fibromyalgia

[Kazzza1976]

hi I applied for pip for my fibromyalgia and have had a letter this morning from them advising me I have a phone consultation at the end of the month. I did not realise I need a phone consultation when I sent them the evidence needed from my G.P. Has anyone had the phone consultation?

[Blue-52]

hu Kaz, yes if this is your 1st claim, they have to access you, they will ask you questions about how your illness affects your daily living, walking eating taking meds, they ask quite a bit on your 1st claim. Did you think to keep a copy of what you sent?, if not, write everything down on how every day you struggle to get through the day, and how it affects you, write down alll your illnesses and conditions, so you are ready for your phone appointment. Good luck.

[Kazzza1976 in reply to Blue-52]

Thankyou , no I did not keep a copy of what I sent , I will write everything down. Thanks for reply

[Dizzytwo Moderator]

Hi, yes its normal procedure. And you get assessed again when your award comes up for renewal. Should you be lucky enough to get the benefit. Good luck.

Momo

[Kazzza1976 in reply to Dizzytwo]

Thankyou for reply

[Acocoa]

I too applied in April and sent all evidence. They text and sent a letter that I have a telephone assessment. My appointment on Tuesday was cancelled as they said the assessor couldn't make it. They reschedule for 28th June.

Don't worry, i know of other people who have had telephone or face appointments. Let's hope for a positive outcome 🙏🏾 😊

[Kazzza1976 in reply to Acocoa]

Thankyou I hope you too have a positive outcome

[Dinkie]

Hi Kazzza, as you did not keep a copy of everything you sent it may be an idea to have a look on line at the questions and try and remember what you put. That way during your telephone consult you will be able to refer to the questions yourself and have some idea of your replies.

During the telephone assessment make sure you have a drink nearby as it can be thirsty work answering questions for an hour or so. If you are uncomfortable and need to move around say so, likewise if you don't understand a question ask them to repeat it, don't try and guess what they want. Also if you think they haven't given you enough time to answer or interrupt ask them to give you time to reply. Lastly don't forget to breathe😁 Good luck

[Kazzza1976 in reply to Dinkie]

Thankyou for your reply I am a bit worried about it . I did not think about keeping a copy of what I sent.

[Dinkie in reply to Kazzza1976]

try to keep a copy of everything as should the post office lose it before delivery you would have to do the whole form again and that wouldn’t be a thrill a minute would it😱

Don’t worry about the appointment, just tell the truth and hope for the best. Worrying won’t influence the outcome. Good luck

[Blearyeyed in reply to Dinkie]

Great advice , thanks for sharing it , Bee

[Lia06]

hi kazzza I’ve applied as well it’s early days yet but they sent a text saying I might need a medical assessment but only might so not sure, they did advise at the beginning it could well be a phone consultation, they ask you questions which you’ve already answered in the application and if you didn’t download a copy of your application then it’s worth writing down how fibromyalgia affects your daily life in everything you do so not to worry hope it works out for you good luck x

[Kazzza1976 in reply to Lia06]

Thankyou hope works out for you as well x

[Onedaymore1]

From my personal experience of going through a claim for PIP & being rejected last year(Fibromyalgia & other chronic medical conditions). I would telephone DWP & ask for a copy sending back out to you (say you didn’t realise needed to keep a copy ) also, advise them you want to record the telephone assessment. They LIED on my outcome report so I learned the hard way! I found the whole PIP application / experience a horrible ordeal for nothing in the end. But, you must take deep breaths and just do it & try not to worry as we all know it can cause flares in symptoms! Good luck 🤞 I sincerely hope that you are successful and get the PIP £award xx

[Kazzza1976 in reply to Onedaymore1]

yes I have read a lot of people saying that they lie . I will call them and ask them to send me a copy out and Thankyou

[Mazgood in reply to Kazzza1976]

Yes they've lied on mine. Zero points. It was recorded thankfully so can call them out as I have no short term memory and anxiety among ibs query fibro eds adhd yet say have great memory and no anxiety shown in phone call?!

[Meditationlover]

Yes I have, but I still had to have face to face as well

[Kazzza1976 in reply to Meditationlover]

I thought it was a phone assessment or face to face . Thanks for reply I will see what happens

[Meditationlover in reply to Kazzza1976]

That's what I thought but I had both

[Josie-Anne]

This is what I found so I do hope that you get your pip 😊

Fibromyalgia

[Kazzza1976 in reply to Josie-Anne]

Thankyou Josie

[MrsSwing]

Hi, I have Fibromyahia & I was receiving DLA & I now receive PIP. I had to have a phone assessment for my renewal and I’m lucky as the lady that I spoke to was really nice & friendly. My son took screen shots of my renewal form & emailed them to me. I do keep a daily diary as I suffer from ‘Fibro fog’ and can find it extremely difficult to remember things. I will say that I found this website to be amazing for help with people that receive/apply for benefits. They have free info & a year long subscription which you have to pay for. I have recommended this website & I know people that have appealed using the advice & won. I advise people to check it out. Good luck!

benefitsandwork.co.uk/image...

benefitsandwork.co.uk/perso...

[Macdoual in reply to MrsSwing]

Thank you for listing those websites, my renewal is soon so I'll definitely have a look.

[MrsSwing in reply to Macdoual]

You’re welcome & good luck!

[Vontrap]

hi I also had a call when info was at GP SS are still asking questions about my mobility. They then said they would keep in touch with the GP and I shouldn’t hear back until claim has been passed. Ridiculous as you have good mobility days and bad ones.

[Sleepy2oo]

I had a phone consultation a couple of months ago and she went through a couple of the descriptors again to clarify them. A good piece of advice I read was to read what you wrote on your initial form and have those answers with you on the call. After the call I was expecting to have to go through another appeal but went from the standard rate to the inhanced rate.

Good luck with your consultation and try not to panic. Becky

[Kazzza1976 in reply to Sleepy2oo]

Thankyou Becky

[Pumperkins]

Hi yes I have tried for PIP for fibromyalgia and failed. I went all the way to tribunal and got rejected. It did start with the phonecall tho x

[Swimming64 in reply to Pumperkins]

Hi I am just waiting for tribunal & I am worried sick. Only just been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Why didn't u get it & can u reply coz don't think it's right u didn't get. Why is it so hard to get with this.

[Pumperkins in reply to Swimming64]

Hi they didn't award me enough points. Tribunal agreed with the decision. Didn't even get my day in court. I will try again at some point but cannot face it again at the moment. Too stressful and exhausted. Good luck with yours tho xx

[Swimming64 in reply to Pumperkins]

Thank you & I do feel for u coz it's a nightmare going through it all. Hopefully Ur feel up to doing it again as it's not right u didn't even get to court to prove Ur case. Good luck to u too when u can do again

[Rugrats-37]

hiya yes everyone has a phone consultation, it used to be having to go to the office but since lockdown it has been phone call, they just basically ask lots of questions, def keep a copy of your call because they do like to twist things, my daughter had that so we asked for a reconsideration I think it is called xx

[Kazzza1976 in reply to Rugrats-37]

hi yes I will tell them I would like the call recorded. I need to call them as well to ask them to send me a copy of the form out. I didn’t think to keep a copy

[JaneneF]

hi I had a phone consultation also which I just spoke to someone on the phone and they completed the rest of the form for it to be processed and have a claim awarded

[Littlefighter82]

Yes, I had one back in November last year. After reconsideration I was awarded higher for both.