ESA 50 with severe Crohn's, tube-feeding etc

I just got my ESA50 form and have been making lists preparatory to a rough draft on the computer, and I've got a list of questions and concerns which I hope someone can advise on:

Background: I'm transferring from IB, and claiming in relation to severe Crohn's disease and Intestinal Failure. The latter means that, due to extensive surgery/removal of parts of the small bowel, and due to the Crohn's itself, I can't absorb enough nutrients and calories from my food alone. So I'm fed overnight be a PEG tube connected to an enteral feeding pump.

As well as a lot of bowel problems (including frequency, urgency, night and occasional daytime incontinence - though the latter looks unlikely to meet the "while conscious" or "extensive" requirements of the form to get points), I experience pain, fatigue and problems with stamina, and these frequently interfere with basic activities like cooking or shopping.

The only time my form asks about my carrying out these day-to-day activities is in the part about mental/emotional difficulties. (By the by, I have depression - for which I'm on antidepressants - and anxiety, but these have never been the basis for my claim, and while I mention them in passing any time I have to fill out IB review forms, I don't want to claim on basis of the mental health issues now.)

So, Question 1: How do I even answer this question? Surely if I answer it by saying "my ability varies" and give details, I leave myself open to sanctions if someone decides it's a mistake or wilful wrong information, that I'm talking about it in that part of the form. Yet if I tick that I have no problem with everyday tasks, yet refer in the big box on question 4 to my generalised difficulties, I'm contradicting my answer in the mental health section.

Question 2: Just how much do examiners weigh that box on question 4? Because I think that the reason I always had successful reviews in the past, for IB, was that I gave lengthy, clear detailed descriptions of how I am affected and specifying how much of that affected me overnight. Advisors had told me needing night-time help often tipped the scales. Is that still true now, or are they purely interested in my hypothetical day at work?

Question 3: What sorts of pitfalls have other people filling out this form with Crohn's disease, Intestinal Failure, and/or tube-feeding come across? I've tried searching the forum based on "crohns" but it brings up only two results. Yet I know there's a lot of us out there...

Thanks for any support you can offer.

Hi Ykoriana,

The ESA50, and associated decision, will look purely at the effects of your condition on your abilities. If you answer 'yes' to any question, you are saying that you do not have any problems with this activity. If you always have problems with pain, fatigue or repeatability/safety when you understake an acitivity then you should tick 'no' and use the free-text to explain. If your condition varies from day to day then you should tick 'it varies' and explain how you are at best and at worst, giving an indication of how many days per week you would expect this situtation to occur.

You should continue to give 'lengthy, clear explanations' and back these up with whatever evidence you can. As you suspect, your nocturnal peg feeds will be of little relevance unless you can show how they also impact on your daytime acitvites.

There is no reason why you should not document your mental-health issues on that part of the form, but it is up to you. DWP can no longer consider any mental/emotional impact unless you actually have a diagnosed mental-health condition (i know that you have such a condition, I am making it clear for anyone else who reads this).

I cannot answer your third question but it may be that some of our members will be able to help.

If you have any further questions, please come back and ask them on this thread/topic as it makes it easier if everything is kept in one place. You will find this easily in future if you mark it as a 'favourite' now