Fibromyalgia pip awards?

ellieanne

Hi there, can anyone tell me if they've been awarded pip for fibromyalgia/ anxiety and everything else that goes with the illness? 

janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community 

There are lots of members here with those conditions who claim pip

However pip isnt about a condition its about how that condition affects your functionality against the descriptors and people are all affected in different ways by their condition. So it doesn't kean everyone will be awarded pip 

Ross_Alumni

Hello @ellieanne

Thanks for making this post, I hope you are well.

Many people who have fibro and anxiety do successfully claim PIP, so I hope that you will be able to hear from others about their experience of going through the process with those conditions.

It might also be worth doing a search using our search function in the top right, to see if you can find other related threads. 

Just a note, I'm sure you will already know but PIP is awarded based on how your conditions impact you rather than on a diagnosis alone. 

Are you currently going through the claim process or is it something you are considering?

ellieanne

Had the assessment  2 weeks ago so I'm waiting for the results, anxiety through the roof at the moment , phoned today and I've asked the the assessment report, he said I should receive it within a few day. 

xPaganx

ellieanne said:

Hi there, can anyone tell me if they've been awarded pip for fibromyalgia/ anxiety and everything else that goes with the illness? 

Hi, 
I'm in the process of a Mandatory Reconsideration after being refused outright with 0 points for Fibromyalgia, Asthma, IBS, Depression and Anxiety. I get my decision tomorrow. 

Middleton

ellieanne said:

Hi there, can anyone tell me if they've been awarded pip for fibromyalgia/ anxiety and everything else that goes with the illness? 

ellieanne said:

Hi there, can anyone tell me if they've been awarded pip for fibromyalgia/ anxiety and everything else that goes with the illness? 

I know some people that have been successful with this condition. Its not entirely true,that PIP only focus on the symptoms alone. Without any regard for the diagnoses.

Often Fibromyalgia can cause a subconscious/conscious negative viewpoint, in any given assessor. For decades Fibromyalgia has had bad time being understood. And often disregarded as imaginary .

Sarah198686

Middleton said:

ellieanne said:

Hi there, can anyone tell me if they've been awarded pip for fibromyalgia/ anxiety and everything else that goes with the illness? 

ellieanne said:

Hi there, can anyone tell me if they've been awarded pip for fibromyalgia/ anxiety and everything else that goes with the illness? 

I know some people that have been successful with this condition. Its not entirely true,that PIP only focus on the symptoms alone. Without any regard for the diagnoses.

Often Fibromyalgia can cause a subconscious/conscious negative viewpoint, in any given assessor. For decades Fibromyalgia has had bad time being understood. And often disregarded as imaginary .

I don't see what the assessor has to gain from making out people to be liars. Surely they just look at the information provided and make a clinical judgement. I didn't think they were allowed to use their own opinion, everything they document has to be verified with evidence say from your doc, consultant etc.. you don't have to have a diagnosis of any condition to claim you still can apply. Unfortunately some people who have conditions may not get any award if they can manage yo do everything for themselves without using any aids or requiring others to do things for them. You can apply again at any time. If you get no award then reapplying rather than making an appeal is quicker. You're best to read on the website about how your answers are scored. They even show you the amount of points given for each activity. 

MarkM88

Sarah198686 said:

 I didn't think they were allowed to use their own opinion, everything they document has to be verified with evidence say from your doc, consultant etc.. 

That’s not correct at all. 

Yes they are there to form an opinion of an applicants ability to perform all tasks outlined in the descriptors. 

They do not need to back up what they say with evidence from a doctor. 

Doctors letters and reports are very rarely appropriate evidence anyway. 

Not everyone sends lots of evidence with their claim. 

poppy123456

Sarah198686 said:

Middleton said:

ellieanne said:

Hi there, can anyone tell me if they've been awarded pip for fibromyalgia/ anxiety and everything else that goes with the illness? 

ellieanne said:

Hi there, can anyone tell me if they've been awarded pip for fibromyalgia/ anxiety and everything else that goes with the illness? 

I know some people that have been successful with this condition. Its not entirely true,that PIP only focus on the symptoms alone. Without any regard for the diagnoses.

Often Fibromyalgia can cause a subconscious/conscious negative viewpoint, in any given assessor. For decades Fibromyalgia has had bad time being understood. And often disregarded as imaginary .

  If you get no award then reapplying rather than making an appeal is quicker.

How did you come to that conclusion? Reapplying can take about 10 months. The MR and Tribunal would likely be less than that.

Also to constantly reapply using the same evidence you previously used is likely to see more refusals. It's always much better to request the MR then Tribunal.

ellieanne

I sent for my assessment report a few day ago and the assesor awarded me 8 points  plus 10 mobility,  i just hope the dwp will agree too . I didn't send any Dr's  letters with my form just the phone numbers and address  of the Dr's and consultants.  I'll just have to wait for the outcome.  

poppy123456

The assessor doesn't award any points, only a decision maker can do that. The assessor makes recommendations only. The decision maker will look at everything before making their decision.

ellieanne

Oh ok, I was looking at the ticked boxes and added them up lol, I thought that's how people knew the amount. I'll just have to wait. My anxiety has been through the roof to be honest 😔

calcotti

Sarah198686 said:..If you get no award then reapplying rather than making an appeal is quicker. 

That's very poor advice. Apart from the matter of time taken that poppy has mentioned there is the matter of the amount of money potentially lost.
A new claim, if successful, will only be paid from the date of the new claim.
A successful appeal will be paid from the date of he original claim. 

Polly_s

Hello, I am new here  - actually just joined. 
I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia January 2020 after years of suffering. Covid-19 arrived and was fourloed - save me from being jobless, but was informed in July 2021 that can not be kept working and I was really not able  to do my job. 
Applied for PIP and UC.
Received PIP decision in March. They gave me standard allowance  on both and being in a very bad place at the moment I didn't appeal,  which was a mistake .
Been told by my physiotherapist to reapply for the higher. I can hardly walk and when have to be active I drug myself up to insure will be able,  but after stay in bed for 4-5 days. 
So my advise - think about your worst day when filling the application, collect as much letters as possible and write about ALL the medication you are taking,  even vitamins and creams/gels and if you think you deserve the higher allowance - appeal against the decision. 

calcotti

Polly_s said:

Received PIP decision in March. They gave me standard allowance  on both and being in a very bad place at the moment I didn't appeal,  which was a mistake .

If your decision was only made in March you can still request a Mandatory Reconsideration if you wish to - you have up to 13 months to do. You’ll just need to provide a brief explanation of why you did not do it within one month.

Polly_s said:

So my advise - think about your worst day when filling the application, 

PIP decisions are based on how you are on the majority of days. You should not focus on your worst days.

Sue_Alumni

Hi @Polly_s

I would like to reiterate what poppy and calcotti have said because it has come up a lot recently in the forum. 

It is really important not to just focus on your worst days.  The test is unless you can carry out an activity reliably ( and there are 4 separate factors and the DWP has to show all of them - safely, repeatedly to an acceptable standard and in a reasonable time period) and for the majority of the time you should not be treated as being able to carry out that particular descriptor in relation to that activity.  When you do your mandatory reconsideration make sure you think about the reliability test and the majority of the time test and apply it  to each of the activities you say you struggle with. Also you need to show a need for help for a majority of days in a year. As fibromyalgia is a fluctuating condition you may have weeks when you are able to manage and it is important that the DWP looks at the impact on you for the majority of the time over the course of a year and that the DWP does not just look at the days  where you are able to manage.