but not to where you can say it’s a fair system.

@@christineaygin4330 There is no “pot”. Current pensioners have paid in (or at least those who worked) NI, which covered their entitlement to receive a pension in the future, which is then paid for by the current generation of taxpayers - who are also paying NI to qualify for future assistance. They don’t take everyone’s NI contributions and put it in a bank account ready for when you retire! So yes, you are still receiving payments from the welfare portion of the budget, whether it’s been anticipated or not.

Janette Rose they lack empathy.

purplesnails22 Sad very sad.

So sorry

I'm so sorry

Most disabilities are workman comps and their companies will hire a PI if they don't want to payout trying to catch that person doing something they shouldn't be...it's a sad deal for some as that can be so misleading. The Gov't doesn't fork out a dime for SS since the people are the ones who pay out of their income for it...if the Gov't says SS is running out, it's a lie, unless it's because they dipped into it and spent it....

SAD AND PATHETIC KNEE JERK REACTION...THEY ARE RESPONSIBLY GUARDING THE PUBLIC PURSE FROM LAZY, WORKSHY, SCROUNGERS...ARE YOU PERCHANCE IN THAT UNLOVED GROUP?

Its obviously how it affects her but most its sever pain and fatigue in the 3people i know with it.

Valerie Gordon it’s a debilitating condition.

@@hovismilan8679 one dr told me that dr's diagnose people with fibro just to discharge them, that most people don't take fibro seriously, I think I'd refuse a diagnose of fibro since I know why I'm in pain

I have fibro and I agree. It's an overload of nerve activity causing widespread and widely varied pain. I hope she got a better diagnosis, sounds like someone wanted to kick her out of office. Sound like a mixed connective tissue disorder or EDS?

My mum has fibromyalgia and never once dislocated a bone. That’s more EDS or osteoporosis

Well said iam having to appeal as my P.I.P. was pathetic scored no points and i have been diagnosed with muilipal seroilsis early stages after MRI SCAN these p.i.p. assessment forms are ridiculous as no face to face because of cornavirus so now have to wait upto a year and then my physical health will have deterated as my late mother died from M.S. so i will be in a wheelchair ♿️ as iam struggling now walking 🚶‍♂️ and cant cycle anymore which is devastating my mental health is very low now and on medication iam dreading what will happen 😢

@@matthewbritton4149 I am sorry about that. The only silver lining about no face to face due to corona is that there’s a higher chance of winning the appeal. Something to do with they can’t fail you if they can’t see you. The waiting game will be a pain in the butt but try to distract yourself as best you can. Do you have absolutely anybody to confide in near to you - friends, family, neighbours? Someone who can help you fill in forms or take you to citizens advice bureau so they can help you? Not sure what your gp surgery is like but shockingly my one actually has a doctor who also helps you fill in your forms, problem is (understandably) that you’ll have to wait a few weeks in advance until you can see them. And they have a system now where you can just arrange for a sick note online and simply pick it up. I’m shocked but like I said every cloud. Come here to talk to me as often as you want, I don’t want you feeling down even though I can understand completely why your mental health is so low right now. Keep going though mate, you’ve got this. This is just your horrible challenge for this year but next year will be a better year for you. Stay strong, I hope this message was of some comfort to you. 🙏

Problem is there r very few medically trained people doing the assessments. I saw a doc once. Other 6medicals i had were just office workers taught what buzz words to listen for. Luckily i have medical evidence to back up my claims as back pain doesnt get u very far. Because i have mri scans proving my damage i only lost my money once and at tribunal i was given it back in 3mins! Lol! They looked at my medical proof (was a doc a lawyer and a social worker on my panel) the doc said i was on more pain relief than a cancer patient so how on earth can i be refused? And i was stuck in a wheelchair. Im so grateful that after that i have no problems moving from dla to pip but having to have 2-3yrly medicals is stressful when my condition is only getting worse!

@@janetothen2583 our own des are the ones fit to say who can work

@@janetothen2583 I guarantee that the assessors are not 'office workers taught buzz words'. All assessors are either qualified and registered doctors, nurses, physiotherapists or OTs with at least 2 years post reg experience and have to maintain their registration throughout their employment. These are the minimum requirements to be approved.

@@PaddyInf the ones that physically assess u mostly r but not all. I havent seen one with a medical back ground in 5yrs now. My mil saw a part time paramedic and he passed her, he came back for her hubby and as he was stupid enough to go out and garden, he was failed when it was his turn by same guy. I get assessed by either pip or esa most yrs (or both) and less and less medical staff will do it so they literally give office staff sheets of words and phrases to listen for and questions to ask. Then some one later looks it over who is medically qualified but doesnt see u so either has to call u to clarify an answer (happened to me 3times now) or they just ignore and carry on. I used to help people apply for a charity aswell and i know very well how the system works.

