What should I do if I applied for disability and got denied?

It can take 6 months or more to be approved especially if there are appeals.

And yes you can get SS with epilepsy. It all has to do with if the meds work or not. With my grandson, he still has absent seizures and grandmals. He does hold down a low paying job but he can't drive. So it limits his ability to train for a better job. He also suffers from ADD and can't take meds for that because they interfere with the epileptic drugs. They actually make seizures worse. So he has two things going on. Right now, we are waiting for him to have brain surgery to take out the damaged part that causes his seizures.

There are people that meds help control the seizures. These people can drive and work. My grandson would so much love to be one of these people. He is 26 and his first seizure was at 19. His life has literally been put on hold.

I’m not sure being an epileptic alone is considered a disability if well managed with medication. I have a good friend who has been epileptic since childhood. She worked her entire life. She turns 65 in September.
Thats probably why you were denied as epilepsy can be well controlled with medication.
However, it’s best you pay for a disability lawyer consult and discuss this with the lawyer.
It’s usually true that everyone gets declined the first time (unless one meets SSDI’s criteria immediately due to developing an acute illness).
I believe there is a six month waiting period before SSDI kicks in once you’ve applied (I could be wrong).

Its not unusual to get denied the first time. You need to find a Social Security lawyer to handle your appeal. He is not allowed to charge you. His fee is paid from the back pay u will receive once you qualify. Its now 25% but when my nephew received it, it was 15% and no more than 6k. Back pay is determined from the first application date.

Make sure you take everything you submitted with your initial application and anything new. The lawyer will need those copies to resubmit.

You need to appeal the decision, however, it is best at this point to hire professional help for getting your benefits.

There is so much fraud in disability claims the government has had to really keep close watch over the program. A disability attorney may be able to help you. The attorney is going to need all supporting documentation from doctors with information on what treatments have been tried and failed and how severe your symptoms are.

Hire a disability lawyer. You usually do not have to pay them up front.

To get disability you have to prove you cannot do ANY job. Things like controlled seizures will generally not disqualify you from desk jobs.

I work in medicine, and am epileptic; and I formerly was a paralegal for an attorney that specializes in disability law. We would constantly get clients that chose not to get an education, and only did manual labor for decades, then were let go due to developing seizures. They would get denied disability and told they could work a desk job. This was super common with people whose job demanded a CDL.

Unless your seizures are uncontrolled, and very frequent; and you have medical history proving you've tried and failed different treatment options, getting SSI or DIB will he extremely difficult. Your age and work history also play a role in getting approved or denied. Younger people who have not held steady jobs are denied much more frequently.

This is all assuming you live in the United States.

You should look for an attorney who specializes in disability and have him/her help you file for disability. Most of the times, the applications get rejected. That's when the attorney will file an appeal. Then, your application has a better chance of being accepted.

But first, how serious is your condition? Are you able to work at all? I used to work with a someone who was epileptic. He was on medication which controlled his symptoms. He was able to work and live a normal life.

I’m very sorry you were denied. From experience, a friend of mine had to quit working and was denied disability, even though she had a legitimate reason for receiving disability. She had to get a lawyer. 2 years later she was finally approved. In the meantime she had to rely on friends and family to get her through. I’m not sure if this is the standard situation or not. Maybe others on here will have more information. Best wishes to you