Incapacity to ESA: No Benefits

Hi everyone!
Thought I would share my story in case it rang any bells with others in a similar situation.
I have bipolar affective disorder with mostly mixed state episodes and have had this since my mid teens.
In my early thirties things came to a head as a result of years of educational and career chaos caused by unrecognized and untreated episodes. I received my diagnosis and was placed on incapacity benefit, seemingly for life, as my condition was lifelong, incurable and resistant to all medical "fixes". After my initial award I was called for only one medical assessment, after which I was paid consistently for 30 years.
Talking therapy, a self management programme and a severely restricted day to day routine were the order of the day. And all went just bearably, with the cushion of financial support, helping to ensure that my young family and I had an acceptable standard of life.
When incapacity benefit was phased out, I was in the first cohort to be moved onto ESA. I was awarded the contribution based benefit, but in the less "serious" category. It was deemed that my condition, though somewhat disabling, might allow for some form of work. This decision was reached without a face to face interview and with total disregard for the wealth of evidence I had given with regard to my condition's severely disabling impact on my life. I was therefore paid for one year only and then the payments stopped.
Being in manic mode at the time of my initial assessment, I decided, for the sake of my sanity not to get involved in the appeals process. I even endeavoured to restart a very limited amount of self employed work, buying and selling second hand goods thinking, irrationally, that the assessment might even be right.
Managing to work for little more than a couple of hours a week, and then not at all regularly, it soon dawned on me that if anything my condition was more disabling than it had been in my twenties when I used to hold down jobs for a reasonable length of time, before my sick days became something of an embarassment to all.
So, making a very meagre profit, so little as to pay no tax, for about a year, during which I paid my own NI contributions at level 3, I ploughed on in the name of self sufficiency. This position soon became untenable due to my wildly fluctuating states of mind and I ceased all work. I also ceased all NI contributions as I had zero income.
Luckily for me, my wife earned enough to support us both, so I just rid myself of all contact with the deeply harmful irritant of benefits claiming, for my sanity and life's sake.
In recent months however, circumstances have changed. My wife faces possible redundancy and our financial future is uncertain. On these grounds, and fired up by my regular spring mania, I have re-entered the benefits fray.
I have discovered that the absence of level one NI contributions by me since the end of my first and last year of ESA payments, renders me ineligible for that benefit again. I am also ineligible for the income based variant due to savings we hold.
I am however potentially eligible for an award of contribution based ESA where I receive no weekly payment whatsoever but do get my NI level one contributions paid towards my old age pension. That is the claim I am currently pursuing, with my doctor providing a fit note predated 3 months and on which she has stated that after the total 6 months covered she will not need to re-assess me. Once again it is accepted that my condition is lifelong and disabling then. But the fact that I failed to appeal the initial decision has left me financially bereft. Another victory for the DWP!
I am also planning to make a claim for PIP shortly and any other benefit I may possibly be deemed to be entitled to.
I would urge anyone who feels that their ESA assessment and its result are unfair, to, with help if needed, pursue an appeal urgently. Delaying and retreating as I did, has proved a costly error of judgement. Although the stress I was under at the time made it the only healthy option.
Good luck everyone!