arthritis and esa payments

brianharvey
brianharvey Member Posts: 3
edited 2. Jul 2013, 11:58 in Say Hello Archive
hello to all I have just joined this forum and is the first forum I have been on so it is a bit new to me ,I suffer from arthritis in both knees and plantar fasciitis in both heels which makes it very difficult and painful to walk I do manage with 1 walking stick but I don't go far without my wife driving me I can manage to hobble about 15 to 20 metres at a very slow pace . I have been on esa assessment rate since 29 dec 2012 ,I had my atos medical 14 april 2013 and was told on 13 may2013 I was not ellegile for esa anymore as I was given 0 points on atos medical and was told to go on JSA but I read about JSA and it stated I should be available for any job at any time to claim this but my line of work is steel work and fabrication and there is no chance of me being able to even think about doing that there may be a sitting down job I could do but I can only sit in one place for about half hour then need to move to another seat or onto the sofa so I have sent for an appeal form but I don't know what is going to happen

Comments

  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hello, it's nice to meet you and I hope we can help with information and support. I am very lucky in that I haven't had to tangle with these systems as yet but I can totally identify with the arthritis side of things: I have psoriatic arthritis and OA, bone spurs on both heels, plantar fasc too, fallen arches, bone growths on both knees and other affected joints. It's not fun. I use two crutches on my better days and a rollator for outdoor walking. One stick may not be sufficient for you because, like me, you have trouble on both sides.

    The prevailing view of ATOS seems to be 'if you can breathe you can work'. Berks. The biggest flaw in the new system is that the healthy are assessing the sick so already we're on a hiding to nothing. :roll: Many people on here are going through what you are facing, if you look on the Living with Arthritis part of the forum you will see a few threads about ESA, DLA (now PIP for some) - you may be facing this on your own but you're not alone. I wish you well. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • brianharvey
    brianharvey Member Posts: 3
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    I DD its nice to meet you I do think you are right about 1 stick not being enough but when I used to go to physio they told me to try and use 1 stick rather than using crutches and relying on them but i don't think they had thought about the plantar fasciitis in my heels .I will check on living with arthritis thankyou
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 30,324
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hi Brian

    Just a very quick (and late) hello to you from me :oops:

    I am sure you will find these forums as supportive and helpful as I have

    love

    Toni xx
  • Philippa1961
    Philippa1961 Member Posts: 38
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    Hi, it really is tough on us where benefits are concerned but I am glad I read your post and the following ones as I haven't had a proper look round yet. I applied for DLA before it changed (hubby's applying for PIP) and am at the appeal stage and have been told it's a 37 - 41 week wait for a dat to come through...... now to have a look round at the other boards :D
  • johnsouthwales
    johnsouthwales Member Posts: 58
    edited 30. Nov -0001, 00:00
    it's the same here, OA in spine, sciatica, and apprently plantar fash (which seems to be consistent with the calcaneous spur, but what i don't get is why the ball of the foot was the problem? actually just underneath and behind it..then i started some research and discovered tarsal tunnel syndrome which is similar to plantar fash.) all on the right side.

    dwp gave me zero points last month, which i am going to appeal as they left me with no choice, as they didn't even examine the spine.
    The report says that i got up from a chair unaided with ease, and then said i stood up with some difficulty for 3 minutes, which got me thinking hang on, i was standing up in agony for the whole duration because the foot and leg was playing up so bad i couldn't sit down, that i had no choice but to stand and lean against the examiners couch which seemed to be for 30 mins? which seems to be strange because in 2011, i had the same conditions and passed, except the OA as that wasn't revealed in an xray until a few months later.

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