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Fibro and claiming pip

Posted , 5 users are following.

hilary80204
hilary80204

Hi everyone

Just new to this forum - thank goodness I found it ! 😀

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about a month ago

I've had the symptoms for just over 12 mths now

My question is with regards to claimining pip

My circumstances are a little complicated.

I'm a single parent and my youngest child is 9 years old and has an asd diagnosis. He is in receipt of DLA and I claim carers allowance

I'm unsure wether I'm allowed to make my own claim for pip since im a full time carer for my son. I'm unsure wether they will consider my ability to care for my son as reason for me not to fit the criteria for pip myself

Although I manage to care for him my illness makes it very difficult. I get very little sleep due to him waking often in the night and because I'm in pain most of the time. I'm on strong pain killers and the stress levels due to his challenging behaviour completely wipes me out to the point that the couple of days a week he is with his father that I can't get out of bed

Can anyone suggest what the best thing to do with regards to claiming pip for myself please ?

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Boqer
    Boqer hilary80204

    Posted

    Hi Hilary and welcome to this forum.

    as far as your PIP goes I would have thought that by being a carer you couldn't claim for yourself, but I would suggest getting in touch with a local charity who help with claims and the like and find out from them. Explain your situation and see what they say, and if you do put in a claim don't be put off if they refuse you first time. I have heard they do it as a matter of course, and they certainly did to me, I ended up going to a tribunal and won my case. I know it sounds daunting, but you have to just put the stress of it all away from yourself as best you can and deal with it one step at a time. 

    Hope this helps

    take care and enjoy your day

    Boqer

    • hilary80204
      hilary80204 Boqer

      Posted

      Thank you for your response and encouragement Boquer

      It certainly is daunting the thought of applying - it was stressful enough applyong for my son sad

      Another question please - do I have to inform dvla about my diagnosis ?

      Thank you in advance

    • Boqer
      Boqer hilary80204

      Posted

      To be honest, I don't drive, but as I'm thinking of learning it's a good question. I googled it and it seems you need to notify them of any condition which may affect your driving, which also includes high blood pressure, and which I'm sure a lot of ppl have and don't declare it, but if you will be claiming PIP for fibro it might be worth looking into further. I'm sure some of the people on this forum will be able to help, perhaps start another discussion with that heading. I would be interested to know too 😊

      As for your PIP, I tried to just put it out of my mind till I got to the next step, I mean you can only fill in the forms and tell them how you are, and we just don't need any extra stress! It took almost a year to get to tribunal stage, and they said I could have it for a year, which was up a couple of weeks after the tribunal! So I'm currently filling in more PIP forms at the moment 😕

      Again, I hope this helps 😊

  • Amanda_Awake
    Amanda_Awake hilary80204

    Posted

    Hi Hilary,

    I am new to this forum too and had my diagnosis in June.

    I am so glad I found this place, it;s really helping me as I do not know anyone else with fibro and have had no-one to chat to about it.

    In regards to PIP , I too am thinking of claiming it but am also very daunted by the whole process, so I am not much help to you at all!

    I have a seven year old grandson who has ADHD and is currently being tested for autism and I know just how hard it is to look after him with our condition. He usually stays over on a Saturday (to give his mum a break) and I am shattered when he leaves. I also plan the times of his visits so that my hubby is around incase my fatigue gets to bad..so I don't know how I would manage day after day!

    It's awful because I love having my grandkids here and get so frustrated with my self!.

    My complete admiration to you !!!

    Take care

    Amanda

    • hilary80204
      hilary80204 Amanda_Awake

      Posted

      Hi Amanda

      Happy new year and thank you for your response and kind words

      Sorry to hear you are feeling daunted and overwhelmed too

      As if we don't have enough to deal with coming to terms with our diagnosis and learning to adjust our life to help our symptoms without the added stress of possible judgemental medical assessments just to get a little extra financial help.

      I feel sick with the thought of it.

      If only they could watch a video of our struggles for a week - they'd soon be sympathetic to our condition

      I'm finding it hard to explain to friends and loved ones what I'm actually experiencing - because to them I "look" fine albeit a bit tired !

      I think sometimes people do actually think its all in my head or it's an excuse sad

      Sending gentle hugs Amanda x

    • Amanda_Awake
      Amanda_Awake hilary80204

      Posted

      Hi

      Hope you are feeling good today!

      It is hard when you look fine, to tell poeple you can;t do this or that for them because you are ill. I also get the feeling people don't believe just how bad  I am feeling, I sometimes dread the phone ringing because I really don't have the energy to make conversation somedays!, and no-one seems to understand that, I have been accused of ignoring people if I do not answer !! ,

      I have decided to apply for PIP sometime soon.. I will keep you informed of my progress and would love to hear how your claim is going!

       Gentle hugs to you

      Amanda

  • pollmadoll64
    pollmadoll64 hilary80204

    Posted

    I would suggest you apply for it and see what happens as it sounds like you could qualify even though you are looking after your son

    I get it and look after two sons as a single parent

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