PIP / ADP for Chronic Migraine?

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I think I am going to have to apply for this benefit. I am currently so disabled by chronic migraine and struggling to function. Has anyone applied for Chronic Migraine and if so how did you find the process? Any advise?

If you are in Scotland you can contact your local council Welfare Support team. They should be able to point you in the right direction for help with the form.
Your condition sounds very severe if you are unable to cook/eat for 15 to 20 days a month. The welfare team may be able to provide other support too.
I have chronic migraine too (although much less severely) and you have my full sympathy. It's really debilitating.

Who helps you OP when you have the attacks? Does someone help you to bathe, help you get dressed, make your meals, help you with your medication? Do you have someone living with you? These are the sort of things you need to struggle with. Migraines are just awful, I feel for you.

Don‘t use paid help. If you Google for local groups or online they are useful in framing your answers in PIP speak ie they have a particular focus and it is not always clear what they are after.
Get medical evidence and ask either the consultant or GP to give a summary of condition and medication as well as any ongoing treatment. It is a tough process and quite dispiriting but if you feel you need it then it is definitely worth applying

Did you even read her posts? She has chronic severe migraines that leave her unable to do anything for half the month.

Not all migraines are the same . Mine leave me incapacitated about 10 days a month. Luckily I’m self employed and can work around them. Not everyone can.

Wow, why did nobody tell my that my migraine passes swiftly, if only you'd told me that before I had an attack that lasted 2 weeks, yup 2 whole weeks and required hospital admission.

Thanks I will ask about this when I am next in.

I live with my partner who helps me when he is home if I am alone and he's at work I can't dress, bathe prepare food so I don't eat. I can make it to the toilet or if I vomit I have a basin by the bed. I do sometimes struggle with medication because I forget what I've taken and so sometimes have to not take something for fear of overdose or I take it risk overdose.

@Keepingongoing Thank you I will look into that method and contact CAB and that website.

Set alarms for meds thats what I do as im terrible for remembering or accidentally doubling up.

Ive been hospitalised a few times with chronic migraine. Use your discharge letters for evidence to

@youalright I won't remember if I've taken my naproxen or other pain relief or a second triptan I try to write it down or say to my partner so he can verify to me but if I'm alone and too unwell I don't then I don't know.

I use multiple medication box things you know them weekly ones with days on but ive stuck times on them if that makes sense so that I can see if ive taken that time one or not.

I have Parkinson’s and when I told my neurologist last year that I was looking to apply for pip (he’s been my neurologist since 2017) he said pip relates to how you are at home and I don’t see you at home. Thankfully my Parkinson’s nurse was more accommodating.

Ah that sounds clever, I will see if I can come up with some kind of a system, I suppose this is the kind of thing some financial support might help with to buy the boxes or even a voice assistant speaker I could ask to remind me.

Wow he sounds pleasant my consultants where amazing with the pip stuff. I suppose it depends who you get.

There's lots the money would help with as I assume your not able to drive so taxi for appointments and work. Cost of missing work for appointments and being unwell. Deliveries when your to ill to leave the house. A specific diet that helps with migraines. Heating and electricity as your home more often. I have to use alexa and all the light bulbs so I can dim lighting. And then all the migraine caps. Eye ice packs, heat packs, glasses, sunglasses. You could also use the money for when your husband is at work for a carer and cleaner to help out.

Name changed.

I'm sorry that you're suffering like this.

I have 100-150 days of migraine each year. They last anything from 8 hours to 12 days. When I get them I can't eat and they are drug resistant. I've had a Hemiplegic migraine that put me in hospital with suspected stroke.
I am also under the care of the Mental Health team because I have severe anxiety.
I was refused PIP. They scored me 0 on both mental and physical components. I asked for a reconsideration but again was scored 0.
I can do nothing for myself. My partner works full time but has to do all the shopping and most of the housework. He cooks for himself on the days when I cannot eat. He has to help me to dress and wash when I'm in a bad phase.
My migraines prevent us from having a normal life, we can never plan anything or go anywhere because we don't know how my head will be on any given day.

I wish you luck in applying for PIP. I hope you receive a fairer assessment than I did, because for me, the whole report outlining the decision was based in lies and left me in a deeply anxious state.

Are you having these attacks all day for 4 days out of 7? …if so you meet the criteria to apply

Im sorry the pip process truly is horrific

Hi op. So sorry to read what you are going through. It is grim. I have chronic and vestibular migraines. I suggest..if you can keeping a daily diary. My neurologist gave me a template but you can probably get one from the Migraine Trust and you could also give them a call..they have lots of info on their website. Also gather all info you have..meds,professionals involved in your care etc. I am okish keeping daily diary for pain level,aura,nausea etc but not as good with documenting if I could cook,dress etc,sometimes I jot it down a few days later when able to. Definitely have a think re Migraine Trust if you haven't contacted them already.

I claim PIP for a long term chronic condition that impacts my life hugely and I’ve needed carers in the past to help me when I’ve been mostly bed bound. It’s not migraine so I can’t help with specifics but can give more general advice. I have had chronic migraines alongside my other condition, so I do understand the impact.

In theory you absolutely should be eligible as it obviously impacts you more than 50% of the time. The assessors are supposed to adhere to the criteria that if you cannot do something reliably, repeatedly, safely and in a timely manner then you can’t do it. however in practice, it will be a battle simply because you have some days when you don’t need the support. Its unfair as it obviously impacts your life hugely but the PIP process is stressful and frankly unfair but it sounds like you already know that.

My advice would be to absolutely apply but do so with the acceptance and expectation that they will decline your first application but be prepared to fight it. The whole re application process recently was about 18 months for me so also be aware that it will take a long time.
Use that time to gather as much evidence as you can. I can’t stress enough how much the evidence is important. Yes they assess and ask how the condition affects you but unless they have medical evidence, they can and do ignore it.
Ask your specialist for copies of any recent letters, print out of your record from your GP, prescription listing medication, letters from anyone who provides care and support for you saying how they assist you. A diary for a couple of weeks to show the frequency of attacks anf the support you needed at this time.

All the information you wrote above about therapies you have tried is something you can add on the extra information section, as it helps build a picture. If any of the therapists you’ve used can write a letter detailing your difficulties then that may help.

Also absolutely get someone who is used to filling in the forms to help you apply. I used a local charity ( for my condition) and also an online benefits group. I know others who have used CAB or local disability groups.

I hope some of this helps as I know how incredibly hard it is to live with a chronic condition and to be so affected 15-25 days a month is without doubt a chronic condition.

I would say visit your local CAB, they can help you fill in the form as it’s about explaining your needs rather than the illness. You have to get the form yourself and you can ask for a paper copy, and CAB will hopefully make you an appointment to fill it in. It may be helpful to gather as much ‘evidence’ as possible, specialist letters, GP letters and make a diary of how you are affected. There may be more than you realise and it’s hard to think on the spot. Good luck

I feel for you OP, I was on around 16 migraines a month (plus pro/postdrome stuff) and dropped down to part time work just in the afternoons so I could get migraines slightly under control before starting work. I’m not sure if it’s that, or age, or what, but in the last couple of months they’ve been a little more under control, but I’m not earning half enough money 😅 I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t qualify for PIP, but it is a big financial struggle at the moment. I don’t know what a good answer is for the problem. It’s worth a shot for you to apply though.

Of course it is if it stops you working or functioning for half the month.

OP there are charities like the Migraine Trust - can they help with the form?

Even if you can't get PIP, can your partner get carers allowance? I have no idea about these benefits but are the criteria different?