I was approved in 9 months, but it was at the Initial Determination level, so I didn't have to wait for any lengthy appeals process. There were 2 reasons my initial determination was delayed.

The first was that I was sent for cognitive function testing. That worried me because, I can still function, but not like I once could. When the test was over, I requested a copy, and was surprised to find that the psychologist didn't think I could function in a job. I had been VP of a company before I could no longer work.

The 2nd reason was that my file was one of those randomly selected for quality review by the DQB.

Like Kitty said, get all of your medical records. I got them, highlighted the important points, and submitted all with my application. I did go in person, because I have had too many dealings with regulatory agencies in my former job, and truly did not trust sending through the mail. You can make an appointment by calling their 800 number. It only took 2 weeks for my scheduled appointment.

Some of the other things I submitted with my application, aside from medical records, were copies of articles from the internet that described the disabling effects of my condition, letters from friends, family, former co-workers and my former employer that described the 'once' me and the 'now' me, and finally my own letter where I also described the once me vs the now me. I referenced the medical records, and even SSA's own Blue Book to describe how my condition and meds made it impossible to work.

Also like Kitty, I have a lot of difficulty gripping a pen and writing. I type almost everything. So, since I have the full version of Adobe, I took the time to create fillable form fields of all the SSA forms. That way, I did a quick run through, and kept them saved to my computer to be able to edit as necessary.

After I was done, I realized I had put a lot of work into the forms that others could benefit from. So, I have made all of them available on my blog. You can follow the link in my signature line to get to my blog. Once there, find the tab at the top for "SSDI Fillable Forms".

Good luck.