Help! Phone call from ESA after medical

Today I received the dreaded brown envelope - but it was good news, I have been placed in the Support Group again!

My husband and I could have cried ... I was shaking with relief. It means so much to us to not have to fight, and to feel "relatively" safe again. We spent three days filling in the form back in May, writing statements and double checking our answers with the guide.

Then when I was called for a medical at the end of June, I had such a flare up from the stress it caused. I couldn't sleep for about 3 nights. In the medical itself I couldn't stop crying during the half hour wait and at the beginning of the assessment. I pulled myself together in the end but didn't feel I did myself justice. The guides helped so much (and the fact that it was my second medical (last one was 3 or 4 years ago). We did plan to write to them the next day because I was so worried I hadn't answered thoroughly enough, but I was then blindsided by new blood test results and in the end I had no mental energy left to send more letters.

And the phone call I was so worried about may well have been to let me know I had been placed in the support group. They never did ring back.

I want to say thank you again to Benefits and Work for their fantastic guides - without them I know I wouldn't have been placed in the support group 2 assessments in a row.

I just have one tip for anyone else in my position. Make sure you go to your GP before you send off your form in order to let them know how your illnesses affect you day to day. I had changed GPs 2 years before (due to moving house) so my new GPs didn't know me well. I only went to them for maintenance of my medications, they have never seen me at my worst. Which meant, when the DWP wrote to them to ask if my GPs felt I could do any work and if a face to face health assessment was necessary, whatever answers they gave (without talking to me) triggered the face to face assessment. But had I gone to them and shared with my GPs how my illnesses actually affect me day to day, then maybe I'd have been spared the medical. Obviously I couldn't say for certain, but with hindsight I really should have talked to my GPs about it. The guide does mention this, and I did actually book an appointment, but due to anxiety and other issues I didn't use the appointment to talk frankly in the end. I really wish I had now.

Still, I was fortunate in the end, and our preparations paid off. Thank you for your support.
Honestly, I have no idea how we would have survived with any other result.

That's great news Natasha! Thanks for letting us know and for your kind words about B+W, we are glad we were able to be of help

Hi Natasha,

I'm really pleased for you. I was unaware, until bullwhip's post, that the DWP phone to inform claimants of a positive outcome.

Hope you have some better nights sleep now.

Derek

thats great news Natasha. relax now no more worrying.