Suffering with depression, on tablets seeing the doctor once a month have been called for an ESA assessment l don't know how to handle this, l cannot sleep anyone help me.

Hi everyone, I've been on ESA in the Support Group for the past 2 years and today i received a capability for work questionnaire through the most that has to be returned within a month. I am just wondering how long after you send the questionnaire back do you hear back from them with a possible face to face assessment date and do you still receive your normal payments while this process is going on?

hi . I was already a member on here with previous posts but my email pass isnt recognised . im currently on esa without an assesment , i have been on it some time before it was even esa (forgot what it was) my doctor advised me to try to claim pip due to the multiple illnesses and problems i have with mobility and the other one (care bit ) excuse me i have a terrible memory her words were under no circumstances do you go out alone or bath alone and for gods sake keep away from the kitchen (lovely doc but has emmigrated to warmer climate now) i have had 3 major heart attacks in 2 years (44 years old now) , have heart disease , familial hypercholesterolemia, epilepsy (tonic clonic and complex partial ) unstable angina , and severe asthma . all within just over 2 years , plus ongoing sciatica due to herniated disks in lower back (had injections but wont operate due to heart problems) also have limited mobility in right leg from a 100ft fall some years ago that left me with 7 breaks in 1 leg and about an inch movement in my right ankle at most . ive tried to read some of the reports about the underhand tactics they use to down play your health and what you are capable of doing . im on 19 different medications a day ,that total 1200 tablets a month . over 500 of these are for pain alone . as one of my main pain relievers had to be stopped due to no1 side effect being heart failure . im not expecting the world but had little proof to supply as my last esa assement was in late due to been in hospital so my wife posted all the original letters which they have not sent back even though requested. (saying that i read they dont even consider these) they dont consider pain relief either (but 2 of my pain relievers are 30mg codiene 8x day and 8 diazepam a day .) i have loads of mini seizures a day most of which i dont even know ive had ,observed by other people . cannot walk far always have to use a crutch and can be out of breath by the time i get to the loo .2x5 stairs with landing in between , i have unstable angina and can have an attack just laid watching tv , my last heart attack was as they said brought on by a grand mal seizure ,in which i literally was absolutely terrified incase i have another linked event. im under 3 heart specialists and 2 neurologists all at 3 different hospitals . meds dont work for the seizures and i have no prior warning of one large one or the many clusters i have a day . can anyone suggest how i approach this home visit . plus i know esa and pip are unrelated but surely they collaberate findings . so if you get a low pip score i guess you will soon get a new esa assesment through the post . im not that worried ,its more the injustice they do and i hear they treat you like your dumb whilst all the time are plotting there little outcome against you . thanks for listening and any advice welcome meeting is friday morn , but sometimes i have severe insomnia 48 awake + then other times i can sleep 18+ hours and nothing can wake me , no idea wether its the meds or the head thats gone tbh.

Hello I hope you can help - I have someone who is a decent human being but has been put is a difficult situation. Someone else was helping him before but I’ve been called on-board as the other person hasn't got the time. He has been on ESA for a long time, He suffers from severe social anxiety, depression, body image issues and also post-traumatic stress due to many issues; most of which are childhood-related, whereas the traumatic stress (I believe) was relatively recent (5 years ago) due a severe facial injury that required intense facial- reconstruction; (were talking hours of surgery and many surgeons) He has been on a continual downward spiral since as he has no support network and his heavy drinking with which he has used to cope with his social anxiety! This has now culminated with him having a psychotic episode a few weeks ago that resulted him being imprisoned for 6 weeks on remand. He received a suspended sentence plus counseling for drink. No one was hurt, though I’m assuming the experience hasn’t been pleasant for anyone that was involved. I cannot stress enough that the person Is decent human being that hasn’t had the help he’s needed for years. His ESA was such that even wrote him off (never needed a tribunal etc) but since coming out of prison he has found that his ESA has been stopped. Im assuming it was because he went to prison the last amount paid into his account was june 6th! and nothing after this. He doesn’t have the skills to get it reactivated on his own! I have done some homework, and found that he is classed (still) as a remand prisoner as just being locked up from June 6 to approx 5-6 later! I believe from my own research (limited) that..... 1 There is a 12 week period within which the EAS can be re-activated / or linked) is this correct? 2 and that this means that there is not major/ substantial extra information needed to be sent to the dwp? And that it is merely a case filling in a new form and re-activating the claim? 3 However he hasn’t been in proper contact with a DR due to him slipping off the radar in terms of doctors notes (he hasn’t needed them for over three years, so you can imagine that someone who suffers from such conditions has simply let things continue!) will he need one now? 4 Or is it simply a case of filling in the correct forms etc? He has no money since coming out of prison- his rent was paid by housing benefit but the short-fall which was made up by himself with the ESA which obviously means the current situation is-not sustainable 5 he will not need to see Atos, surely if it is simply the case of linking the claim? In conclusion I’m unsure which type of ESA he was on but I’m sure it falls within the category of not needed to attend any support group. He hasn’t needed to supply an updated Dr’s note to Atos or the dwp. I have not phoned the ESA yet on his behalf as I’m not sure if I’m up to the task. But the idea is I would like to get the ESA up and running the way it was before, but obviously to try and get him some type of support group as well. Can anyone help? As the 12 week cut off period is looming? Thanks

