Hi Everyone, just wanted to let you know I received my PIP decision in today's post. The Decision Maker has gone with the health care professional's findings and I have been awarded Enhanced Daily Living and Standard Mobility for four years. Would have liked a longer award time but am just so relieved.

If anyone's wondering about notification of decision times with regard to PIP, it really seems to be a lottery. I was assessed at home on August 8th and here's my decision on August 25th!

I'd like to thank everyone here, especially all the Moderators, for their kindness, patience, knowledge and encouragement. This Forum is a life saver for me as there are no organisations in my area to whom I can turn.

And although I have yet to hear from the DWP about the home visit review I've posted about elsewhere, I am, for today at least, relieved!

Good luck to all, carry on with the fight for your rightful claims and don't give up. I'll still be logging on to see how folk are doing and with regard to these seemingly tougher ESA reviews.

But for now......

That's great news Jul! Thanks for letting us know and for you kind words about B+W - we are glad to have been able to help

Hello Jul, so glad you have now received confirmation of your award, and in pretty reasonable time too! Here's hoping the stupid home review thing gets sorted out soon as well. Yes you are so rite, this forum is a true life saver! Wishing you all the best. Take good care PP

Well done ! I have a home visit for three weeks I am so worried about what to expect how did you find yours

So pleased for you Jul that you now have the result you were hoping for. You can now put this to the back of your mind for a while and hopefully feel less stressed. Reading posts on here sure makes you realise the levels of stress people are experiencing and how unfair it is for all going through this process. Good to hear a positive outcome.

Thanks Mrs Hurtyback, Porthole Pete (you always cheer me up!), Lesley and Dades. It's so kind of you to wish me well while most of you are still going through it.

Lesley, in answer to your home visit query. I was on my own and assessed by an RGN who said she had experience in oncology and mental health. The assessment took an hour and a half, possibly as I was slow to answer as I suffer mental blanks a lot. She seemed genuinely keen to treat my mental health fairly but I think came with an agenda to nip in the bud my deteriorating physical health regarding mobility. So just be prepared for anything. You will no doubt be nervous but I would suggest you stick to the questions and offer little else except info directly connected with the descriptors. Don't be side-tracked. You can stop this by politely asking what the question is, be confused, and simply say you don't understand. There's an excellent section here on the forum regarding 'trick questions' though I have to say the nurse I saw didn't do any of that. If you can have someone with you then I would advise it. If you think it's going to be horrendous (a natural thought!) just go with that emotion and be as you are on the day. I opted to not take Diazepam simply because I wanted to keep my wits about me as best I can especially as my other meds sedate me anyway. Don't treat this as a social visit. It isn't. There's no need to put on a brave face. I'd suggest you allow yourself to just be. You'll soon see how the health professional is handling things and react accordingly. Remember, there are some okay ones, and if you feel too pressured ask for a comfort break. It was noted in my Report that I didn't ask for one so they're looking out for all that stuff. I had one just after she arrived!

There are tons of posts about home assessments on the Forum so do look at some of them but remember we're all different, as are the assessors. All you can do is answer what you can to the best of your ability on the day. Other than that, no more of you can be asked. I wish you all the luck in the world, though, as it did upset me and I stared at a wall in my flat for about an hour afterwards I was so 'done in'. But one thing you can be sure of - YOU WILL SURVIVE IT!!!