Be prepared to wait and suffer rejection many times, unless you have a great lawyer, know the ins/outs of the process, or your condition is very severe. Chances are you will be rejected quite a bit and each rejection/appeal can take months. Even waiting for a decision can take a long time, they are bogged down with people filing and it takes them ages to do anything.

Ive been waiting for 19 months now since I first filed, the whole time being unemployed with no income and low income public healthcare for part of the time. I meet all the criteria on the SS website for disabled CD patients, but still I have been rejected numerous times. After you get rejected several times, then you will get a hearing and possibly more appeals. It maybe a long time before you get approved, expect a lengthy process and if you are approved quickly than consider yourself fortunate. Some people do get lucky and get it on their first try or first appeal, but in my experiences that seems to be the minority.

The best advice I have is to look into hiring a disability lawyer if you dont have one, get all of your medical records and study them, do your best to figure out what exact reasons you were denied, and read as much as possible about the disability process.

Your medical records matter a lot and what your doctor says about your condition can hurt your case. If your doctor thinks you can work, that is going to look bad. More medical records while your disabled helps, but it is tough to see a doctor when you are disabled, have no insurance, no job and no money. Try to get on some public assistance, if possible and start seeing a doctor regularly. It is usually a long fight, so have patience and prepare yourself with knowledge on the process.

Hiring a lawyer isnt a necessity, but if you are very ill, it helps relieve you of the stress. Lawyers have a lot of experience, so they can help you with your case and increase your chances of being approved. Lawyers will want some kind of compensation, so make sure you are ok with their terms. It is possible to win without a lawyer, but that means you will have to do all the leg work and find out what everything means about appeals, rejection, terms, etc. Good Luck