Letter to ATOS regarding ESA medical.

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum but I don't know if anyone can help, I have recently been called for an ESA medical I suffer with severe anxiety and depression as well as an over active thyroid. I have attempted to attend my medical on 2 occasions but my anxiety and panic attacks have stopped me.

I have not been able to attend my doctors surgery because of this and it is a new surgery as my other doctor left, when I enquired about them helping with my benefit they said they do not like to correspond with the DWP or ATOS.

This is my last appointment and I can't re-arrange again, I wondered if it was worth writing to ATOS to try and explain my difficulties? If so does anyone have any good tips on what I should include?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Many Thanks

You have anxiety and an over-active thyroid? The two go hand in hand, I'm immediately wondering if you're on the right medication... this is a bit off-topic for these forums but I'm thinking if you aren't - you do say you aren't going to your doctor's surgery - then that's why you need to be regularly having your TSH levels tested because of course that could easily explain why you're anxious (they give beta-blockers sometimes as part of the treatment, it calms you down). You really do need to get to your doctor's surgery and get a blood test as a first step, in my view. You'll find everything's a lot easier to face with a clear head but you've got to take that first step.

BB

Hi miku-star, welcome to the forum.

I think it would be a good idea to write or phone ATOS and explain how much difficulty you have attending the medical.
I can't advise you on what to write, I would only suggest you explain in detail what has happened that prevented you from attending the previous two appointments.

However the only other way to have a medical without going to a medical centre would be for them to arrange a medical at your home. For this they would probably need to contact your unhelpful GP's surgery.

Perhaps you could phone Medical Services to explain your predicament, and ask if they have any other solution.

Regards

Derek

Hi Bill,

Perhaps I should have explained this in more detail, I have been diagnosed with an overactive thyroid and I was on polythiouracil tablets, I went for frequent blood tests but unfortunately I had a bad reaction to my tablets, this involved a chronic sore throaght and an increase in palpitations and other symptoms. I went to see an endocrinologist and had a thyroid scan but there was a lot of confusion as to what was happening and whether I should have radio active iodine.

I then had a blood test which when horribly wrong and I ended up in hospital, I became fearful and anxious and developed an anxiety that has kept me indoors for many months now.

Since then I have not been back and just tolerated the symptoms a doctor granted me a home visit just before Christmas and told me my heart was beating too fast and my blood pressure is too high and I need to go into the surgery.

I can't face taking medication again, or a blood test this is how I have ended up as I am.

Thank you derek for your advice too, I will try to explain to them my circumstances.

hi miku-star

i think you need someone to talk too. have you got a friend that can go with you to your gp? is there another gp you could see?

Yeah, you're just going to go running around in circles until you get the amount of thyroid hormone in your system down. I remember when I was in my manic phase lying awake at four in the morning gabbling away to myself in the bath. It was horrible. I was up so long it looked like down to me I had RAI in the end and it pretty much fixed it. You have to do something because this is not going to go away of its own accord.

BB