Applying for PIP for fibromyalgia

Allytoli

Hi everyone, I've just joined. Looking forward to seeing all your posts.
I'm 55 and suffer with fibromyalgia. I already claim ESA in Support Group but need to apply for PIP soon. 

steve51

Hi @Allytoli

It’s great to meet you this evening!!!!!

We have got lots of info/help/advice on here with regards to “PIP”

You will be able to read through these beforehand as this “Benefit” has very different criteria than “DLA”

Please please let me know if I can help you with things???

Han_Solo

Welcome to the community and all the best to you in 2018!!!

Sam_Alumni

Here is @Username_removed thoughts on the other post,

Fibromyalgia is not accepted as a real thing by around 50% of medical professionals so you have that barrier to surmount in the first place. This is because whilst some medical professional insist it is a "thing" of itself, most believe that it's a collection of symptoms given a label when differential diagnosis cannot come up with another explanation.

Starting from the assumption it's definitely a thing means you risk being viewed as lacking credibility to begin with.

However, the bigger issue with fibro claims is that people tend to err on the side of saying how difficult it is to explain instead of being very specific about which points they should get and why. Focus on regs 4 and 7 and not how hard it is to explain. That goes nowhere fast. All conditions are unique and our experience of them is also unique to us. All conditions are variable and again that's not unique to fibro. None of these things should make it hard to identify which points and why.

These regs are about the fact that needing help more than 50% of the time means you need help, and, that things you cannot do reliably, repeatedly, safely or in a reasonable time... can be recorded as things you cannot do.

Read more at https://community.scope.org.uk/discussion/40206/advice-on-claiming-pip-for-fibromyalgia#FIkejIyDj1xRqvSd.99

Sam_Alumni

There is a PIP self test you can take so you can see the questions and see how your impairment and the way it effects you scores on the PIP test.

shir

I have fib can i claim pip

dignifieddoll

I dont see why you cant i developed  it sometime ago but mine started after i was diagnosed  with R/A.specialist told me then that it is well associated  with R/A and just one of the pitfalls of having R/A. Its just  as bad  pain wise awful and can come on at anytime feel like prisoner in your own body .but thankfully i have meds to control pain hope your lucky shir wont hurt to try 

poppy123456

PIP isn't awarded based on a diagnosis, it depends how your conditions affect you daily. Lots of people claim PIP for fibro but everyone is different and you can't compare 2 people. If you do start a claim you'll need to send evidence with the form.

dignifieddoll

No it isnt i did mean to mention that  so long as person has evidence theres no reason that their claim wont be considered 

niknoo

My assessor was so very knowledgeable about Fibro and it’s symptoms. He was the kindest man I’ve ever met, I cannot explain how he put me at ease and how lovely he was and how perfectly he helped me articulate the symptoms for the CM to read in his report. Infact the entire assessment was far from what I expected. 
I was shown in by a lovely lady, who was kind and compassionate (although my distress was very visible!) she kindly showed me to my seat, and then came and got my id from me, no making me walk to her, I didn’t feel as though my every move was being watched and monitored. My assessor greeted me in the very same manner, he even went and got me a vomit bowl, he told me to just relax and not be brave with my answers, not to give him the worst day scenario (well that would be me bedbound anyway) nor give the good day scenario .... he wanted to know what I was like most days. We had a laugh and a few jokes, he apologised for being a let down and not a mini hilter (like you hear the majority of the time!) when it got to the nitty gritty, again he made it light hearted and asked me if I was clumsy etc and he could tell I was, I also sensed he could see the relief in me that he actually understood the various conditions I had. We did the physical exam, and he told me my right side is very bad and asked me if I was aware of how bad it was before his exam. I had some idea but not to the full extent he had told me. 

So if you’re thinking of applying, I’d say go for it. And hope you all have assessor as nice I had, because honestly he was bloody brilliant. 

debbiedo49

@niknoo you were very lucky 

poppy123456

Both my HCPs for PIP assessments were also very nice. I have fibro as well as other conditions. During my assessment for my PIP review it wasn't a very warm day and by the time i arrived at the assessment centre i was freezing. The cold always affects me really badly. The HCP asked me if i was ok and i replied "no, i'm so cold my whole body is very painful" She walked to the thermostat on the wall in the room and turned it up and replied "there you go, you should be warmer in a few minutes. She was lovely. I was only in the room 10 minutes and was asked a few questions about my mobility as she could see clearly my walking wasn't great. She said she was sorry for calling my to the assessment and said that was all she wanted to know. 100% honest and truthful reports for both assessments. My mobility increased to Enhanced with daily living staying at standard. Couldn't have gone better.

niknoo

I am glad the nicer stories and experiences are starting to filter through xx

chiz

Hi guys i havent got my desicion yet its only been 10 days since my f2f , but im so happy some good experiences are filtering this page , as i too had a lovely lady who assessed from Atos  who put me at ease and made me feel relaxed 
Nothing like the scary stories i read beforehand..
Ellen x