GF Rejected for Disability Allowance, AGAIN! [Rant]

IrishMetalhead

Hey all looking for some advice/support and to vent abit.
Around November last year my partner had to leave her course because she is suffering from severe obesity and depression which was making it almost impossible for her to continue.
We applied for disability allowance as it was strongly recommended by her doctor untill she's finished up in the waight management clinic and so she went on suplementry allowance till then.
Couple of months ago we recieved a letter saying that her case was examined by a medical expert and that she was not entitled to disability allowance but we heard that they will reject you first time round and that you just reapeal so we did with a hand writen letter from her docotor explaining why she can't work.
Needless to say her GP was disgusted by there decision but said they probably just looked at the application and saw that she was only 21 and decided to refuse her without considering her condition.
Well today we recieved another letter and suprise suprise she has been refused again so now we have to reapeal this all over again.
How is it that there fully abled body people easily able to claim disabilty and yet my GF who legitly can't work be constantly refused, this "medical advisor" they have must be a complete incompetent jackass I swear.
Also if this is the standard procedure for claiming disability allowance, yet there are people with mental health problems like my GF then it's going to stress them out and worsen there condition like it has with herself already so is our welfare board that incompetent?

DollyB

Sorry but as a person on disability allowance for bipolar disorder I can say you got it a bit wrong.
GP's can only push a little bit for DA. I was accepted at 18 (and was told by the social welfare inspector that I should have been scene I was 16)
The reason I got on it was I had seen numerous psychologists and psychiatrists along with mental health doctors. I was subscribed many trial and error drugs to balance it out and repeatedly tested to see if my moods were changing. If my GP was to have just wrote a letter without me being diagnosed by the professionals in the field I was applying for I would also have been denied.


Did they give a reason why she has been denied?
To qualify for DA your condition has to have continued or may be expected to continue for at least one year. They could argue that your GF's weight could be controllable within the year and as her depression is caused by her weight it will then subside.

Has she seen a professional in the field of mental health problems who has diagnosed her with depression or is it just her GP?
If not she needs to.

And is her weight that bad that she could not sit in a training course or behind an office desk or cashiers desk? If she could physically sit in a job then she could be seen as fit to work and if not diagnosed by a professional I can see why they could deny her. Not that I agree with it!

"How is it that there fully abled body people easily able to claim disability"
I know there are people out there claiming and not a thing wrong with them but you have to remember some people look 100% but are in fact not able to work either I do have bipolar but also have kidney problems which would also let me be on disability but to everyone else I look like a fully able person.

IrishMetalhead

oh yea forgot to meantion, we had a hand written note from her councillor at the waight management clinic explain her mental state is caused by childhood trama and not her waight and her waight is caused by her mental condition and she has been on numerous anti depressives and non to great effect.
i know what you mean about able body people and i didn't mean anyone with mental health problems i meant people who are claiming mental health problems but theres not a damn thing wrong with them, like a few people i know (one of which is a son of a former fianne fail counsellor) but it sickens me that when i report these people not a damn thing seems to be done about it

SerialComplaint

IrishMetalhead wrote: »

i meant people who are claiming mental health problems but theres not a damn thing wrong with them, like a few people i know (one of which is a son of a former fianne fail counsellor) but it sickens me that when i report these people not a damn thing seems to be done about it

How can you be so sure that there's not 'a damn thing wrong with them'?

DollyB

That is great that she is getting the help she needs but would she consider going to a professional outside the weight loss clinic for her depression?

It seems she is having two problems that are separate yet intertwined. Maybe ye could focus more on the depression rather than the weight, if the weight is not so bad that it is physically stopping her working the depression seems to be the thing that would get her onto the DA.

Also depression is a word that gets thrown around a lot it's easy to say someone has depression but what type can also sway the medical adviser.

Is she on the tablets at this point in time (also a big factor)?

Your GP was also very wrong saying they did not consider her because of age. And they should not be saying things like that to her or anybody!

I really do hope she gets this sorted but if don't she could apply to job seekers which is the same rate. Or did she not pass the means test?

I'm sure you've seen this many times but just incase and have you tried calling into your local citizens information center?

http://http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/disability_and_illness/disability_allowance.html

DollyB

SerialComplaint wrote: »

How can you be so sure that there's not 'a damn thing wrong with them'?

That's actually very true too not everyone is willing or even mentally able to admit they are receiving a DA for such and such reason.

IrishMetalhead

SerialComplaint wrote: »

How can you be so sure that there's not 'a damn thing wrong with them'?

because there old close friends who used to brag about cheating the system including this one indvidual in perticular espiecally, needless to say i'm no longer friends with them cause of there actions

IrishMetalhead

DollyB wrote: »

That is great that she is getting the help she needs but would she consider going to a professional outside the weight loss clinic for her depression?

It seems she is having two problems that are separate yet intertwined. Maybe ye could focus more on the depression rather than the weight, if the weight is not so bad that it is physically stopping her working the depression seems to be the thing that would get her onto the DA.

Also depression is a word that gets thrown around a lot it's easy to say someone has depression but what type can also sway the medical adviser.

