hi

im finally getting round to being assessed by a government doctor for the state's incapacity allowance (ive been living up to now on my company pension) and on saturday (a strange day i know) a psychiatrist is coming to assess me at my home.

ive just been speaking to my own shrink on the phone asking for advice about the meeting and what to expect. one thing that surprised me is my shrink said there was a possibility i would have to give a urine sample for a drugs test (he didnt say how much of a possibility this was) so to make sure i do not lie about my cannabis use because they will know from the test whether ive been using drugs and how much.

i wasnt expecting this! if id have known i would have stopped toking a couple of weeks ago. so, if i am drug tested its pretty much a dead cert theyll spot the cannabis. what my shrink didnt say is if it would be a problem if they found traces of cannabis. he seemed to suggest the real problem would be being caught lying about it, not actually testing positive for cannabis - that wouldnt affect the application, or at least he didnt say it would.

in my doctor's report, my official diagnsosis is Dysthymic Depression with Anxiety and Borderline Narcissistc Disorder. he's never actually told me im Borderline narcissistic although i had strong suspicions that i was. its funny after all these years in constant therapy, this is the first time ive got an official description of my diagnsos.

anyway, im just wondering, is drug testing common practice in the uk? i wonder if its just something they do with people with known drug "problems". (i know im in a different country, but its possible the procedures are similar between both countries).

cheers

mu

I don't know, but if they ask and you say you use it for the depression and anxiety you would think that's reasonable?

Or if you said becuase you were dipressed you 'did something stupid just once'?

Or even that you didn't knowingly take cannabis, a friend baked with some to cheer you up. It's a long shot but they can't prove otherwise I suppose?


e2a: If you're in a room with smokers, aren't you essentialy smoking? Cannabis could be seccond hand somke right?

Shotgun

one of the things i was worried about was what my shrink had written about my drug use in the report to the benefits people.

he wrote about cannabis that i have periods where i use it frequently and then periods where i dont smoke it, which has been true in the past, there has been times when ive not toked for a few months.

about the other drugs, he wrote that i used coke, e and speed 10 years ago but havent used since, which is true (apart from literally one or two occasions).

so the issue of drugs shouldnt affect my elligibility for the allowance if its just canna thats showing up in the test, thats what im hoping anyway.

i dont know anyone else i could ask urine for and theres not enough time to cleanse my system with the doctor coming to see me in 4 days time.

im hoping i wont get piss tested at all, but im glad im forewarned its a possibility.

No piss test for incapacity benefit in the UK. No questions at all relating to drug use that actually have any bearing on the benefit application, the only questions asked relate to your personal circumstances and the details of your illness. I'm disgusted by the very idea of drug testing benefit claimants, it's got fuck all to do with your illness or claim and so it's none of their business.

hi booj

i see.. thats very interesting to hear, thanks for the info mate.

theres a new politician bringing in alsorts of rigorous rules and regulations directed specifically at immigrants and unemployment and incapacity benefit claimants, a real nasty right-wing, racist cnut, much like the sort we're used to in the uk with the result being they are denying many more people benefits. my shrink says they are picking on the mentally ill most of all because they are the easiest targets. so this whole application business is a heavy weight on my mind because i dont know if i have a future here in switzerland if im declined this benefit.

if im asked about drug or cannabis use, im going to say that a dealer delivered some cannabis in the last few days because my anxiety has worsened as a result of worry for my situation. which isnt far from the truth anyway, only part that will be a lie is the dealer part. but at least it would explain why theres cannabis in my system.

I didn't have any samples taken for mine, mind you, it was 10 years ago and the rules might have changed.

When he arrives, flush the toilet, then open the door. I he asks for a sample, tell him that you've just been and you'll try to squueze a few drops out. Dissapear to the loo, and come back with a sad face, and tell him that you couldn't do it.
Ask him - if he insists - if it's ok for you to give a sample to your doctor? At least this will buy you a few days.

