Spinal Stenosis

sandrawilson1968

Hello everyone, I’m 51 years old and have suffered with back pain for 11 years now. I take various pain medication and I have had lots of epidurals and most recently have had a microwave ablation of my lumbar spine. I have two very badly degenerated discs and two others which are mildly degenerated and I also have issues with both cervical and thoracic spine pain and have numbness in both legs and arms. At the moment I am still working full time but increasingly I am finding this very difficult, when I have time off I find that I’m in a lot less pain and am considering either going part time or giving up altogether. My question is would I be entitled to any benefits? Ive really no idea what I should do but know I can’t carry on as I am. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

poppy123456

Hi,

The first thing to think about is PIP. This isn't means tested so other household income isn't counted. PIP isn't about a diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect your ability to carry out daily activities based on the PIP descriptors.

Evidence will be needed to support your claim and a face to face assessment is most likely. A claim could take several months.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

Have you spoken to your employer about reasonable adjustments? http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=6074

For your job. SSP is the first thing you should look at claiming first, this is payable for 28 weeks.

https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay You'll need a fit/sick note from your GP to be able to claim this.

For anything else then it really depends on your circumstances and without knowing all the details it's impossible to give the correct advice. You should speak to your local CAB or other advice centre for a full benefits check.

Please do not leave your job without first speaking to ACAS https://employeradvice.org/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=acas&utm_campaign=ACAS-TP&gclid=Cj0KCQjwocPnBRDFARIsAJJcf951kY-3ihtOHU654rcc_W1ympH4n6U3m9aRwPouxoGJwk-oIIpBwNgaAs9qEALw_wcB

sandrawilson1968

Thanks poppy, my employer has done numerous workplace assessments and they have provided me with a better chair but they are very good at lip service regarding regular breaks etc but in theory it just doesn’t happen. I work as a cashier in a large high street bank and as they are closing branches all the time now and we are always short staffed I regularly work from 8.45am to 4.15pm with no break at all. I don’t really want to go off sick because I don’t want my colleagues to suffer anymore than they already are. Il contact citizens advice and see how I get on. Thanks again 

poppy123456

You're welcome. If you're unable to work because of a health condition then SSP is your first option and this must be claimed first.

That's also a very long time to work without a break and that is wrong, you are entitled to a break of at least 30 minutes for those amount of hours. https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/hours_of_work/rest_periods_and_breaks.html

Joanne1991

I am 28 I was diagnosed with narrowing of the spine last month I'm still waiting for a letter from the spinal team in Newcastle but these last few days my body is just aching and I'm wondering if it is connected with my back 

chiarieds

Hi @Joanne1991 Welcome to this forum. I'm sorry to read about the problem you're facing, & hope you hear soon from your spinal team. In the meanwhile you could discuss your current concerns with your GP.

Please look around this forum also as others have this narrowing of the spine, sometimes referred to as 'stenosis,' so you may connect with others to share your experiences of this.