PIP for fibromyalgia

Is fibromyalgia on the PIP conditions list?

There's no list of conditions that automatically qualify for PIP, and fibromyalgia isn't an exception. A diagnosis on its own isn't enough. PIP looks at how your condition affects your daily living and mobility, on more than half of days. See the PIP conditions list guide for how this works.

How fibromyalgia can affect the 12 activities

Fibromyalgia often combines widespread pain, deep fatigue and 'fibro fog'. These are the activities it most often affects:

• Preparing food — pain and fatigue can make standing to cook, or holding pans and knives, hard on bad days. "Some evenings I can't stand at the hob for more than a few minutes, so I make things I can do sitting down." See preparing food.
• Washing and bathing — pain all over the body can make washing, drying and reaching your feet or hair difficult and exhausting. "Washing my hair leaves my arms shaking, so I only do it when someone's home to help." See washing and bathing.
• Dressing and undressing — pain and stiffness, especially in the mornings, can make dressing slow and tiring. "It takes me half an hour some mornings, because bending to put on socks hurts too much to rush." See dressing.
• Moving around — pain and fatigue can limit how far someone can walk before needing to stop and rest. "I can walk to the end of my street, about 30 metres, then I need to sit down before I can carry on." See moving around.
• Managing treatments — some people take several medications through the day and need reminders because of brain fog. "I set alarms for my tablets because otherwise I genuinely forget whether I've taken them." See managing treatments.
• Mixing with people — brain fog and pain can make it hard to follow and take part in a conversation face to face. "When the fog is bad I lose track of what people are saying, and I avoid meeting anyone new." See mixing with people.

What 'reliably' means for fibromyalgia

What counts is what you can do safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and in a reasonable time. Fibromyalgia's fatigue means someone might manage a task once, then need hours or the rest of the day to recover, or be unable to repeat it. Pain can also slow a task or make it done badly. Describe what happens afterwards, not just whether you can start the task.

Good days and bad days

PIP looks at what's true on more than half of days over a year. Fibromyalgia symptoms often swing between manageable days and flare days with much less energy and more pain. Describe a typical day and a bad day, and roughly how many bad days happen in a normal week or month. A short diary can help you see the pattern before you fill in the form.

Evidence that helps

Useful evidence includes letters from your GP, rheumatologist or pain clinic, a care plan, a list of your medication, or a statement from a partner, family member or support worker who sees your bad days. A diary showing the pattern of good and bad days helps too. Send copies, not originals. See what to send with your PIP form.

Things people with fibromyalgia often leave out

It's easy to underplay symptoms that feel invisible. Common gaps include the recovery time needed after doing something, how brain fog affects remembering appointments or medication, how unpredictable a flare is, and how much someone else helps on bad days, even quietly, such as doing the shopping.

Common questions