Am i able to claim for DLA

emma82chambers

Hi my name is Emma, am i have just turned 30 years of age, i have been diagnosed with inflammatory Arthrits, i am currently on medication for this meloxicam and sulfasalazine, i have alot of pain with my arthritis in quite a few of my joints including shoulders, ankles back, hips, elbows, hands sometimes but my worst are ankles, knees which are really bad with pain and back, and my hips on average of every six to eight weeks which i have crutches for to help not to push my weight on when im walking, i have had the pain injections with my knees, as they get really bad, i can walk but the pain is there and sometimes really bad, find it hard to sit down and stand up and even standing on the same spot, the pain injections in my knees have recently worn off leaving me in alot of pain, i need to use the likes of handles when getting on and of the toilet and practicaly have to try doing this with my legs straight which is hard, to aviod the pain in my knees, which also bend when walking and can be quite painful, alot of my strength as gone in my hand and so tasks like undoing bottle lids, jars and mixing and stiring can be really difficult and painful, i am under a consultant who has sent me for mri scans, which i found really uncomfortable and put me in alot of pain after and could hardly walk back to the car because of laying there for so long while i had three parts of my body done , but nothing really shows up although he has reassured me that this is what condition i have, i also have a disabled daughter that i care for, although she is starting to help herself more now so lifting her has calmed down alot. i was wanting to know if i would be entitled to claim for DLA, would be grateful for any help and advice please thank you

MrDJ

Hi Emma and welcome to the forum.
youve come to the right place for help and advice as they are a very friendly bunch on here.
just by reading your post it sounds like you tick many of the boxes required for dla and also a blue badge for the car.
also you could get help around the house from social services like raised toilet seat, hand rails around the bathroom and on the stairs,utensils around the house like long hand grip, bottle and tin openers etc etc.

have a good read up on these 2 links and maybe speak to your gp as well about the social services side of things:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Disabledpeople/DG_10011816

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Disabledpeople/DG_10011925

helpline_team

Dear Emma,

Thanks for your post to Helplines. Applying for benefits demands a rather tough mindset these days and we signpost people to get help with the whole process from one of the welfare rights organisations. CABs or http://www.turn2us.org.uk/ or http://www.dialuk.info/ can help with this. No one can tell you at this stage whether you qualify yet or not, until they hear your answers to specific questions about where you may need help in your daily life.

To be successful with these applications you need to get supporting information on your medical condition, be backed up by specialists who have treated you, and even be ready to appeal the occasionally abrupt rejections that can happen.

I hope this is helpful

Guy

emma82chambers

Thank you very much for your reply, i had been thinking bout claiming but was unsure whether to go ahead, was hoping that there was more that my consultant could do for me, but there is no more really and he said i just have to accept the illness for what it is now and they will do everything that they can to make things more comfortable for me, your reply and links were very helpful in helping me make that decision about whether or not to go ahead with the claim, which i was hoping wasn't going to have to come about, and will contact the social services for aids that they might be able to help with to to make things in everyday life that bit easier thank you very much :-)