medical soon & suffering from ME, advice please

Hi ,

I have a medical on thursday for esa, i`m pretty worried,i suffer from ME for 20 yrs now, i`m just feeling concerned that they`ll twist my words to force me onto the work group. i really tried to get into the support group but have my first medical on thurs.

I last had a medical 3 yrs ago,for income support,which went horribly bad, & my benefits were suspended for a year,then i joined this site, then i had a tribunal & i won..
Part of my problem is,i cant do anything for long, i cant use a pc for more than 20 mins 4,5 times a day , or paint for 3 or 4 times a day,again for 20 mins, if i do more than that ,i suffer horribly, i`m just concerned they`ll try & make it seem like i can watch tv a few hrs a day, paint 2 hrs a day, conclude thats 5 hrs activity then force me onto the work group.....i have to lie down many times in the day.or i`m too sick to do anything. i suppose i just want a bit of support & to know any pitfalls i should watch out for, i have the esa guides,i`m going through them again at the moment,

Regards Stu

Do you have someone who helps you???
If so, then maybe they can write a lrtter of support and confirm your problems on a daily basis.

Radhika.

Hi Stu,I too suffer from ME. Apart from this site, which has been really helpful, I also use the ME Association website. On there on the right of the home page, scroll down a bit you'll find some ESA guides. For the medical I just made sure they had a full clear understandingof how my symptoms are exacerbated if I doo too much. Give a descrition of how you plan your day and how you use Pacing techniques to do as much as you can.I understood that Lord Freud stated that aclient would be considered not to be able to do an activity if they could not "reliably, repeatedly and safely" do that specific act. You need evidence of the harm it causes you. How is you GP? can youget him to write a letter to reaffirm the harm it causes you. Are you seen by any NHS CFS specialist? Goodhunting and best of luck! Cheers Janice

I am sorry to hear that you are having a difficult time.

If you can, take someone with you to the medical, as both witness to what's said & making sure you say everything about your condition you need to.

Also it might be an idea to write down and take an example of a typical day (difficult, I know, as every day can be so different when you have ME!) putting in exactly how it affects you when you do too much.

You have lived with your condition for a really long time and perhaps it's worth reminding yourself that as the person conducting your medical hasn't, this is your opportunity to explain your circumstances to them.

Support-wise, here are two ME websites that as a sufferer I have found invaluable:

A very helpful/compassionate group at Foggy Friends which is for ME sufferers and carers: www.foggyfriends.org/forum/forum.php

The ME Association: www.meassociation.org.uk/?page_id=1192
There's a phone line you can call for advice and support.

I wish you all the best and hope some of this is of some help.

Hi Stubedo,
I've had ME since 1977, and when my carer filled in the form for me we took the reverse logic approach; instead of saying you can do something for say a grand total of five hours a day, say that you cannot do anything for 19 hours day. It's a way of getting the information into their minds that the majority of the day you're incapable of anything.
Best of luck, Pen.

I agree with Pen. If you answer the forms (or the questions at a face-to-face assessment) by saing 'Yes, but'.. then the thing that will be recorded is the 'Yes'. If you say 'No, not without...' then the 'No' will be the thing that is documented.