Painful PiP interview

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Hi all, I had a telephone interview with a PiP advisor earlier today and was left absolutely exhausted! Is it normal that they pish you to continue for over an hour?

I've had two lobectomies and suffer with breathlessness which she could hear. I explained that my meds give my clusters of mouth ulcers and dry mouth so it hurts to talk, I kept having to stop and drink. I asked for a break several times but she kept saying we are nearly finished.

I was so exhausted I had to have a rest afterwards and I'm annoyed that I soldiered on though it was difficult and she was acting sympathetically. My husband has said she will probably say that I managed the interview for 1 hour with no problems. Should I have told her to stop? I don't understand how they can push you like this. Anyone else had this experience? Thanks

Katie - Macmillan over 1 year ago

Hello Deri

Thank you for reaching out to us here at Macmillan.

I’m sorry to hear the PIP interview left you feeling exhausted, especially given your health and breathlessness. Sometimes when we are in a situation, we feel unable to question or push for something, which in this case was to have a break and we end up pushing through which then has an adverse effect.

Are you aware we have a specialist money team here on the support line who can give advice and guidance around PIP? I feel it would be worth speaking to them, explaining what happened and how it left you feeling, they support those with cancer who have applied for PIP and had interviews so they will have a great deal of support and experience to give to you. Our money team are available by calling our helpline on 0808 808 0000 choosing option 1 and 2 or you can contact them through our Online chat or by email.

We also have our Practical Issues Forum on the Online Community too – it may be worth taking a look there as others may have been through similar.

Deri you mentioned feeling breathless and having ulcers, do you have any medical help with this at all? If not, it would be worthwhile reaching out to your GP or healthcare team for support with this.

Aside from the PIP interview, how are you finding day-to-day life? We are here to support you – we provide a place to talk through your feelings and ways to help manage them, as well as providing practical information around accessing support and we also have our clinical helpline nurses.

Please do keep in touch with us Deri, it is important to reach out for support when needed.

Take care,

Katie

Katie, Information and Support Adviser

Remember you can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or by email.

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Painful PiP interview