Hi all,
My wife was diagnosed with MS over 10 years ago.
She has been on medication for the condition for quite a few years, since being on the injections she has not relapsed and shows no symptoms at all.
We did inform the DVLA when she was first diagnosed by sending them a letter. However, that’s the last thing we did and didn’t hear anything back from them.
Last week we were sorting out some clutter and came across my wife’s paper licence and discovered it still has her maiden name displayed. So we decided to collect and fill out a form for a new photo licence to change to her married name.
One of the items on the form asks is you have any medical condition that may affect your driving, one of them is MS.
So I started reading up and discovered if you have MS your licence must be renewed every 3 years after filling out a medical form. If this is the case it seems that the DVLA did not receive the initial letter informing them of the condition as wife still has old paper licence.
My wife’s condition does not affect her driving ability in the slightest. However, we are now worried if we inform them we will be fined up to a £1000.
My question is has anyone that you know of been fined for not informing them immediately when the condition was diagnosed?
Thanks in advance
I’ve always known a driving licence for people with MS, when limited, has always been a 3-yr licence.
When I first informed the DVLA of my MS, at the time of my DX, they didn’t limit my licence. However, 3 years ago, they did, to a 3-yr licence.
This year, I got the reminder, filled in several pages of questions, which were pretty much the same as 3 years ago, and was told I had to have a medical with my GP. This initially terrified me, as I couldn’t think why on earth they’d need one, as my replies to their questions hadn’t changed since 3 years ago, and I don't have problems that could affect my “fitness to drive.”
Having had the medical, they then sent me my new licence, which is now for 5 years! Whoopee, I thought, but couldn’t figure out why it should have increased from 3 to 5 years.
A couple of days later, I got a letter from the DVLA, explaining:
“DVLA has recently been advised that in instances where a driver has had multiple sclerosis for at least three years and has been able to demonstrate that their condition has remained stable, it may be appropriate to issue longer duration medical licences.”
I don’t know how recently “recently” is, but I thought this might be of interest to other MSers who might not know about this new duration for MSers.
I also don’t know what constitutes “stable” in this respect, but maybe the cause of my having to have a medical was for the GP to confirm that not much has changed in my SPMS over the past 3 years, in relation to the DVLA’s questions on the form?
Re the medical with my GP, I needn’t have worried. It just seemed to consist of asking me the same questions as were on the form, and doing a vision test for what I guess was checking my peripheral vision: closing one eye whilst pointing out which of her hands my GP was wriggling her fingers with.
By the way, the whole process, from the initial reminder form to receiving my licence, took a whopping 3 months!
Hi everyone
I do not know whether any of you have received the following request from the MS Society.
Just in case you have not, I am posting this email I have received to ask you to contact your MP to try to make a difference.
Great Dane x
Off-patent Drugs
Right now, researchers are investigating whether drugs that exist to treat other conditions can also be used to treat MS. These are drugs like Simvastatin, a drug normally used to treat high cholesterol.
Research shows this drug has the potential to slow the worsening of disability in secondary progressive MS. If further research confirms this, we’d want this drug to be made available on the NHS, but there are currently significant barriers that would prevent this. You can read more about the process onour blog.
How can we change this?
An MP, Nick Thomas-Symonds, has introduced a Bill in Westminster to tackle this problem and improve access to low-cost treatments for a range of conditions including multiple sclerosis.
Take action
To ensure the Bill is successful, we need at least 100 MPs to go along and vote for it on Friday 6 November. And we need you to contact your MP and encourage them to back the Bill.
The vote is on a Friday, when most MPs return to their local constituencies, which makes it more difficult to convince them to be in Westminster. Your email could make all the difference – please email them today.
We are supporting this Bill to ensure people with MS have access to the right treatments at the right time. Please ask your MP to do the same.
Thank you for your support,
Emma
MS Society Campaigns Team
I received the neurologists letter earlier this week.
He clearly listened and understood me very well and relays that in the letter.
He says that I fulfil all the criteria for CFS. He says he is unsure if the pain etc would fall within the spectrum of Fibromyalgia but in view of the severity he would like me to be referred to rheumatologist to exclude a significant rheumatological condition.
He said there were inconsistent distal sensory changes to pinprick and temperature.
He says in view of the patchy, unilateral nature of the neurological symptoms he is referring me for an MRI of the brain.
He's recommending I try Duloxetine?
Any comments appreciated.
Generally though, I feel that at least I am being taken seriously and they are covering all areas.
Is that correct that if u have MS u MUST inform DVLA and your insurance companys...............if u do not do this IF involved in even a minor RTA u can be fined 10000 and classed as having no insurance and possible loss of licence altogethe???
Edited by Scully to include 'tags' to previous discussion on this topic
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