medical/tribunal query

hello all...

when I had my medical for esa back in october 2010, the HCP seemed only interested in my left hand injury, its almost like a deformed claw than a left hand now, but, the point of the thread is this, she seemed to ignore that the main reason i claimed esa was me being diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

now this condition has had such an effect on me that it has left me borderline insane.

i cannot stop going to the toilet (urinating)

I cannot go out by myself as i have memory lapses, i forget where i am, why im going there, even where i am if i am by myself, i need my memory jogged by someone i know so i realise im with someone that knows why we are going where we are going and why otherwise i would end up like a little lost sheep.

here is an extract from a leaflet about my condition...

"Patients with fibromyalgia frequently complain of cognitive problems or "fibrofog." The existence of these symptoms has been confirmed by studies of the incidence of cognitive problems in fibromyalgia patients and by the results of objective tests of metamemory, working memory, semantic memory, everyday attention, task switching, and selective attention. The results of these tests show that fibromyalgia patients have impairments in working, episodic, and semantic memory that mimic about 20 years of aging. These patients have particular difficulty with memory when tasks are complex and their attention is divided. Cognitive symptoms in these patients may be exacerbated by the presence of depression, anxiety, sleep problems, endocrine disturbances, and pain, but the relationship of these factors to cognitive problems in fibromyalgia patients is unclear."

I told all of this to the HCP so how i was awarded nothing for these things is baffling


one other thing, i informed her that the meds i was on at the time were a case of trial and error to see if they were right for my condition, i told her that they would be changed as and when needed, she said she would maake a note of this but from the report it is quite clear she didnt.

my meds have changed more than once since my medical, at my tribunal, will only the meds i was on at the time of the medical be taken into consideration or do they allow changes due to the nature of my conditions?

The tribunal can only consider your eligibility for ESA at the date of the decision to turn you down, so any evidence as to how you were afterwards isn't relevant.

However, you may wish to bring evidence as to what medication you were on before, if you think that it will help, although I think that you would do best to speak to a welfare rights adviser as to what your medication would or would not help to establish in relation to the specific descriptors you believe should apply to you.

However, do bear in mind that what is relevant for your ESA claim is not what condition you have, but what you can do in relation to a specific set of descriptors. You can be quite ill and not qualify for ESA.

Mod edit - answered by survivor

Survivor wrote:

The tribunal can only consider your eligibility for ESA at the date of the decision to turn you down, so any evidence as to how you were afterwards isn't relevant.

i was having these problems at the time of the medical, they were omitted from the report...