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Sounds like something I get (at least on the hands) - and I don't have ME! Are the spots on the leg related to the hair follicles at all, perchance?

I notice that a couple of people have mentioned burping: is this something that's common with ME? My caree gets it when she's particularly exhausted, and it has a noticeable smell. Very odd.

I fear that depends on your location: mine told me they didn't get the funding to help with appeals :(

Thank you to everyone who's responded. Thanks for the suggestion - I'll ask her whether she's been checked for it recently. Looking at the link, I see it also mentions that the symptoms might also be those of hypothyroidism, which she does have. Ah, the words "full on crash" are ringing...

Thank you, Blueskytoo. I'm afraid I don't do Facebook, which is obviously a major problem :(

I suppose this is probably the right place to post this: my caree, over the past few days, has been complaining of a prickling/tingling feeling in her hands, feet, her scalp, sometimes all over her body, more or less. I suspect it's linked to stress. I wonder whether anyone else has had this...

To add to my list of potentially useful sites: I hadn't thought to look there because I don't really regard ME as a disability as such, but the Scope website seems to be active and contain a lot of discussion on PIP, ESA and so on. Still trying to find an advocate, and thinking I may need to...

Well, after wearing myself out doing the ESA questionnaire, woudyabelieveit, we got a decision to continue as-is, no face-to-face, nothing! Something went right for once - although possibly it was simply because they realised she'd be too old to qualify pretty shortly and it probably wasn't...

Oh dear, I'm so sorry :( Must admit, those "many avenues" don't appear to exist in my part of London :( I think I'd probably do better if I moved my house a couple of hundred yards down the road so that it was in a different borough.

I suppose this is technically off-topic, but: for the past couple of weeks I've been unable to access (i.e. post on) the Benefits & Work forum. I paid for a year's membership earlier this year; the website has my username and password stored under "Remember Me" (I can see the username, and the...

Coming to this rather late, I'm afraid, but ... You *have* to register as self-employed within 3 months of starting being freelance (I think it may be debatable whether this is defined as the first time you receive income from it?). HMRC may fine you if you don't. If you're living on your...

The BBC is reporting that pregabalin is being reclassified as a Class C drug - I'm not too sure what implication that has for people on here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-47766520

Well, to be fair, I guess the ESA dept. and the PIP dept. probably don't cross-reference when they do stuff, and the PIP should have been way ahead of where it is now if there hadn't been a number of delays. It's just that it's 3 years since her last ESA assessment, so I guess it's time for...

Unbelievable. Literally no sooner do I get shot of this appeal than a Capability for Work questionnaire arrives on the doormat. You couldn't make it up! This is really going to push her into a relapse - she was already exhausted from the appeal :(

There's been some coverage of the Miley v. Friends Life case on here, I see, but this appears to have slipped through the net: https://www.pressreader.com/uk/evening-standard-west-end-final/20190301/281642486468311/textview From what's been said, I could understand Friends Life's scepticism...

This is very confusing: when I click on the original link, I only get a 1-page document. When I go to the website I get 2 pages. Yet the screenshot shows 1/9. ????

Well, I've got that out of the way for now, so here are some tips and recommendations from me: Government's own guide to benefit appeals is quite useful (plus you'll need it to start your appeal anyway): https://www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision The DWP produces assessment guides: Part 1 goes...

Thank you everyone for your support thus far. I may come back and pick up on individual bits of your posts when I'm not supposed to be working (ahem!), but one thing I will say now is that I *have* found this site extremely helpful, both the PDF file and the website itself...

Less than 24 hours of being registered as a member, and I've already been awarded a Trophy! Anyway, that wasn't why I signed up: I joined here to ask if anyone had any pointers in relation to how to deal with a PIP appeal, since my caree has just had her mandatory reconsideration rejected...

Just caught it repeated on BBC News channel. It includes the following: Nearly ¾ of claimants win their cases on appeal A patient with MS got 0 points and was told she had no mobility issues, despite really being able to go out only using a mobility scooter. Her tribunal was arranged almost...