What is NOT an AID? (PIP)
Hello warriors, how are you?
Please scroll down to the PIP section for the information on what is not an aid…..
Last night I had a big wobble. I was digging up things from the past and worrying about them, things I no longer have control over and that I did my best with. But I suffered massively from it. Then my jaw joints were severe as I must have been so tense.
Normally I am good at compartmentalising but when my pain and fatigue get severe they wear me down over time and its like my mental health then dips. This is why I so strongly advocate for people to get help with pain relief……you don’t realise when its creeping up on you and then its like it has control and you can’t break the negativity.
So, I did a call for help. I needed help to review the past couple of weeks of my Physio data to see what had gone wrong. I have been trying to review it myself and adapt my life.
Well TOTAL FAIL.
We know that my birthday resulted in 999 pain levels, which I am still not recovered from. As I type this I have chest pains and I still have to sleep in a mostly upright position.
BUT, then I had to do the emergency trip to the vets, but not before trying to buy cat baskets as all cats needed to go to the vets as one has severe sickness & diarrhoea.
My birthday was the 15th and the vets was the 19th. Here is what is weird about how chronic illness impacts your thought process……I did NOT link my birthday in. For me, as my sleep pattern is much worse than normal it feels like my birthday was MONTHS ago.
Even the vets feels like weeks ago.
So, my major fuck up was that I did NOT plan recovery time. I should have cleared my diary to JUST REST and give my body time to recover. What did I do?
Tried to keep going as per normal and then totally screwed my own head up when I failed EVERY FUCKING DAY! Hence a self-inflicted wobble.
I have just cleared my diary and planned recovery time. I have also removed some consultancy booking slots again.
I feel so much better now I understand why I feel this way. I cannot tell you what a difference this makes when trying to do more than survive with chronic illness!
Achievement of the week
This week was supposed to be my ‘get back to normal work’ week. Its not quite happened but I did get to do a client meeting with code name: TOO RARE TO DIE!
It was amazing, we got so much done….I did need extra time to finish everything but we got it all done!!
It was sooo great to get back to work! But I am not able to do two client meetings in one week yet.
What has made me happy
I have not been well enough to do trick training with Ollie and Matilda every day, BUT I did manage one day. One of the things we are working on is ‘weaves’, now when Ollie does some tricks; she does it in the SLOWEST way possible.
Ollies version of jumping through a hoop is very slowly and carefully. To the point it made our dog trainer laugh out loud! Every time she does it, she does it slowly and carefully as I have to hold a hoop hahahaha.
Well, I had to ask, with WEAVES its normally done at speed. To get the ‘tick’ as authorised with this trick, does it need to be done fast? We have confirmed, speed is NOT a requirement….thank goodness LOL.
It was VERY VERY fucking hard to put the weave poles in the ground…I did a lot of grunting hahaha and they are too close together so I am going to ask our amazing housekeeper to move them for us!
Anyway, it made me super happy to at least try this……I am NOT going to be doing it much as it defo increased my pain but I could see Ollie loved doing something different as most of the training we have been doing we are able to do with me sat down!
My mums nausea is really bad due to her 5pm medication, tomorrow we are going to see her GP to discuss this as she is losing weight. Its totally controlling her daily life. So fingers crossed we get this sorted. (Its now 27/7/25 as I upload this, the new meds have reduced her nausea! Fingers crossed by the end of the day she is not experiencing it at all or a very small amount!).
Please see below for photos of my thank you’s! I really appreciate the cat and dog food I received….to clarify I am GRATEFUL of EVERYTHING! But with not working much since my mums stroke (end of April), the pet food is a MASSIVE help xx
Books I have read & book writing
I have just been reading my romance again.
With book writing, it turns out that editors charge extra for photos, extracts, tables that go into books. Well, I think I will have over 100!!!! As I plan on putting photos of the forms in, the points, extracts from the Government website that back up what I am saying, etc. I am going to do another meeting with the editor company as pretty soon I need to sign up to confirm we are going ahead. If I do this, I HAVE TO PAY to get the book published.
So this is a big time and money investment from me. I really want to do it but this week scared me. I mean what if I invest the money and then my body shuts down and not only am I not able to work and pay the bills but I have the outgoings for the publishing as well??
Arthritis update
It’s been shit. Enough said this week I think LOL.
Subscribe for more detailed, riverting updates like this hahahaha
PIP
Congratulations to: THE ROCKING UNICORN! And thank you so much for the cat food and socks! You didn’t have to send me anything but I really appreciate it! xx
I want to talk about:
What is NOT an aid!
Firstly, a big shout out to:
EXACEBATING SUMMER
And
TOO RARE TO DIE
These clients really helped me realise I had missed a very important guide about what does NOT count as an aid from a PIP point of view.
The following are NOT aids (I will add to the list when I do the YouTube video which will come out in Sept I think):
Muscle massagers
Ergonamic equipment for sitting at a desk (although they may be interested in this if you are working, on how you achieve it BUT this is NOT good enough to add to your EVIDENCE pack)
Electric tooth brush/mouth guards/etc
Air filters/purifier/dehumidifiers
Weighted blankets/eye masks
The pillows I have stacked so I can try and sleep (as PIP do NOT care about sleep)
Water bottles that able bodied people use
Any exercise equipment (even ones to build hand strenght)
The above list is not exhaustive.
An aid is (extract from GOV.UK PIP Assessment Guide part 2: the assessment criteria):
I hope this helps you understand this more and saves you and the DWP time!
What I am looking forward to
Feeling a bit better! Being able to work on YouTube for a couple of days.
This weeks video
Take care of yourself
Charlie
P.S
WEBSITE:
https://charlies-journey.co.uk
On my website you will find - PIP points and templates that you can download for FREE - Our top Frequently Asked Questions - Reviews
To book an appointment with me: https://calendly.com/charliesjourney
Insta link: https://www.instagram.com/charli3sjourn3y/
A big thank you to these people:
If you want to send me a little thank you (please do NOT do this unless you can truly afford it as I promise I have food to eat and can pay the mortgage x), here is my Amazon wish list: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/29P1EFQ3E47FW?ref_=wl_share
Something came up this week and I wonder if others are experiencing this. I contacted DWP asking why I have heard nothing about my PIP renewal that was sent to them in February, as my PIP ends at the end of September. I was getting jumpy because my Blue Badge ends on the same date, they only gave me a year this time because my PIP ends at the end of September (why do they do that?! So frustrating! ) Anyway, I was told by the DWP that I will get an extension put on my PIP, because they are inundated. I said that not only is it a renewal, it was a change of circumstances due to the fact that my mobility is even worse now due to being run over by a car in 2023. I told the DWP that the blue badge renewal takes 2-3 months and I am anxious because my mobility is so poor now, I don't want to be without my Blue badge, it really is a lifesaver, cos just like you Charlie, it's dangerous and extra steps and minutes standing cause severe crashes and pain, up to a week in bed to recover, if not longer. He said well you may have to go without it for a little while? WTF??!!! Has anybody else had this happen to them recently? I went without one for a month a number of years ago, and it really effed me up and caused a big flare from the extra movement and steps. So have other people been given extensions on their PIP recently too? Chronically ill and disabled people should be the ones to make PIP assessments, because no other organisation or our own Doctors, and even specialists have absolutely No Bloody Idea what living with chronic illness, pain, fatigue, and every disability under the sun is actually like.