It depends, really, on your confidence in your ability to accurately portray how much this affects your day to day life.
I filed 3 months ago.. and did it on my own (well, my mom helped me fill out the initial stuff about doctor's visits, but she just typed what I told her--I did the function report and everything else on my own) and was accepted yesterday, 3 months to the day.
I must have been able to convince them that because I am bedridden and in so much pain, that I am unable to hold down any kind of a job.
How confident are you that you can do the same? If you think you can, I'd try it on your own first--it will save you a LOT of money.
If you don't think you can do it, then save yourself the time and trouble and hire someone.
I was totally prepared for a denial and had a lawyer set up for the appeal process, but they called me yesterday and told me that I had been approved.
I've also heard (but can't confirm as I did not use a lawyer) that it is better to go with a local lawyer rather than a big company like Binder and Binder. I have just heard that, but it may not be accurate--I'm not positive.
Good luck--I hope that you can get it, if you truly need it.
Take care.
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♥ "Hope is more than a word; it's a state of being. It's a firm belief God will come through. Life brings rain... hope turns every drop into the power to bloom like never before." -Holley Gerth ♥
My name is Sarah and I am 25 years old. I have a lot of chronic health problems. Peripheral neuropathy and POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) keep me bedridden the majority of the time. I also struggle with degenerative disc disease, disc desiccation, spondylolisthesis, arthritis, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) with insulin resistance, allergies, sound sensitivities, and other health problems.