Am I eligible for DLA benefit as a heroin addict on methadone treatment?

[usandthem]

Sapphire, Ok so I got the wrong end of what you were saying. I apologize. It was just that last sentence " I have always worked on methadone, there's no reason you can't". Methadone will not, in words, make anyone physically disabled but methadone can, in some people, impair their mental judgement. So it could actually become a hazard for 'some' methadone users to take on long hours, or for some, any hours.

Of course there are many methadone users who suffer from other debilitating issues that should excuse them from carrying out work. But there are also some highly motivated and ambitious methadone users too with problems they can better cope with. (Props to them) Its not about not wanting to work, it is about not being able to work for some...anyway!! I have said what I needed to on this matter!

John

[jonleeds]

Although what really makes my blood boil is all the people who are now moaning about the cuts to everything been made by the Tory / Lib Dem coalition government. Where were these same people on polling day?

If they had voted Labour back in then yes the economy would still be in turmoil as this is a global event, and I'm sure Labour would have been forced to make some cuts too, but not on the scale that the Tories are doing.

The Tories would make cuts even if the economy was booming! People have got such short memories, I mean I'm only 37  but I can perfectly remember life in Thatchers Britain and the misery that nearly 2 decades of Tory rule brought us. Why oh why did people vote these monsters back in...

 I mean even if all these people on benefits could have been bothered to miss an episode of Jeremy Kyle to go vote for Labour then we wouldnt be in this mess, the Tories are just milking this economic crisis to rush through cuts on public services and privatise the NHS etc. I nearly wept when I heard that the Conservatives had done a deal with the Lib-Dems to steal the election.. FFS! Still what can anyone do now, we have to put up with them for the next couple more years at least.

[simon]

Although what really makes my blood boil is all the people who are now moaning about the cuts to everything been made by the Tory / Lib Dem coalition government. Where were these same people on polling day?

If they had voted Labour back in then yes the economy would still be in turmoil as this is a global event, and I'm sure Labour would have been forced to make some cuts too, but not on the scale that the Tories are doing.

The Tories would make cuts even if the economy was booming! People have got such short memories, I mean I'm only 37  but I can perfectly remember life in Thatchers Britain and the misery that nearly 2 decades of Tory rule brought us. Why oh why did people vote these monsters back in...

 I mean even if all these people on benefits could have been bothered to miss an episode of Jeremy Kyle to go vote for Labour then we wouldnt be in this mess, the Tories are just milking this economic crisis to rush through cuts on public services and privatise the NHS etc. I nearly wept when I heard that the Conservatives had done a deal with the Lib-Dems to steal the election.. FFS! Still what can anyone do now, we have to put up with them for the next couple more years at least.

When gold was at its lowest price Brown sold lots of it off. If you are fit to work do so. Pay taxes, get a pension.

[jonleeds]

What work? The only jobs out there are the jobs without wages.

[simon]

What work? The only jobs out there are the jobs without wages.

http://www.myleedsjobs.co.uk/
Any there take your fancy?

[froude]

YOU DONT GET DLA BECAUSE YOU ARE ON METHADONE.You get DLA if you have a Disabilty or Mental Health,its as simple as that.You can also get DLA for HEP C Treatment,Cancer treatment etc etc.At the start of the thread it did come over as though jon wanted DLA because he has a Methadone Script,now he has under lying problems he could put in for it .Personally id wait untill they sort it out,whether it stays DLA or goes to this  PIPS.Cheers Froude

[sapphire]

If we (as a MMT community) are fighting to have the same rights as anyone else taking (for example) MST's for arthtritis, if those people on MST's are working, why shouldn't we?

I am fighting for DLA for a terminal illness (not Hep C, HIV or anything drug induced), so when I see people asking if they can get DLA JUST for being on methadone, it rather rankles the old blood.

People should try for DLA, if they have illnesses that severly impact their day, and how they can care for themselves, for me though, being on methadone does not come into this category.

[froude]

Saphh ,You got it bang on YOU CANT EXPECT DLA FOR BEING ON METHADONE.Its a Disability Allowance and METHADONE DOES NOT GIVE YOU A DISABILITY,END OF.Where the government and TV shows like Saints and Scroungers high light the impact of benefit fraud ,it puts people like me who have a Disability and Mental Health problems paranoid that everyone presumes im ripping off the state,just because I get Benefits, and it pisses me off.When infact im a bricklayer by trade and now cant lift a trowel full of muck,due to limited use of my left arm(cant pick up a kettle let alone a trowel)which is getting worse,ive paid my taxes when I was working ,and id rather be on a scaffold somewhere today putting down course after course of blocks or bricks than at home all the time, well im getting even more worse than i am already ,ive done the 75hrs a week and paid my hundreds of thousands in  taxes,like every other fucker in the country,it isnt the fault of me or anyone else that i have had 3 major accidents (nothing to do with Drugs)in my life and ive ended up like this,same as the next person.Just the way life gives it to you,but to think you get DLA for being on methadone,well what the fucking hell are people on,all the best Froude

[sapphire]

Froude, we speak the same language!

[OP8S]

If you're stable on a dose of methadone then that should surely help you into work. Any other medical issues should be treated seperatley. If being prescribed methadone was a reason that stopped you from working then I'm sure the Gov. would soon get you off it. For the majority of time that I've been habited I managed to hold down a job, even if it was by the skin of my teeth. Or by going self-employed & doing concrete work, laying bricks, kerbs whatever work I could get. I've had a toot or two, or three, or four......in every public toilet, construction site toilet in the county. Enough to get me through the day anyway, after my early morning dig. I wouldn't like to say how many times I've told workmates that I've had diahhorea, or constipation when asked why the toilets were occupied for extended periods of time. Now that I have stopped going through what was for me a revolving door for me at DSP & have decided on maintenance at a decent dose ( I think a lot of past scripts I was underdosed ) I have changed jobs & never have to worry about not being able to work because I was clucking or the worry of getting caught. I don't feel that I have to use on top of my script but occassionally do, if it is an opiate that's worth taking or particularilly good gear.
Switching from the daily cycle of scoring to taking a decent dose of meth each day has enabled me to get a better job, more money etc.
There are people like Froude who would rather be out there working & making a few quid extra for themselves but can't because of other health issues. John may fall into that category also, but because there are so many fraudulent claims made everybody who claims benefits seem to get tarred with the same brush by the British public.
Being on methadone itself is no reason not to work. That's like saying somebody with type1 diabetes cannot work.

[usandthem]

Methadone helps people to work if they are 'motivated' and do not suffer from other debilitating illnesses that often come along with being an addict / or a methadone user for 'some'. Agreed. The methadone itself does not contribute to someones debilitating condition and can help some users of course. Although we must agree that in some users methadone use in the long term can change a user's physiology. Making them very drowsy at times. Profuse sweating. So methadone doesn't on its own make you sick, but it can contribute to changing physiology and can bring about other debilitating ailments in 'SOME' users. It doesn't matter.

John

[sapphire]

I agree John, but being on Methadone alone is no reason why people shouldn't work, especially if they're on a stable dose.

If we want the same rights as "pain" patients, we have to play the game, it's a double edged sword.