Hope all goes well for you
Scoobs

i would not stress out about it pot stays in the system longer then most other drugs around 45 days for heavy smokers so you got no chance of geting round it.when i was in prison and probation we tried every thing to get around it nothin worked as a fast fix carry on puffin thers a good chance youll not get tested anyhow. the other thing is if you tell your doctor you smoke dope its gona be on record alltho its privet thats only to joa blogs when it comes to goverment personel from any area docs espeshaly thay can see all.
like i say 4 days is not long enough to fix it so just forget it and play the cards you get hehe isent life fun.
good lock

hi scoobs...thats a good idea, thanks... altho, if he does ask, im going to say ive had some cannabis to calm my nerves. even if i did what you said and provided a urine sample perhaps a week later to my GP, it will still prove positive after several months of heavy continuous sustained use. i dont think an extra week will buy me enough time and i cant afford to stall really as i could do with the benefit asap really.

cheers mate..



you're right, i must try and stop stressing out. now wheres that valium!?

I'd wait for the shrink to raise the subject and say i'd smoked recently for anxiety/with a friend/other medi reasons. they already know you smoke anyway so i'd expect them to ask for a drug test if you say you're not using anymore.
the other alternative is to get some "clean" urine from a friend (same sex!) and stash it in the loo.
hi MU, good luck.

hi tony

as always, wise words, thanks for the advice. i want to stick to the truth really, im crap at lying and i dont want my integrity to be called in to question over some stupid white lie.

hope you're well matey

Passive inhalation turns up on drugs test, if you went to a party and everyone was puffing, couldn't you use that excuse. Its only a tiny lie.

Did someone say that already.

I recently took a DVLA medical to get my licence back, they now have a specific form JUST for cannabis, i had my last neat spliff of mc2 and 3rd rule cocktail @ 9.30am i had my blood taken @ 10.20 and did piss test at the same time.
The Doctor did the kerbside test for cannabis and i wrote /NA/ across the form no problem at all

The biggest give away apparently is when they do the follow my finger thingy they go into the middle of your eyes to make you crosseyed according to those in the know if you've had a spliff you physically cant cross your eyes..... WALOB !!!



Good Luck MU

a party. yeah i remember those.

parties and anxiety arent happy bedfellows.

Hi MU,

have you got a very good friend of the same gender who does'nt smoke weed? If so get him or her to provide you with a sample the morning of the visit and store in bathroom and then pour into container provided. In the UK it is illegal for a doctor to disclose any info unless permitted by patient or only if the individual is a proven criminal. The other choice is as was stated above say that you can't go and will provide a sample later.

Ben.

hiya sibs,

good to see you mate... thats interesting what you say about the driving test, im surprised at the system tolerating cannabis using drivers and not clumping them in with dangerous drink drivers (i know theyre not the same, but im surprised the authorities seem to know theyre not the same...)... well played!

thanks for the advice mate, i hope you're keeping well

mu

I'll be trying that later (I hope )... hehe

Good luck on saturday MU, i hope the outcome is the right one

Hi Mate

I've been thnking and the only reason i can think of them wanting to do a piss test is to make sure you're taking the medicines that are on the application, it might pay to just ring up and ask what time they want the piss taken do they want mid flow etc etc then just out of curiosity whats the test for my love/mate ??

hi sibs

that occurred to me this evening that it might be to check that im actually taking my medication but its not an issue because im taking all 6 meds that im officially on as prescribed and no others, so i dont need to worry about that...

cheers mate

Shit six meds for that? I'm not familar with the condition but that's quite a cocktail for a mental disorder.

yeah, it is...

3 anti-depressants to help with the depression and anxiety, they help by reducing the symptoms, but im still depressed and anxious, just to a lesser degree than without the ADs.

