I must have said those thank you 100 times today. Thank you for being happy for me.

Does anyone know what the next stage is? Does it now go back to social security for them to calculate or does it go straight to payment center?

My attorney wrote me saying that we are appealing and it may take up to 18 months before we get an appeal hearing.

One of the things that the judge commented on was that he felt my doctor was not qualified to make a decision because he is not a 'specialist'. I have been to one 'specialist' and he wanted to do steroid injections which I declined. I have high blood pressure and my family has a history of heart disease. And I have had friends who have tried this treatment and say that it is only a 'quick fix' and temporary.

I am thinking about changing my PCP in order to get a different opinion. And maybe a referral to an orthopedic doctor who does consider steroids the 'cure-all'.

Your lawyer may have a point about not having specialists. You should have a right to refuse treatment where risks out number the benefits. Is this your first appeal? My experiences have been about a year between appeals. 18 months sounds too long.

Can anyone help me?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi. Can anyone let me know how long it took them to get there first check/direct deposit and also backpay information? (only for ssdi)

Also I wanted to know did they have to wait for local ss office to call them to update information and go over children's information (only for ssdi).

My judgement said ssdi and they said I don't qualify for ssi

It took my wife a few weeks to receive her first check from ssdi. She received medicare immediately. However, it took her about 6-7 months to receive her 3.5 year retro check because there was either confusion or a stalling tactic involved in SS seeking out whether she received SSI or not. She never received SSI nor was she qualified to receive it in the first place over 4 years ago.

The employees at SSA are all too happy to get your case off their pending list. There is no benefit to stalling. Having old cases is a negative report on their performance reviews. No such thing as deliberate stalling by SSA. Too much work to do and your case not given priority because it is no longer on a pending list is more likely.

That sounds logical but SS was telling my wife's attorney one story and our Congressman's staff another over several months. The state of Virginia had already passed on her case file and determined that she never received SSI one month after her positive judgement. It was because of these things makes one wonder why the long delay.

I have made an appointment for a new PCP so I can get a referral to a new orthopedic doctor (hopefully one that does not insist on steroid epidurals).

My attorney also suggested that I file another claim while I am waiting for an appeal hearing.

Has anyone here ever done this ?

And I am thinking of going to Binder and Binder for the new claim ... I like my first lawyer but I just don't think he is aggressive enough to handle the Judge we are having to deal with.

Any suggestions or advice ?

i am doing the same thing.my told me to do the same thing also.your lawyer is probably fine(i dont know him so cant say).but my lawyer told me that he and the judge are bond by rules and regualtion that are setup for them and they must follow them.i had to reapply cause they found new things about my disability injury that my doctor over looked.So we have to start the whole thing over..but with new info than i had the first time

oh my goodness. I applied 12/08 and just finished my hearing on July 12th. The judge just received my case for review last week and should be giving me a decision this week. I ammmmm soooo stressed out. Between worrying where money to live is going to come from and no support...I am at my wits end. Thanks for starting this thread!