I too did the looong wait. It took right at 5 years before I was approved, and the wait was the worst. The denials are never easy to take either, and everytime there is a denial the wait just gets longer.

I was finally approved at the second ALJ hearing, and the good news was that the judge set the onset date back to the exact month I could no longer work. This meant that the wait was well worth the effort.

There were so many times I wanted to give up, but it always came down to give up to what? I really couldnt do anything, so the option was to continue the fight for what was and still is the only option. Believe me if there was a way I could work, I would choose that option in a split second.

So my advice is....never give up!