Has anyone any recent experiences of claiming PIP they can share please? thanks
I claimed last year.
What do you want to know ?
Were you already on DLA?
No why?
I was on dla high for mobility & middle for care.i
changed to pip I asked for a home visit and they said no,but pduk stepped in got me home visit many thanks to them .So on the day I stopped taking meds so they could see me at my worse and the nurse said I donât know what Iâm here for and said she will rush it through and put me on high for both.
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Hi thank you Gus and other responders. My husband is on both for the higher level.
It is quite stressful and worrying when you have to go through the whole process again. I kn know of some people who had to appeal before being awarded. Maggie.
Well done.
I think that may be the key - not to take meds until afterwards so the can see how Parkinsonâs affects you.
I had my PIP last year at an assessment centre.
This was before parkinsons was diagnosed.
I had a very nice young man. Mines due for renewal 2021. So plenty of time for more evidence gathering 
.
Hi Maggieone, Mine is 10yrs ongoing & apparently you only have to fill in a couple of pages so itâs not to bad even tho Parkinsonâs degenerative disease
A good thing to do is take pictures of all your meds laid out on a table they love pictures, all your mobility aids every thing lol not joking tho
Hi Maggieone, I was on the lower rate DLA & was told it was being stopped and to apply for PIPs. I was advised by PD coordinator about the point system & filled in the form as if I was having a bad day and sent off lots of letters from my neurology team. I was told that an assessment would be done in my home. A lovely young lady came round and actually caught me on a bad day. She asked the same questions as were on the form and asked if Iâd mind if she could do various strength tests on my arms & legs which I agreed to and said after putting all the data on her laptop that another manager in her department would give a decision in about 6 weeks time. I got a letter about 5-6 weeks later informing me I was being awarded the lower rate which is three times the four weekly DLA rate I was receiving so happy days.
I was originally receiving both the DLA awards (mobility and care) but on PIP I lost the mobility part. I can vary greatly each day, but the impression I got from others, is that if you can walk any distance, regardless of how painfully, you loose any mobility part. This thinking of course only takes in what youâre like on the day of attendance, and not what you may be like after youâve walked out of the door.
I have both arthritis and Stenosis of the spine, meaning I often need two crutches, while some days I can get around with just one for convenience, but two would no doubt be better. Either way more than 10m Iâll suffer at the time, and certainly when I get home and the next day.
On the day of assessment I managed to park with a Blue Badge about 30m from the local office. I made the 30m with several pauses to let things âsettle downâ, as the pain had started after 10m or so, but I then suffered the rest of the day, making everything awkward.
I was casually asked during the course of the interview how did I get there? I later realised any reply other than âdropped of outside the doorâ by a taxi or friend, involved walking at this office location. So I told the interviewer where I had parked and explained my situation, honestly, as I have above, but still got awarded low points for mobility.
My mobility had in fact got worse than when I had had my original DLA assessment (pre-Parkinsonâs) which had given me the mobility part!
So âmobilityâ has clearly been redefined when PIP arrived, meaning anyone needs to be careful when asked a seemingly casual and innocent question thatâs thrown into the conversation like, âhow did you get here todayâ
Yes you can appeal - but I was so p####d off I left it. My cognitive state with PD now means any mole hills can now turn into mountains of stress.
Phil
I have my pip assessment in 2 weeks and am panicking already, they are coming to my house !! Gulp x
Hi Angela - we have had an offer of help from the Local Advisor for Parkinsonâs UK who can provide some advice. Maggie.
Hi Phil
Oh dear that sounds really tough. It is such a hard process to go through.
Maggie