You are right that it does take a long time. When I applied, only did I have lupus, also fibromyalgia, chronic migraines, chronic back pain and was on oxygen. I needed a walker for mobility. I had to see their doctors and psychologist, even though I had a stack of medical documentation. I was denied and ended up getting a disability attorney to help me with the process. They only got paid if they were successful. The problem with my case was I have my doctoral degree in education and the social security figured I should be able to do something. The attorney was able to get my disability for me as I had to go for an appeals hearing. Good thing is, when you finally do get approved, they pay you retroactively from the day they receive your application. I think it took me a total of 5-6 months. If I didn’t have my doctoral degree, I don’t think it would have denied and would have only taken a few months.

The paperwork was very detailed and asked for lots of information such as former employers and all your doctors information etc. My counselor used to be a social worker so I just let her fill out a lot of it online, but like I said, you need to provide lots of information. I really don't know how long it will take, they say up to 6 months? I pray that mine will be approved because I'm too sick to hold a job. I would gladly work if I could!

Thank you for the information…I will try that and see what results pull up.

I used on who was advertised as a Disability one when I was living in California. They are no longer in business though, as that was 9 years ago. I just did a quick quick google search and two showed up in my tiny town in Minnesota. They are rated with stars. You could try that and see how they are paid and go from there.

Thank you for the information! I’m wondering if I should go ahead and get a disability attorney right at the start. How did you find an attorney that could handle the process?