1 mood stabiliser to control my anger which is a symptom of my Borderline disorder (main symptom of borderline is rapid, frequent and often extreme changes in mood, but only lasting for a short while, a bit like bi-polar but with the mood change lasting less than 24 hours). i really like this medication as its taken away 80% of my rage and i like myself more as a result. good med (carbamazepine) and its rare you can say that about a psych med.

2 different painkillers, codeine and an NSAID, used in 1 weekly alternate cycles to control the pain caused by the anxiety, alternated to avoid becoming tolerant or dependent on the codeine.

i dont think theres any meds available for narcissism

i know to many people on incapasit benefits / dla/ income support ect.

ive never heard of anyone getting piss tested? really they dont have the right to, you claim benefits, nor work for them.

peobably 90% f people claiming dla ect are junkies or alkies (i know their are honest people, like my girfriend and my sster, and a fw of my mates). and they get more money and help, not less.

if they asked me for a pisstest they would get told to fuck right off and i would be goin to a solicitor (remember, you will get legal aid!)

hi

well ive had my assessment with the government doctor today.

the doctor and his wife arrived at 2pm and didnt leave until nearly 5pm!

it was a very thorough interview covering just about everything that could possibly be covered about my life and the illness, no details were left out.

the wife was supposed to be here to translate but there was no doubt the doctor's english was extremely good.

i was asked alsorts of questions, far too many to list here, but i took my time and answered each question as fully and honestly as i could and thankfully my anxiety wasnt too high to be making things difficult for me, but that was probably because i had taken some valium before the meeting.

i felt that we got on well and at the end of the meeting the doctor patted me on the back in a kind of fatherly way and said something along the lines of "dont let things get to you, this illness will pass", not those exact words, but something like that, and i thought it was a nice gesture. im not too sure what the wife was thinking, she was harder to read, but i feel the meeting went as well as it could have done. i was given more than enough time and opportunity to cover every aspect of my illness and i felt i was being taken seriously and treated with respect.

the meeting ended with the doctor saying whether my application was successful would be the decision of the benefits people but he seemed satisfied that he had all the information needed to write a complete report. i should hear the results in about 4-6 weeks, so thats that.

no piss test was required... we discussed my past drug use in detail, which i didnt mind too much because it is like 8-10 years ago since my raving days, so its a long time ago, and he didnt ask anything at all about cannabis. he wasnt in the slightest bit interested in cannabis, which was cool. he did ask about alcohol consumption though, which is fine because i very rarely drink these days, maybe once a month and not to excess, so its certainly not a problem. he also asked whether i smoked cigarettes. so it seemed he had his priorities right, focusing his interest on booze and cigs and pretty much disregarding weed. i admitted that i sometimes smoked weed when im going through periods of heightened anxiety, and his reaction was like it didnt matter at all, i was quite pleased about that.

and thats that.. they left after nearly 3 hours of being here and the atmosphere throughout had been very amiable. just have to wait for the result now, but at least this shrink agreed with my shrinks diagnosis - Depression/Anxiety/Borderline Narcissistic ,and thats the important thing, that he was satisfied with the diagnosis.

so im gonna cross my fingers and hope for the best....

cheers

mu

glad you got through it ok mate, I hope the outcome is as satisfactory .


I know how much of a nightmare these things can be, 3 hours with 2 of 'em must have really tested your endurance .... dunno if I would have coped as well.



I hope it all goes well for you .

thanks M.

it was definitely an endurance test...

Glad it went so well MU. Here's hoping the benefits peeps see reason and sort you out. Its a bugger waiting, mind - I know from experience. But from what you've said I think optimism may be permitted.


What do you base that figure on boaby? It sounds unrealistic to me. Most of the folks I know on Incap/DLA have very good reason, so I'd be interested in any statistics you have that point to the 90% you mention

thanks arnie. its been a long wait already so i dont suppose a few more weeks will make much difference. as for optimism, im not sure if i dare go there.

cheers mate

mu

MU: That's great news - I bet that you are releived!!!!

Good on ya'