@@janetothen2583 With ESA your questionnaire and any other submitted evidence is looked at by a file work trained HCP (known as a paper based assessment) to determine if a recommendation can be made without a face to face interview, if GPs need to be contacted etc. These are HCPs who carry out face to face assessments and have done additional PBA training. If a decision cannot be made at that stage, you are called for assessment. I don't know about Capita, but I can guarantee that CHDA don't have any paramedics working for them. There are a very small number of OTs. All others are nurses, physios or doctors. As I stated earlier the minimum requirement is at least 2 years post reg experience and be currently registered with the GMC, NMC or HCPC. This is mandated by legislation. All assessors are checked and approved by the office of the Secretary for Work and Pensions. Take a look at your assessment print out and it will state the HCPs profession by their name (Registered Nurse/physiotherapist/Registered Medical Practitioner). This is available on request from the DWP. This is all in the public domain, and you can check what part of the registers they are on by looking at the NMC/GMC web sites. There are no assessors who do not hold an in date registration, and the companies are required to check this yearly. Which assessment centre do you attend for assessment? Is it Capita or CHDA?

Allan Hill You're completely right. A friend of mine was assessed by a midwife for mental health problems. Which is crazy. An assessor can be paid £6,300 a month! A damn sight more than they would be paid if they worked for the NHS. I had an assessment this morning. They wanted me to do very basic questions. What was 100-75. What month and year are we in? Who's the Queen? I have a lot of cognitive problems but I know that! I might have number dyslexia but I can subtract 7 from 100. It's the bigger things that I have a problem with. Which they would know if they had bothered to look at my notes and evidence. I might have been able to do some of the very simple movements she asked me to do but now I feel like I've run a marathon and I'm in agony - so much so that 20mg of oxycodone (equal to 40mg of morphine),5mg of baclofen (a muscle relaxant) and 30mg of dihydrocodeine (which is equal to 15mg of morphine) has not touched it. I may end up having to go to hospital if it continues to get worse. That happens every few weeks unfortunately. But I bet they'll say either I'm fit to work, or that I only need standard care and mobility (rather than the enhanced rate for both which I am clearly entitled to). There's clearly something very wrong with the current system when I see people who are very very ill who are denied PIP yet I also see people who are fully able to work and who are fraudulently claiming yet they get it first time! I don't know why they felt I warranted a face to face assessment- you would have thought over 100 pages of evidence would be enough for them!

Mattibald Arch The mental health issues would need to be quite bad to make someone unfit for work. But I agree, not all disability are physical.

Excuses excuses excuses!

exactly my dad worked his ass off undiagnosed bipolar 1 disoreder was a subcontactor,musician,went through a lot of tough times. He was diagnosed in hi 40s and is now 66..he took the meds and was my dad again that I had before his illness cycled and worsened and he was told after spending 3 months in a hospital (he wa stronger and faster than 20 something year olds)he stopped his meds and then ended up almost liver transplant tried to overdose a few times,didn't remember and he married a girlfriend and annulled a month later..He didn't believe back then he had bipolar..The dr said time to toss the time clock card..he worked his way up to an estimator for a lumber company..he finally applied at 50 ears old and got disability 2 years later..yes you are right and pretty soon..This is awesome..Pet scans will be able to show the abnormalities in the brain structures bipolar brains ptsd brains look different than healthy subjects..so soon they will be able to tell who fakes it and who doesn't ...

BBC , very low standard of journalism , on a par with Fox news these days , once respected all over the world .

Utter nonsense.

babe bunyan nah, it’s the government who do that by pitting people against each other!

I know. Just had to fill in a reassessment form myself. Am terrified they will reduce my PIP even though my condition has progressed. I'm 'living off' PIP rather than using it for it's intended purpose as an allowance to cover the additional cost of having disabilities, as I don't qualify for ESA due to the 2 year NI contributions rule. Luck to us all x

Twice I have had ATOS employees lie about what I've said on their reports. It's disgusting.

hmm

Fibromyalgia is a catch all name for disabilities and health issues that don't fit within a specific and readily diagnosed syndrome, such as multiple sclerosis or SLE (lupus). It doesn't mean it's not a serious disorder but it is very difficult to define it. One big problem is that it can vary significantly from day-to-day.

AA Amyloidosis perchance?

I javw fibromyalgia. It haa nothing to do with the joints really. .. another fibro sufferer I know describes it as "arthritis of the nerves" as it affects the body's interpretation and ability to cope with pain.

Ambyr Miller many who have fibromyalgia have hypermobilty as another related illness I know I have it

It's true that fibro is fairly common amongst those with EDS, and many have a dual diagnosis - but they are also two very different conditions, which affect patients in different ways, and this should be taken into account by the DWP (but in many cases, it isn't).

Welsh Hottie TICCS is my local assessment centre, which I went to in November 2017, after 6-8 years without a medical assessment. They are just as bad. The letter came back saying I wasn’t entitled to PIP/DLA as I wasn’t disabled, they say, but the cover letter clearly stated I was disabled, but they then the points on the scoring table where totally different, most weren’t awarded that were disclosed in the cover letter. Even worse, the DWP doesn’t answer their appeals phone line, tried about 10 different times in the last 2 weeks, and on hold for over 20 minutes with no answer. It’s an absolute joke. Personally I don’t believe going to a tribunal should be needed, as the points awarded where clearly incorrect as the cover letter was contradictory.

