If you’re living with fibromyalgia, there’s a huge chance that you experience the tough-to-navigate emotional and physical hardships of aching pain throughout your entire body and an overwhelming sense of lingering exhaustion.

Fibromyalgia affects your mood; you wake up feeling exhausted and your body has specific pressure points that when pressed induce incredible pain. On the outside, you look fine but inside your fatigue, tension headaches and an inability to predict your next flare-up is overwhelming and, in many cases, can lead to debilitating isolation and depression.

Without support and clear diagnosis, fibromyalgia makes daily life unmanageable.

Does fibromyalgia qualify for NDIS funding?

Fibromyalgia on its own does not make you eligible for the NDIS. To qualify for NDIS support and funding you must be living with a permanent and significant disability which has been diagnosed by a medical expert.

However, you may still qualify for NDIS-funded supports, as fibromyalgia often coexists with a wide range of other significant mental and physically disabling conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis that leads to physical impairment.

A medical expert such as a rheumatologist/musculoskeletal physician (doctors who focus on bone or tissue disorders) is recommended over a diagnosis from your local family doctor, or local mental health professional.

If fibromyalgia coexists with mental illness, there is the possibility of NDIS funding for mental health.

NDIS funding

The great benefit of NDIS funding is the freedom it gives you to boost and enhance your daily independence.

NDIS funding offers you treatment options encompassing both mental and physical supports, opportunities and life tools, to reduce your symptoms and improve your overall health.

Your NDIS funding can enable you with supports such as:

  • occupational therapy
  • massage therapy
  • anxiety and depression support
  • aqua-therapy (hydrotherapy) – as extremes of too little or too much exercise can trigger flare-ups
  • yoga, meditation – stress is a major trigger for you if you live with fibromyalgia
  • Nutrition education – poor diet has also been shown to trigger the onset of a flare-up

Looking for more information?

If you want to learn more about the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), download our handy NDIS Guide.