How do PIP assessors view Fibromyalgia?

Lemmons

Hello to all on here.  Thank you for allowing me to join this community.  A little about myself,  I was recently diagnosed after a terrible year of pain and fatigue with Fibromalygia, IBS and bursitus in both hips.  Now I know what I am dealing with I can get on with adjusting to it and living my life.  I have had to give up my 22 year career  as a support worker whixh has been gutting to say the least and now on the rocky road of seeing what benefits I can get to help me.  I am due for PIP assessment early in July and dreading it as I don't know how assessors view my conditions.  Any advice would be greatful.

Sam_Alumni

Hi @Lemmons welcome to the community - the assessment  is meant to be about how your impairments affect your life.  You can look through this CAB site about filling in PIP forms, I know you are past that stage, but it is really handy for reading through exactly what each question means and to think about how you can answer.

We also have a video about PIP Assessments and the lady in it has hidden impairments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq5QV_SnkJs 

noramc

L have fibromyalgia and have had for over 20years some days l can not get out of bed with the pain l am waiting to go for my pip assessment l am 63 so l will be going soon the waiting is making me ill 

htlcy

Hi @Lemmons . @Sam_Scope 's advice is spot on: don't think of the assessor as assessing the medical condition, but assessing how it affects you. As you know different conditions affect individuals in a huge variety of ways, and it's the difficulties and challenges you encounter that they will be assessing. The fact you have fibromyalgia is sort of secondary to the assessment: it's how the condition affects you that's the main thing. Hope this makes sense, and I hope you feel a little encouraged by this. Speak soon,
Heather

steve51

Hi @Lemmons. A very Big welcome to our site & I do hope that we can offer you both "advice & support" I will echo all of the above!!!! I have got "Chronic Pain" & this reared its ugly head in 2005. My "SRS" on the "NHS" went horribly wrong & it didn't work "Great" Please please let me know if I I can help you further Steve.