have you looked at the dla page its taken claims forever !
Hello! I am a "newie" so forgive me if I appear naive. I was hoping someone could offer advice on dealing with a face to face PIP assessment. I have mine on Tuesday 2nd Feb, next week, and am convinced I'm going to fail on every score - literally. Although I was diagnosed with PD in 2000 (quite young as I'm now 64) it has been a long, slow process and I think they'll write me off as being a fraud. However, there are days when my meds just don't work and I'm a wreck. Does anyone out there have any advice?
hi rosie
i personally have never had a face to face ,but i would suggest taking all your consultants letters pictures of all tablets ,aids in house grab rails walking aids .and when you arrive dontt be in a hurry to get to there offices ie walking in carpark stop a couple times take a breath or two ,and when asked tell them your worst day i mean by that your off state say when walking always in pain have to stop every few steps do not fall into there trap they are conniving gits trying to let you think there your friend when sitting down get restless in seat say your back hurts ,when asked you do not do any cooking as you can not lift food in or out oven without harming yourself ,you have help getting out of bed ,getting washed say you use flannel and wait for your partner to have a prober wash,put little things in the talk use electric toothbrush wear easy clothes so you don't have mishaps going to toilet ,can not lift stuff without being in pain ,when asked how far you can walk say couple of metres on a good day but always in pain ,when asked who sorts out your day to day stuff ie bills money say your partner as you get confused easy ,i always remember they asked a lady how does she cook ie lifting pans she replied i do not as i can easy drop them dangerous can burn myself ,he replied how do you wash your hair she said sit on bath seat and use a jug ! so if you can lift a jug ,you can lift a pan ! what she should have said i have to wait for partner or friend to help me have prober wash sounds bad hey ! i suggest looking on Internet at pip they do it as a point bases now ,sea angler will help you better than me i suggest a private message to get him to answer ,do you not have pd support worker they are very good they know how to fill forms in & what to say ! hope this helped a little let me know how you get on. gus
i know i should not say this but if you can cope with missing your meds that day then try it ,i know a lot of people will slate me for saying this but hey I'm a big boy 
maybe miss meds that morning then about 45mins into meeting have a alarm go off for meds & a pill box saying morn / noon you get my drift ! alarm ie phone pill reminder .
I'm on esa Gus so i dont have experience of PiP, others do on here perhaps they'll speak up, but you are right in what you say from the moment you leave home(how you get there & did you struggle) too the moment you leave the building you are being assessed everything is measured don't rush, don't be tempted too say im fine when they greet you asking how are you??, it's all designed so you contradict yourself and answer everything in the sense of your worst day, if even the slightest doubt say you can't, think as if time & condition has moved on. its sposed too be repeatedly & safely.
There are many cases where it is even obvious that people with Parkinsons are denied Pip, prob because they think those applying for it will just roll over and accept it, but most are won on re consideration/appeal.
Good luck.
Thank you very much for all those tips - forgot to say that my assessment is at home!! I have visions of me being made to carry cups of tea across the kitchen to see if I spill it all!! Should be an interesting hour or so. Fortunately, my husband will be in London that day so can't be involved - he might give the wrong answers. My biggest fear is going overboard and them taking my driving licence off me I reckon there is a pretty fine line to be drawn between being considered a liability and being "too healthy".............
there is another thread on here recently in this section where someone was assessed at home the assessor thought the person was too well presented i.e too clean and well dressed and totally ignored what was the actual reality for the person with parkinsons i.e they struggle with daily life & their condition.
Good heavens....... that is useful to know. I'll bear that in mind, thank you!
they also do not get envoled in driving
Hi rosiedosie
I recently went through the pip mill with a home assessment , I'm the one sea angler was referring to in his post , you need to present yourself as you are on your very worst day , don't tidy the house for a few days prior or dress smartly , wear easy loose clothes and make a point of having to stand up regularly , with dificulty I might add as you will be assessed on your movement and walking ability , if you can miss your meds do so to show how you really are and make sure you leave a snack in the fridge so you can show your oh has to prepare food for you when he's away! I know that it sounds extreme but I was refused pip at first with comments like " he was well presented tidy and clean shaven" repeated several times throughout the report,
i suffer with Lewy body dementia as well as parky so find doing a lot of day to day things dificult , I'm only 58 by the way , and can get confused quickly especially when stressed .
The main thing to remember is the assessor is there to find reasons NOT to award you pip but will come across as being on your side , don't offer them a drink or put yourself in the position of having to do anything voluntary for them and make sure you struggle with anything your asked to do, my assessment lasted about 3 hours or so and I was totally stressed to the max by the end of it but still considered not ill enough , I finally got enhance living and mobility payment of pip on mandatory reconsideration thanks to the help and support of the Parkinson support worker so even if your turned down don't give up .
Good luck and live well. Cc
ps if you want to pm me for more info please do and gus is right it has no bearing on your driving at all
Cc
Your information is really helpful - thank you! My letter states it will last about an hour so fingers crossed it doesn't last for 3 hours. I'm not going to take my usual 9 am meds and as they are supposed to be between 10.30/12.30 I should be ok till lunch time, just. I'll let you know how I get on but I'm not holding my breath.....
your be fine rosie
Hi Rosie,
This sheet has some more information which you might find helpful: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/content/personal-independence-payment-information-sheet
And as mentioned in the sheet please do keep in mind that your assessor is there to build a picture of how your condition affects you on a day-to-day basis over the course of one year. So it’s important not to be concerned that you will be judged on how you may be feeling on the day of your consultation.
Best wishes,
Joanne
Digital team
Just an update following advice given on my PIP face to face assessment: it went very well all things considered. I tried to resist taking my morning meds but only lasted till 10 o'clock by which time I was feeling so awful I just had to take them. Forty minutes later a delightful lady turned up and stayed almost an hour.
She was very thorough and I could tell she was on my side from the things she was saying and the questions she was asking. She told me to expect a decision within 4/8 weeks and if by chance I was turned down I should appeal because lots of cases are reversed after review. All in all it went very smoothly, I am now watching the post every day........
lets just hope you get awarded pip .
Hi again. Well, it all went exceedingly well and I heard back from them with a couple of weeks with the good new that my PIP payment was going to be significantly increased, almost trebled in fact. Perhaps I was just lucky but for those of you out there who are undergoing assessment, etc. try not to be too concerned because it can actually work out fine!
Well done Rosie! Lets hope all true disabled claimants get their awards too! 
great news
We'll done, i'm putting my application in the post tmrw.
Your be fine sea angler did your pdsw help