Can you get PIP for FM ? How have people navigated such a stressful system ?

[Mrdiagnosis]

Hi all , I'm worried about finances etc and was turned down for pip years ago.

Was thinking of re applying but it was so stressful last time not sure if I can put myself through it again. They seem to use everything against you.

Last time they said I was well kempt. I spent years in uniform and it's ingrained in my head to be smart. However for me I was a mess in jeans and sweater not shaved etc . But still they take one look at you and decide you are ok .

I'm suffering from FM my brain isn't dead . They treat you like your incapable of having any mental capacity. Yet still saying your capable of doing things like plan a journey. (My partner does most of the driving and uses sat nav ) ridiculous.

[Bananas5]

Try Benefits and Work...excellent and some very good advice

With a few exceptions your illness or disability is not material...it is what you can't do reliably, safely and in a timely manner

Good Luck

x

x

[CM1EDSUK]

Hi, as far as PIP goes, it's not about any diagnosis, as already mentioned, but rather how your disability affects certain activities of daily living &/mobility. Have a look at the activities/descriptors that are looked at with PIP: 

cambridgeshire.gov.uk/asset...

Try & give a couple of recent, detailed examples as to the difficulty you face for each applicable descriptor, i.e. when did it happen, where, what happened, did anyone see this, & were there any consequences to attempting/doing an activity, e.g. fatigue/pain?

Say if you can't do an activity 'reliably,' i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, repeat as often as one would reasonably expect, or if it takes you much longer than someone without a disability. See this mentioned at the end of the link above.

The planning a journey question is more about difficulties with any mental health problems; you may be better with concentrating on the 'Moving around' question.

Don't let the previous, often used 'cut & paste' comments put you off from trying again!

Try keeping a diary for a week or so, as you often don't realise some of the problems you have as you're so used to just getting through an activity. Just complete a few questions at a time, & you can always add extra pages at the end. Just ensure you put your name & National Insurance number on each page.

You can also ring the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433 to ask for extra time to complete the form, & you will be given another 2 weeks without question. Keep a copy of everything, & get a free Certificate of Posting from your Post Office when sending the form off.

[capt_numskulz]

I have beem turned down but will be appealing as there assesment was aboslutly contradictory to how i live my life for example mh wife reminds me about medication to take but they scored 0 i can do it myself .

I would deffinetly apply again and appeal if they turn you down.

Good luck

[Mrdiagnosis in reply to capt_numskulz]

They did this to me ....they contradicted what I had actually said .

They said that I managed to plan a journey, when my partner drove the car, used a sat nav as it was miles away from home AND I was a passenger just sat there while they drove.

It's all set up for people to fail !!!

[Bananas5 in reply to Mrdiagnosis]

You must appeal.

[Mrdiagnosis in reply to Bananas5]

I did a Mandatory consideration but they wanted to go to court and I don't have the mental capacity to deal with it all

[CM1EDSUK in reply to Mrdiagnosis]

It's important to realise that when a Health Care Professional does an assessment they will write what you say, but will then write a report based on their own impression. So, apparently then a perceived contradiction seems to have occurred in the claimant's eyes.

As I mentioned earlier, they also do some 'cut & paste' answers, such as in your case you appeared well kempt......this also happens with phone assessments! I do feel assessors should just write a report in their own words without resorting to these 'cut & paste' phrases that often cause so many of us upset, anger & frustration (I got because I didn't see a pain management or physio specialist I could walk further than stated, & I am a retired physio!) But, the system isn't set for us to fail...

However, unless you can irrefutably prove 1 or 2 actual discrepancies in the report/ subsequent decision letter, you should not concentrate upon these, rather look at any weaknesses in your own claim form.

Your partner driving the car doesn't indicate how you may have difficulty in planning a journey. You'd need to give a couple of recent examples as to such difficulties you personally might have. This may be likely if you have a learning disability, cognitive impairment or need prompting/support due to a mental health problem. Please see the following for further info: pipinfo.net/activities/plan...

Also, things are improving somewhat if a person wishes to go for a Mandatory Reconsideration; quite often a claimant may get a phone call to ask more questions to find out the difficulty a person is facing, hopefully somewhat reducing the number of claimants having to appeal.

If this fails, then the next stage is a tribunal, which is different from going to court. A tribunal consists of a judge, usually a Dr., & someone with an understanding about disability. They are totally separate from the DWP & will consider on the balance of probability if what you say seems likely looking at all your evidence, & what you say on the day.

I hope this may give you some confidence to apply for PIP again! I'm sure everyone here will support you too.

[Dinkie]

I helped a friend with their MR they said because he did a sudoku puzzle daily he was fine🙄. My answer was yes he can’t still write numbers 1-9 but he can’t cook a meal or walk more than 50 yards or remember whether or not he’s had his meds. They do tend to focus on one aspect quite often. Whatever you do don’t mention sudoku😂

[Hazel_Angelstar Administrator FMA UK Staff]

Pip is awarded based of how your condition affects you and not the diagnosis.

You can contact our benefits team on 0300 999 0055 (Mon, Wed, Fri 10.00-12.00) or email [e-mail]. They can send you guidelines on applying for pip

[Cat00]

I can't go through it again, had to go to a tribunal the first time.

[557755]

Ring CAB. They help you write your form and are excellent.

[Angie236]

Hi x

Ring your local citizens advice, they have trained advisers to help you complete the PIP form. They really are excellent. Don’t be put off by you not being awarded it last time. Good luck x