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st john wort instead of anti depressants+PIP
- Freya
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6 years 10 months ago #190526 by Freya
st john wort instead of anti depressants+PIP was created by Freya
Does anyone have experience of being turned down from PIP for using non standard medication? I was still given high level care for DLA previously and now in transferring to PIP its one of the reasons listed as why I scored 0 points for PIP even though my GP wrote a letter backing up that anti- depressants hadn't worked for me. I do find my st john wort medication helpful and see a medical herbalist regularly and have been on it about 5 years. I don't buy it myself from a shop. i have the highest dose I can . I have a longstanding history of depression, anxiety and PTSD and BPD. I feel unfairly penalised as anti depressants don't work for everyone- which is documented-
is there not any choice allowed about what works best for us? Legally, do you have to take standard anti depressants to" prove" depression. I also have some history addiction which is another reason I m not wanting to pursue" numbing myself" further unless I really have to to take anti depressants. I know not all anti depressants are addictive either but they do have side effects and St John wort doesn't have any.. I appreciate anti depressants work well for some people and can only say my experience. It 's been so far a very shocking experience and I don't feel i have the energy to keep fighting.
Any feedback or guidance would be really helpful...
is there not any choice allowed about what works best for us? Legally, do you have to take standard anti depressants to" prove" depression. I also have some history addiction which is another reason I m not wanting to pursue" numbing myself" further unless I really have to to take anti depressants. I know not all anti depressants are addictive either but they do have side effects and St John wort doesn't have any.. I appreciate anti depressants work well for some people and can only say my experience. It 's been so far a very shocking experience and I don't feel i have the energy to keep fighting.
Any feedback or guidance would be really helpful...
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6 years 10 months ago #190546 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic st john wort instead of anti depressants+PIP
Freya
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
A quick search suggests that St John's Wort may have a positive effect on mild to medium depression, so this may be a the root of the problem, also, it is not the condition that is being reviewed but the limitations that result, so have you explained what effects your depression has on your day to day activities.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"
than their opinions
"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
A quick search suggests that St John's Wort may have a positive effect on mild to medium depression, so this may be a the root of the problem, also, it is not the condition that is being reviewed but the limitations that result, so have you explained what effects your depression has on your day to day activities.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"
than their opinions
"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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