Just throwing this out here for others to read.

For the question as to whether your doctor said that they think you can work or not, you should tell the truth[1], *but* to avoid having to tell them that your doctor said that you can work, which WILL trigger a CDR no matter what your profile score is, you should avoid discussing the matter with your doctor. Most doctors don't particularly care what you do, and I haven't met one yet that just blurted out their opinion on whether I could work or not. As you noted, the "Haven't discussed it." and "Doctor told me that I can't work." responses both lead to the next question, and won't lead to a CDR at this step in the process.

[1] (Especially when it's something that is easy to discover or quantify. You should occasionally ask for a printed copy of your medical records and read everything, even if there's a small fee to have them printed out. I know it's boring, but you'll know exactly what an Examiner would be reading if they got their hands on it. Many psychiatrists don't keep highly detailed notes. Some barely keep any at all. Some appointments just note that they refilled your medication and "Patient expressed that he was feeling bad because his aunt passed away.")

By the time you've been a patient somewhere for a while, your medical records start telling a story about you. This is part of the "narrative" that Social Security is talking about.

It's another reason why I just take my pills and avoid "talk therapy". It's exactly those kinds of detailed notes that throw a curveball into the CDR process. The more you talk, the more likely something damaging to your case will end up in there. I'm not saying that that would happen to me or any particular person, but I don't find talk therapy very helpful anyway and it is quite expensive, especially when your state keeps messing up your Medicaid stuff and you're left paying Medicare premiums, copays, and deductibles on a Social Security check that really isn't that much money.

The CDR process puts the burden of proof on the SSA to prove you've gotten better, and better as it relates to your ability to work, and so the less information they have to work with, the harder it is for them to reach an unfavorable finding. Especially on the Short Form, where the best thing any "remarks" will do is cause a CDR and the worst thing it could do is sink your case. If you get a long form, again, cooperate and keep your answers short, truthful, to the point, and carefully moderated. Regardless, you want 90% of what they hear to be from you, which gives you more control over where the process ends up.

That's my opinion, at least.