It took three years and 2 appeals for me to be turned down completely. I did not file a federal appeal. I filed a new claim 3 months ago & don’t expect an answer for 6 months to a year.

My first denial took 9 months. I am in appeal now.

I'm in Michigan. Mine was exactly 6 months from the date I physically submitted my own handwritten application to the Social Security office. I was awarded SSD on July 18, 2018 and SS actually backdated my disability to November 2015, and I was still employed part-time. No appeal for me! Because "they" took my disability back 2 years, I was automatically approved for Medicare, but I don't use it, because I am still on my husband's insurance thru work.

I finally got approved for disability....about 2.5 years after applying. I was denied twice, then hired a lawyer. A lawyer will get 25% of your back pay up to $6,000 maximum. So mine got it approved and she got $6,000 of my back pay. It was worth it to finally get it approved. File as soon as you can, because it does take a while. Document EVERYTHING. Keep a daily journal of your symptoms, how you feel, doctor appointments, etc. I had over 200 appointments at Mayo in 2017, documentation of everything, diagnosed with CHF, myocarditis, fibromyalgia, had 9 hospital stays in one year, and still got denied twice. I think they hope you just give up. Don't give up. It's very frustrating, but stick with it. When you do get approved, you get back pay. I got approved about a month ago, got my back pay, and got my first monthly check this week. Yea!! It doesn't replace the 6 figure income I was making, but it does help. I'm happy to answer any questions.