I'm not sure my disability meeting went well

[Akoto]

13. Been on disability for half of my life, best tip I can give...

Lawyer up. It's expensive, I know, but it pays for itself in the long run when you receive (or are continued with at a regular review) those benefits. My experience, 100% of the time, has been that the *whole* demeanor of the meeting changes when they know a lawyer is present. I never talk to them without mine.

Oh, and save everything. Get hard copies of your medical records on a regular basis, after every time you see the doc, etc. It does help to overwhelm them with years worth of factual, physician backed evidence that you have a disability and have continually sought treatment. If you can get your doctor(s) to write letters of support to include in hearings or before the judge if you go that far, it's also very good to do.

For a lot of people (myself included), victory does not arrive until you have two rejections from filing your first application and then your appeal. Unless you have an 'automatically approved' condition, they will usually find stupid excuses to deny you. The wait for these replies takes a lot of time in some cases, especially with how backed up the system is. Their hope, though, is that you'll just give up during that process rather than wait the sometimes long wait for step three - going before a judge. This is where most people win disability, because someone has to finally look you in the eye and listen to what you endure, hopefully with your lawyer present.