Hi, Ive been registered on this site for a few years now but havent logged in or used the site much for a year or so. Not sure how best to word all this so sorry if I ramble.
Need some help & advice about where to get help with claiming ESA please as I dont feel I can do it by myself.
Ive always had problems with depression since I was a teenager (am 35 now), I was finally diagnosed as bi-polar 2 1/2yrs ago when I had a breakdown and tried getting myself sectioned! Ive struggled on since then with meds helping but not much & my doctor just telling me to increase dosage whenever I wasnt doing good.
Was going okayish till about a year ago when I came off income support and started self-employment. Since then my mental health has deteriorated to the point where I simply cannot cope anymore and am walking around crying a lot of the time. Im struggling with everything and am just about managing to see to myself and my two boys (aged 8 & 9) though everything around me seems to be falling apart. I dont know if its the added stress of work or not that is the cause or if my condition is worsening/meds need changing or something else.
I went to see the doctor last September and he recommended changing my meds but wanted me to have blood tests first to what med levels were in my blood. He also wanted to sign me off sick but I thought I could cope at the time. When I went to get results that doctor was off and the locum had no idea what to do and referred me to the CPN which didnt help at all. After being passed from one person to another I kind of gave up trying to get help and struggled on, ending up coming off my meds totally as I hate taking them & being on them didnt make any difference to how I was before being on them.
My mental health has now got to the point where some days I struggle to do the simplest things and cant see the point in anything at all.
Now Ive got an additional problem - Ive always had 'bad' joints that ache/hurt/swell randomly. This has gradually got worse since the beginning of the year to the point where even the joints in my toes hurt! 3 weeks ago I woke up and my hands/wrists were so swollen and painful that I couldnt move and had to get my neighbour to help sort my kids and get them to school.
With painkillers & antiflammatories from the doctor the swelling went down after a few days but since then pretty much all of me aches all the time even with strong painkillers and I cannot lift/grasp things (typing this is painful). Tests for rheumatoid arthritis come back clear so the doctor is doing some other tests to try see what is the problem.
Between my mental health and now my joints I cannot go on working and the doctor has signed me off for 2weeks to start (till I get psychiatrist appointment & also see how joints go).
Im stressing out as not had to claim esa before, phoned the claim line for it earlier and started the ball rolling but was crying and shaking through most of the phonecall.
I dont do well with forms/phonecalls/appointments never have and the thought of all this and having to claim is making things worse. Id carry on working if I could but physically cant atm as my main work involves lifting large bundles of leaflets. Also scared as though I can pick up new cleaning jobs when I improve, if Im off too long I will lose my main work as Im subcontracted.
Wow that was really long, sorry :s
Can anyone tell me where best to go for advice on claiming esa (possibly dla as well for mental health problems), and help with filling in forms etc as Im stuck and dont really have anyone who can help/support me with all this and I dont know what to do.
Thanks
Need some help & advice about where to get help with claiming ESA please as I dont feel I can do it by myself.
Ive always had problems with depression since I was a teenager (am 35 now), I was finally diagnosed as bi-polar 2 1/2yrs ago when I had a breakdown and tried getting myself sectioned! Ive struggled on since then with meds helping but not much & my doctor just telling me to increase dosage whenever I wasnt doing good.
Was going okayish till about a year ago when I came off income support and started self-employment. Since then my mental health has deteriorated to the point where I simply cannot cope anymore and am walking around crying a lot of the time. Im struggling with everything and am just about managing to see to myself and my two boys (aged 8 & 9) though everything around me seems to be falling apart. I dont know if its the added stress of work or not that is the cause or if my condition is worsening/meds need changing or something else.
I went to see the doctor last September and he recommended changing my meds but wanted me to have blood tests first to what med levels were in my blood. He also wanted to sign me off sick but I thought I could cope at the time. When I went to get results that doctor was off and the locum had no idea what to do and referred me to the CPN which didnt help at all. After being passed from one person to another I kind of gave up trying to get help and struggled on, ending up coming off my meds totally as I hate taking them & being on them didnt make any difference to how I was before being on them.
My mental health has now got to the point where some days I struggle to do the simplest things and cant see the point in anything at all.
Now Ive got an additional problem - Ive always had 'bad' joints that ache/hurt/swell randomly. This has gradually got worse since the beginning of the year to the point where even the joints in my toes hurt! 3 weeks ago I woke up and my hands/wrists were so swollen and painful that I couldnt move and had to get my neighbour to help sort my kids and get them to school.
With painkillers & antiflammatories from the doctor the swelling went down after a few days but since then pretty much all of me aches all the time even with strong painkillers and I cannot lift/grasp things (typing this is painful). Tests for rheumatoid arthritis come back clear so the doctor is doing some other tests to try see what is the problem.
Between my mental health and now my joints I cannot go on working and the doctor has signed me off for 2weeks to start (till I get psychiatrist appointment & also see how joints go).
Im stressing out as not had to claim esa before, phoned the claim line for it earlier and started the ball rolling but was crying and shaking through most of the phonecall.
I dont do well with forms/phonecalls/appointments never have and the thought of all this and having to claim is making things worse. Id carry on working if I could but physically cant atm as my main work involves lifting large bundles of leaflets. Also scared as though I can pick up new cleaning jobs when I improve, if Im off too long I will lose my main work as Im subcontracted.
Wow that was really long, sorry :s
Can anyone tell me where best to go for advice on claiming esa (possibly dla as well for mental health problems), and help with filling in forms etc as Im stuck and dont really have anyone who can help/support me with all this and I dont know what to do.
Thanks