Is she on the tablets at this point in time (also a big factor)?

Your GP was also very wrong saying they did not consider her because of age. And they should not be saying things like that to her or anybody!

I really do hope she gets this sorted but if don't she could apply to job seekers which is the same rate. Or did she not pass the means test?

I'm sure you've seen this many times but just incase and have you tried calling into your local citizens information center?

http://http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/disability_and_illness/disability_allowance.html

Well she was referred to a councellor who specialises in family affairs and domestic abuse but said it's quite difficult to get the HSE to pay for it.
Also her weight is also a huge deal probably just as big as the depression as it's massively effecting her mobility and will be spending the next year or two attending the weight management clinic getting it under control but will ltake time.

SerialComplaint

IrishMetalhead wrote: »

because there old close friends who used to brag about cheating the system including this one indvidual in perticular espiecally, needless to say i'm no longer friends with them cause of there actions

And when they brag about how many pints they've drunk, and how many girls they've shagged, and how fast they were driving, do you believe everything that they brag about?

DollyB

All i can recommend you do is consult your CWO, Social welfare inspector and citizens information for more advice.
While your GP and Councillor might be a great support they are not the people ye need to be talking too.
There is some reason why she is not getting accepted so I would check into why that is even though the always give a reason why?!?

ahnowbrowncow

My single mother is bipolar due to childhood taruma, she was in hospital for over a year because of it when I was a kid. You know what she did when she got out, she got a job and raised her kids, she could of easily got a disability allowance. Even when she was hospitalized for a second time she continued working when left. She is on medication now and will be for the rest of her life and suffers from weight problems but she continues to work.

Moral of that story is for your gf to face her fears and stay strong, hiding from people is not going to help her. If she was on disability and hiding from the world how would you have met her? Help her lose weight, gain confidence and get over her childhood trauma but receiving disability benefit won't do that for her.

If everyone in this country who had depression was on disability there would about 1 million people on disability.

DollyB

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

My single mother is bipolar due to childhood taruma, she was in hospital for over a year because of it when I was a kid. You know what she did when she got out, she got a job and raised her kids, she could of easily got a disability allowance. Even when she was hospitalized for a second time she continued working when left. She is on medication now and will be for the rest of her life and suffers from weight problems but she continues to work.

Moral of that story is for your gf to face her fears and stay strong, hiding from people is not going to help her. If she was on disability and hiding from the world how would you have met her? Help her lose weight, gain confidence and get over her childhood trauma but receiving disability benefit won't do that for her.

If everyone in this country who had depression was on disability there would about 1 million people on disability.

That is fantastic for your mother fair play to her and yes loads of people work and have great careers and lifes with mental disorders like bipolar and so on.
But it is very easy to say face your fears when it's not you in that situation!!
I think something we all forget is that depression affects everyone differently and yes we can all come out the other side but we take different paths.

Also please don't take this the wrong way but you do relise there are at least 4 different types of bipolar and each one needs to be treated to meet and individuals needs.

Anyway OP did not state what type of depression his GF or that she is hiding from anyone.

You also have to factor in a lot of other things which come with depression such as PTSD, GAD, SAD and so on.

Again fantastic for your mother

ahnowbrowncow

DollyB wrote: »

That is fantastic for your mother fair play to her and yes loads of people work and have great careers and lifes with mental disorders like bipolar and so on.
But it is very easy to say face your fears when it's not you in that situation!!
I think something we all forget is that depression affects everyone differently and yes we can all come out the other side but we take different paths.

Also please don't take this the wrong way but you do relise there are at least 4 different types of bipolar and each one needs to be treated to meet and individuals needs.

Anyway OP did not state what type of depression his GF or that she is hiding from anyone.

You also have to factor in a lot of other things which come with depression such as PTSD, GAD, SAD and so on.

Again fantastic for your mother

She has/had bipolar type 1 (not sure), she had a couple of schizophrenic episodes before her periods in hospital. She's doing great now though and I've so much respect for her and how she kept going.

Maybe I was being hard and insensitive on the op's gf because of my experiences but I wish her all the best.

DollyB

Sorry she would have had schizophrenia-like delusions and hallucinations not actual schizophrenic episodes as these are two separate disorders!!!
Also if bipolar one called manic episodes.

Yes hopefully it all works out

ranks420

helo all i did have a total hip replacement i did apply for disabilty allowance as a result they turn it down then i asked for a review the results is same again.I am gonna appeal now so my question is there any one get disability allowance with hip replacement or my diseases doesnt fit the critaria for D.A...please do replay me i will be greatfull thnx..god bless all

Scruffles

two cousins of mine in tallaght got disability allowance first time under the harder child criteria; one has learning disability [intelectual,not SpLD] and the other has high functioning classic autism and mental health issues,under adult criteria theye had no problem getting it to.

people claiming it need to remember most people who get awarded it wont post unlike those who have problems getting it.
more complex impairments are difficult to get recognised because the people who are assessing are not specialists and the assessments are tick box stuff which dont really fit anything but straight forward basic issues.