Charlie B yes but they are still operating and with two names as well as the old one

That is just the thing. They want them to die.

Sorry to hear about your awful experience. It's a simple box ticking exercise to them with no regard for the human being. So corrupt!

Yes. Then the scheme was scrapped and the disabled people on it were thrown on the scrap heap.

and many won't

Funny how the Poles,Latvians and Ukrainians keep finding them then innit?

jcbairmaster73 They live 20 to a house and send most of the money home.In latvia your £ buys you ten times or more what it could ever do in the UK.So their laughing,they do 6 months at a time on minimum wage (Paying no tax or NI) and within three years they have paid for their 3 bed detached latvian home on 5 acres of land while also supporting the other three+ members of their family.A single person on minimum wage in the UK can't even afford a bedsit.

thats what i keep saying its obvious but people dont want to know

Given to cheap imported labour, or off-shored to India, and the Philippines.

John O'Connell eastern Europeans seem to be working for a pittance. Govt maybe needs to monitor these employees who are filling the jobs with underpaying folk.

Are you sure about that? www.ehlers-danlos.org/information/fibromyalgia-and-chronic-fatigue/

Paranormal Dissonance ehlers danlos is completely separate from fibromyalgia. You can have either one without the other. I have fibromyalgia but I don’t have Ehlers danlos syndrome. That girl likely has both conditions which is common but the fibromyalgia itself does not cause anything to happen to joints other than pain. A marker for EDS is having very flexible joints, like being double jointed, people with EDS can bend their pinkies right back without issue. But I’ve not heard of it actually causing the joints to dislocate. That girl likely doesn’t understand her diagnosis and couldn’t explain to the producer what it actually was.

@@gretahunt4401 Read the article!

In fact go and read some more studies on Google. You not having heard of it doesn't mean it isn't a part of the illness, you've fallen into the same hole the OP did.

Paranormal Dissonance theres nothing in the article that I don’t already know. It also didn’t talk about dislocating joints at all. It talked about hypermobility which is what I said about joints being able to extend further than normal, like when people say they’re double jointed. This is something associated with Ehlers Danlos but is not confined to only people with Ehlers Danlos. Hypermobility and dislocating joints are not the same thing. And Ehlers Danlos and fibromyalgia are not the same thing either, they are separate illnesses that often occur together, that’s all. I have fibromyalgia and I have hypermobility in my shoulders and elbows but I do not have Ehlers Danlos syndrome. My shoulders and elbows don’t regularly dislocate because of the hypermobility. And I know a lot about fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. And in fact that article is outdated, medical views of fibromyalgia change a lot as more is understood about it. And not a single article or video I’ve ever watched in the 10yrs I’ve had fibromyalgia, has ever mentioned dislocating joints as a common attribute of fibromyalgia. And it’s certainly not a main feature of either illness.

I also have Fibromyalgia and it is usually a secondary condition to a more serious disease, also have severe spinal degenerative condition throughout cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. I have it along with approx 4 other autoimmune disorders and now it can actually be medically proven by symptoms, blood tests and other pointers. I so wish people wouldn't judge.

jane Foster Omg I've read all these comments we should start a group. E/D, Fibro, Spinal conditions, (I have facette cond) RH, Depresion, irritable bowel, most seem to go together, I've been diagnosed w lupus, & ankylosing spondylitis. Go to another doctor they get mad at ME tell me what makes me think I have those. Im carrying around my charts. Doctors become resentful when you know to much. I've tried to kill myself because of the pain, but I'm evidently indestructible.

Raven Fox exactly. She clearly has EDS type 3 and has been misdiagnosed. I have EDS III and I know it when I see it! Many people are diagnosed with CFS as well when it's actually POTS! I was diagnosed with CFS and they told me the fainting and palpitations where due to the CFS and hypotension. Four years later and they've finally agreed it's POTS. Makes me wonder if I ever had CFS in the first place! It's clearly laziness on the part of doctors who seem unwilling to run tests of any sort to ensure the diagnosis is correct.

Marnie Dickson What is POTS?

Laura Todd POTS stands for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. It's a form of dysautonomia (failing of the autonomic nervous system). When people stand up, their blood pressure drops slightly and your heart rate increases slightly to account for it. It corrects itself in a few seconds. With pots, your heart rate increases and keeps increasing as long as you're standing. Your blood pressure may also drop, but not always. The increasing heart rate causes dizziness, chest pain, exhaustion, blood pooling in the lower extremities and fainting. It can be controlled to a certain extent by medication to lower the heart rate such as ivabradine, increased salt in the diet, increased fluid intake and pressure stockings. It usually affects those with EDS. Gastroparesis is also common with EDS. Hope that helps!