Hi there,

After years of suffering and attempting to work something out I've finally given up and have decided to file for disability.

I haven't worked in five years and I'm not sure if I have enough credits though, but my cousin hasn't really worked a day in his life and he's on it, he has Asperger's.

For myself I've been diagnosed in the past with major depression, as well as reactive arthritis, a form of spondylitis. Honestly, I'm not sure which one came first and which one is more debilitating to me at the moment, but I just can't take it anymore. On top of that, in the last five years I've developed a severe case of agoraphobia or possibly avoidant personality disorder. I registered here a year ago (after many months of just lurking), but haven't really been able to make myself try and connect with anyone, even online, in all that time. And actually going out of the house? Well, it would never happen if it weren't for the fact that my Mom doesn't really drive much anymore and we need food. I'm a burden on my Mother and I need to do something so we don't lose the house.

Here's the rub, I'm unemployed so i obviously have no insurance. Add to that I haven't been to the doctor in a loooong time. Any advice on how to apply considering I have next to no documentation of my illness. I do have the hospital records from, good grief, almost 18 years ago and an old bill that shows a diagnosis of iritis, a symptom of the spondylitis, from ten years ago. Unfortunately I don't have the records for the genetic testing that was done by my eye doctor at the time that shows I have the HLA-B27 genetic marker for spondylitis, but unless my genes changed in the last ten years it should show up on a test. Frankly my sedimentation rate has to be sky high with the way I'm feeling, but I digress.

What should I do? Should I get a lawyer. I thought about contacting these people:

http://www.patientadvocate.org/index.php

But I don't know if they're trustworthy...anyone heard of them? I profusely appreciate any advice anyone can give me in this regard.

Thanks