hi im new on this site, been reading some of the threads re:esa appeals, ive got mine in 2 weeks and im really nervous/anxious about it, i suffer from lower back problem and anxiety/panic attacks. i failed my atos last june (nil points) a lot of information is missing from the atos report, ie it states i was there longer than i actually was , never asked questions re:anxiety or the incontinence i suffer with ,and a lot of it is exaggerated to say the least, i got a solicitor involved to help with tribunal, with the info i gave her she had scored me more than 15 points ,the only downfall is that my dr,s report is not helpfull says my solicitor, which has made me feel worse than ever ,solicitor thinks i will scrape through with out the dr,s report which she is not submitting, she told me to go through the atos report and make notes of which i agree, any help would be gratefull as im very down about this ,todays not been a good day. other thing is i have to travel out of town to the tribunal and they are paying for a taxi to and from the tribunal, but dont have anyone to go with me, the solicitor says it will not go against me as there will be the taxi driver with me going and the clerk when i get there, as i get really anxies/panic attacks in unformiliar places ,and usually rely on help from friend/family, but they are unable to come with me, do you think this will go against me. many thanks.

I was self-employed until early February 2016 and claiming WTC's. I ceased trading and informed both HMRC (Tax) and HMRC (WTC) to look after a very unwell elderly relative and started claiming Careers Allowance - I stopped claiming WTC obviously beforehand . I'm now completing my final HMRC Self Assessment which is a bit arduous as its not for a full tax year. I wasn't simultaneously self employed and claiming Careers Allowance so I'm wondering as my accounts are drawn up until Feb 2016 whether this should be declared as I was claiming a State Benefit - the Carers Allowance happened after my self employment formally ended. Is anyone aware? I'd rather not confuse the HMRC and get it right the first time. Thank you for all advice.

my father is just coming out of hospital yet again and it looks like he will require some 'social care' which the phsio said my parents would have to have a financial assessment done . they have currentl;y £50K in savings and my mother is going to have two large amounts coming in soon one for a enhanced redundancy and a lump sum for her pension . My question is the assesmenty done on the whole amount or just his half of the £50k . Also wuld the other twp amounts that would come in ir her reduncy and pension be protected .

My daughter has been plauge for 2 years now over a bill they said she owed . They have now addmitted that she did not need to fill out a self assesment as she was on paye, But say that she will still have to pay the £1000 fine even though she did not have to fill one out in the first place , This is sheer maddness can someone tell us where or who we can get involved to sort the mess out. 2 years of stress is taking it's toll Please help.

I have been on long term incapacity but like nearly everyone else on this I have had the forms which were filled out and returned and now have an appointment for an atos assessment, fully understandable given the benefit changes and I have no problem with this but I hear too many horror stories about it As I have use of my hands, and a pulse I expect that dwp will decide that my benefit will cease, and I have a few questions regarding this will I be notified of the date it ceases? how long after the assessment? can I reapply for benefit right away or does the system really leave you with nothing with no real notice?, I will still be out of work and have no income so surely the least I can apply for is JSA? I am losing a lot of sleep over the what ifs and fearing the worst, ie losing house I just want some plain facts and info on whats to come should I fail the assessment, and how I should go about things to proceed without losing my property. thanks for reading

im due a review by atos , but im really confused by the new form , ive left it as long as I can but I cant put into words correctly what I need to . I asked the local CAB but they don't have the resources to help . my wife refuses to help at all she's dyslexic and just doesn't want to know . my condition is the same ,worsens over time as it has been the last 12+ years except for the last 6 months ive been having conscious seizures ,nearly everyday . my head is so confused , like my brain has been wired up wrong , the questions make no sense to me at all . is there someone who I can pay to help me fill in this form in the correct way . I feel like just writing " shove it " on the form and posting it back

hi im on D.L.A indefinite and have been on years ( HRC and HRM ) I live in the "M22" area, , I understood I shouldn't be re-assessed from around oct 2015 to oct 2017 ? I have had a re-assessment letter delivered to me on 21st January 2015 saying I have to ring up before 18th feb to start my re-assessment from D.L.A to P.I.P SAYING they have invited me to claim P.I.P ? can you tell me why I have been "invited" to be reassessed early ? instead of 2015 to 2017 ?? like advertised nothing has changed in my condition or in my life to getting worried why I have been selected ?? I am starting to worry now which isn't good

i have just found out this morning i have failed my atos assesment told i have to go on job seekers allowance even though i am confined to a wheelchair because of spinal damage i got no points at all..any advice please

