Hi jerry,
welcome to the forum.
having been thru the same process yes u are right it could take upto 6 mos and no assurance whatsoever that it will go to your favour.
When I got denied we tried sorting it out before the Eco sent it to the uk and it's easier to deal and sort it from the time you got declined. not saying it works on all cases but if you could get hold of the Eco who declined your app the better. With my case when the Eco told me what docs I need to present so they could overturn their decision I was not able to provide it within the timeframe they have given so it went to the appeal processs and tribunal which took about nearly a year (I kid you not) and we decided to lodge in a new application.
By the way what docs have you presented and how long have u been married?
