WHAT CAN ARTHRITIS CARE DO FOR ME OR TO HELP ME

mills20061970

my name simon i am 43 lived in east London , i had Osteoarthritis of the knee for the last 3 years. i was a fit man who was never ill but since my accident in 2010 my life has gone downhill.
I am out of work thanks to my accident that was cause by my last company i work for , they don't want to pay out . i was on ESA but in 2012 atos said i was fit to work so i lost my benefit , i am living on £120 a month which i get on my Industrail Injuries Disablement Benefit but that been stop now only 2 days ago .
I am waiting on a home visit from Atos to get my benefit but not holding out on my luck.
Since 2010 i have had 4 operation on my right knee and in them operations i got a total knee replacement , i have been told my right ankle was ok 3 years but have found since i need a operation on it i got seen by a Mri last week to see how bad i also had a Mri on my left knee as that had the same trouble as the right knee.
i am on Co-codamol every 4 hrs plus Oramorph as i need it for the pain plus my Zomorph which i take4 in the morning and 5 at night .
i have a ice pack plus a hot water bottle which dont help.
I was told i would need a pain management but nothing happen.
i also had a ten machine which dont nothing to help my pain .

I feel down in the dumps as no one wants to help and my life gone downhill, i was a store manager who had never been ill and had given 26 years of my life to my career but eveb they don't want to help.

Now what can you do for me ?

maria09

Hi Miles
I'm a forum member not part of the helpline team
It's usually quiet on a weekend so they are not often around
You would be better giving the helpline number a ring during office hours the number is free
They can only give you advice and give you relevant information to help
I'm 50 worked for 30 yrs until I got ill health retirement this march
I have both osteoarthritis and spondylo arthropathy a form of inflammatory arthritis and all my joints are affected
I had good old Atos assess me and I failed they said I was fit for work they said just because I had pain all the time I can work also as I could hold an thin a 4 file I could use keyboard and mouse
I even changed sex my assessor said I could not get pregnant as I was a male client very strange as I gave birth twice! They also got my name wrong and went from Mrs to Mr!
They are just a few inconsistencies I could go on and on
DWP did not inform me that I could and should have the assessment recorded they should offer this to everyone but they don't I do feel if I had had it recorded the outcome would be different!
So if please if you haven't already tell them you wanted it recorded I have heard them say they haven't got a recorder available just say you will wait until one becomes available I think by law they have to record it for you
At the end of the day its your word against them and they won't rule in favour of you
Hope that helps a little
Maria

Kittkat

Hello
Sorry you feel down in the dumps. Is there anyway you could re train for another job im in extreme pain 24/7 in all joints and I want to work I'd do anything. Also do you suffer from depression? You sound pretty low and that can make pain worse it is a vicous cycle. Perhaps speak to your gp about this?Hope you can get something sorted soon.

helpline_team

Dear Simon

Thank you for your postings on our forum and a warm welcome from the Helplines team. I am aware that you have sent two postings and my apologies in the delay in replying to these and I will respond to your other forum posting separately. I am so sorry to hear that you are down in the dumps it sounds as if it has been a very difficult time for you. You have asked what we can do for you and we provide information about arthritis and helpline support. You have spoken about some ways that you have tried to manage your pain that have not helped including being told that you need pain management but nothing has happened regarding this. You could go back to your GP to speak about being referred to pain management and to let him know that you are still waiting for a referral. Our booklet Coping with pain has other information about pain management. You can access this on the link http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/Listedbytype/Booklets along with our other information on managing arthritis.

When it comes to benefits we are not experts and it is best to speak to organisations that have expertise in the benefits system so that they can help and advise you. You can contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau. You can find your local bureau by putting your postcode into their search on their website. Their website address is http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
Turn2Us is an organisation that you can contact about access to benefits and grants. Their website is on the link http://www.turn2us.org.uk/default.aspx
You can also call us here on the freephone helpline (weekdays 10am – 4pm) on 0808 800 4050 if you would like to talk things through with one of our helpline team.
I hope this information is helpful.

Best Wishes
Dawn