Dear all, I'm behind with my self assessment's (stupid I know) by 7 years !!, as you can imagine I have bills from HMRC of around the £8k mark for not doing them. I accept that I haven't completed them and eventually have come round to some sensible thinking of getting it all straight, the last few years haven't been easy having been made redundant, closing a company and having a new daughter who was in intensive care for 3 months after being born but I appreciate all the personal stuff needs to go aside and HMRC probably wouldn't care anyway. So my situation:- 1/ I need to complete my self assessment's, which I'm in the process of doing 2/ I can only complete 4 of them because I need payslips, P60's from my old companies which I've requested but need to wait for them to arrive. 3/ I have a letter from "Rossingdales" regarding the debt (first letter today but dated 5th Dec) 4/ I have some complex tax issues in 2 of the years where I was not working due to living from my investment in a company from the sale of my house. (my equity was as a loan to the company and I received loan payments back that I lived on). 5/ One company I worked for over 4 years had me on a tax code of BR for the period despite being sent coding notices from HMRC, is it the employers liability if they there were sent coding notices?, although HMRC haven't given me copies and maybe they didn't;t send them in which case is HMRC liable given that they have plenty of information from my employer over a long period using a BR code I wanted to get some breathing space with HMRC to do the above, not much, say 1 week for the first 4 assessment's and an additional month for the others because I need copies of P60's etc... I called HMRC and the good "love them" call centre told me they couldn't do anything and regarding rossingdales (debt collection) it was an automated process and not possible to change it. They did offer to put me through to the "technical department" in relation to clarifying what I needed to fill in on my assessment where I had a query but after 20 minutes told me they couldn't get me through and could I call again tomorrow (and wait another 45 minutes !). I re called them and asked for an appointment at my local tax office and they took my number and said it would take up to 5 days for me to have a call back to arrange an appointment, so depending on how long the appointment is after it could be a few weeks (hope not). So in summary I have a self assessment issue (self caused) that I want to sort out, fines and rossingdale on my case. Genuinely I know it's my fault for not sending in my self assessments but now being committed to resolve the situation I'm looking for advice on stopping Rossingdales while I resolve it with HMRC and just getting things straight. Actually HMRC told me to call Rossingdales and explain so they would stop !! (to be clear Rossingdales have only sent one letter, nothing more and there is no distraint order or anything) Any advice would be appreciated. rgds

i have joint hypermobility syndrome that ha been getting worse over past few months, after losing my job my doctor placed me on sick as pain has worsened with me been unable to lift arms or sometimes walk without help. i went for assesment and was awarded 0 points as i was able to walk into room had got a bus and carried a bag. i have no1 around to take me to appts or help on a day to day basis because i was worried bout travelling such a distance it was planned with GP to start taking tramadol at 5,30am on morning of appt half hourly until 8.30am ovedosing myself by taking 500mg i have still not had call with regarsds to putting in for appeal despite having rang 3 times to clarify number i was told yesterday that the number they had wasnt recognised . pointing out that i had rang several times with correct number and have asked for the fonecalls to be found as they record them. i have recieved no money or ctb or hb in nearly 2 weeks and believe its down to them .. obviously 2weeks before xmas this is a nightmare wouldnt care i was on contribution based ESA as i have worked for years

Hi, I recently had my ESA medical in April this year from the move from Incapacity Benefit to ESA, I was put in the Support Group due to "Severe functional disability" and was advised to apply for PIP, The form for PIP was sent Monday and today i have just received another letter for an ATOS assessment for PIP, I'm sure i read somewhere that it was the same assessment, I included my ESA85 medical report with the PIP claim form but looks like the didn't look at it They also gave me an appointment 30 miles away when the ATOS centre is just 5 min from my home, I rang up as it would be to much of a struggle and they have moved my appointment to my local centre. Has anyone got any info on the PIP assessment compared to the ESA, I'm starting to get stressed all over again.

had an assesment for this new pip (new cliam) three weeks ago and had no decision from DWP yet how long should it take? i claimed on the 24th april

I went for my ATOS DLA assement yesterday and the Doctor kept me for less than 5 min's. She said " I can see you are in pain so I won't examine you. You can go." What does that mean? I am confused. Will I have to go back?