When my daughter had a serious case of CFS and her first request for SSI was denied, we went to our family attorney and he guided the case. It went before an Administrative Court Judge. She got SSI. The word was out that almost everyone was denied SSI on their first request. Only when it went before an Administrative Court Judge were people being granted SSI. That was the scuttle-but. I don't know if it was true or not. Don't be discouraged if your application is denied. From what we learned, being denied was simply a step in the process, which allows you to move on to an appeal. Good luck!