If the request for early disclosure of the invention is not submitted at the time of filing, it will not be published until 18 months after the date of filing (the patent is called the filing date). Before this, your application documents will not be published, and you will not initiate the substantive examination request. Only after the actual trial is announced and requested will the notice of substantive examination be issued and the actual trial stage be entered.
As you said, since you didn't submit the request for disclosure in advance, you need to wait until 18 months before publishing it, and then publish the notice to enter the substantive examination stage according to your initial actual examination request.
Therefore, in your case, you have to wait 18 months to get the confirmation notice.