Deleted Profile, Lost Files

I deleted the default profile after performing an upgrade
from Win98se to WinXP. I did this before understanding
that I should have "Kept the Files". I can no longer find
any of the files in the My Documents folder that should
have come over as part of the upgrade(i.e. the My
Documents folder from Win98se).

I have done any number of file searches to locate my old
files and cannot find them.

I do not have back-up copies of the original My Documents
files.

Is it worth a shot at trying to run a file recovery
utility or taking the system to someone who does file
recovery?