I cannot even tell you how much I appreciate all of your responses. There are so many variables with my situation and I know my husband is about done listening to me project different scenarios!! I do have a sister who is a tremendous support but she has a life of her own. It is helping me being able to talk with others who are in similar situations as myself.
LIT Love, thanks for all the info. Actually, I am located in ME; not sure if that makes a difference.
A part of me is saying to myself "just start a new application", and another part of me is saying, "no, my lawyer is right and if the right person reads the appeal then I will get a remand hearing". I got a copy of my lawyer's appeal briefing yesterday. She cites 5 errors that the ALJ made, according to law, and with that she quotes the laws and points out the judge's errors. She notes in the appeal that since I made under the SGA "gainful amount" then the judge was suppose to at the very least contact my employer or an agency to determine if my work is comparable to that of unimpaired individuals to come to a determination that it was substantial. She also notes and quotes physicians about the severity of my condition and says the medical evidence supports a fully favorable decision at step 3 and at step 5; and she mentions this several times in the letter. She basically cites each of the errors by the judge in bold and then gives evidence and reference to evidence/exhibits under each heading.
At this point I honestly don't know what to do. The work I have been doing in my eyes is very sheltered and getting up every 5 or 10 minutes for a 5 to 10 minute break would never be tolerated in an office setting and now I'm even finding this more and more difficult but I see now that hiding it from my employer has done me no good. When I look back to when I took this job, I could easily say I shouldn't have but I also know that I did what I thought was best at the time; that being, trying to contribute somewhat to support my family.
There is no changing it now and I am just looking for advice on what people think my chances for a remand are. Put aside the fact that the judge saw my work as substantial, the issue up for debate is whether she followed the proper laws to come to that conclusion. It would appear to me that she did not. She did not have a vocational expert. she did not contact my employer or another agency to make a comparison to unimpaired individuals, so is that good enough reason to send it back to establish actual evidence to support her finding? Is the judge at liberty to just make that conclusion herself with no explanation or evidence to back it up? If the judge has the discretion to make that decision based on just her own opinion and does not need evidence then no I don't think I would get a remand. My lawyer tells me that she must follow the steps of law to come to that conclusion. It is all so complicated and boggles my mind. In my appeal letter my lawyer sites about 5 errors my judge made and quotes the laws supporting that they were errors. What does that mean? Does that mean I have a good chance at a remand?
I would never in my right mind chose SSDI over working.... who would. Not only is opting to do that going to produce financial struggles for the years to come but also I think it can be devastating emotionally to lose that sense of purpose.

LIT Love, or any of you, do you think I have a chance at getting a remand from the appeal council?? I figure if I can get back for a 2nd hearing and I am not working any hours at that point then the judge will have to move past step 1 and look at my medical issues at hand. Any thoughts?