As a newbie to the board, I'm still trying to get a grasp of my recent BP diagnosis. :eek: As such, I was wondering what age everybody here was when they were diagnosed BP. I turned 28 last month, and was diagnosed a month before my 28th birthday (So was 27 technically.)

I really do have sooooo many BP questions. Can anybody recommend some good websites for general information on BP? I know if I did a google search I'd probably get a couple hundred hits, but to narrow it down, I'm hoping someone can give me a few to start with?

Thank you guys again. :wave:

Hey Zuz,
I was actually 39 When I realized I was BP instead of Unipolar. All this time I had been taking antidepressants for regular depression. That helped actually and I am having a hard time living with the BP sometimes. My mood is stable, and I am not so grumpy for sure and no burst of anger anymore. The trade offs are worth it I will say, but unlike a unipolar, we lose something when we take meds, we lose the highs which is good of course, but you kind of get attached to them.

I can't recomend any websites because you are not allowed to on these boards. But keep using google but get discriptive on what you want instead of just BP. for instance, "Bipolar official support" will aim you cleared than just the word bipolar.
YOu have a journey in front of you, I wish you well. There is allot to learn. BP is more like in my mind and alcoholic than someone who might have some other disease. There is pleasure to be lost in the cure, thats the barb, but if you don't let go the hook and bait, your pulled to your doom.

On the other hand, you gain small pleasures that you wouldn't have had. For instance, I don't yell at my son anymore at the drop of a hat. I don't buy expensive things I can't afford, and I get to sleep at night.

I was 25 when I was diagnosed with Bipolar I. Looking back, I now see that I had it much earlier than that - probably all the way back to early high school. It has been a wild ride.

I was fifteen, but my psychiatrist reckons I was suffering from bipolar symptoms for at least five years prior to, at the time diagnosed with unipolar depression.

Hey Zuz,
I was actually 39 When I realized I was BP instead of Unipolar. All this time I had been taking antidepressants for regular depression. That helped actually and I am having a hard time living with the BP sometimes. My mood is stable, and I am not so grumpy for sure and no burst of anger anymore. The trade offs are worth it I will say, but unlike a unipolar, we lose something when we take meds, we lose the highs which is good of course, but you kind of get attached to them.

I can't recomend any websites because you are not allowed to on these boards. But keep using google but get discriptive on what you want instead of just BP. for instance, "Bipolar official support" will aim you cleared than just the word bipolar.
YOu have a journey in front of you, I wish you well. There is allot to learn. BP is more like in my mind and alcoholic than someone who might have some other disease. There is pleasure to be lost in the cure, thats the barb, but if you don't let go the hook and bait, your pulled to your doom.

On the other hand, you gain small pleasures that you wouldn't have had. For instance, I don't yell at my son anymore at the drop of a hat. I don't buy expensive things I can't afford, and I get to sleep at night.


Hey Dave,

Thanks for responding. I was wondering if you could tell me what Unipolar means? Is that like how Bipolar means Mania and Depression, and Unipolar means you don't cycle and just have one main emotion?

There are so many intelligent, bright souls on this board, it's just wonderful to see so many! And, yes, I do have a pile of stuff to learn. There are so many questions, and no websites I read last night or today give any of the answers to what I want to know.....:confused: I guess it will just take time. Thanks for the insights though!

Wow, so young to be diagnosed. I don't understand how on my first visit there he knew which type of Bipolar I have. Like just b/c my mood had recently cycled to Depression, now I'm BP II? Yet had he seen me a week earlier, he would've seen a massive manic episode- like extremely. :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

I was just diagnosed and I'm 29. I was diagnosed with unipolar depression (which means just depressed, no manias) when I was 27. I know I have had episodes of major depression since I was a teenager. I was hyperactive as a child, but very sad a lot of the time too. I probably have had this for a long time but I'm BP II as well. I never go fully manic, only hypomanic - so it was hard to tell. Once they put me on antidepressants 2 years ago I've been on a rollercoaster! After the first week on my first antidepressant I swear I laughed for 2-3 days straight. I was happy as a clam and then I sunk into worse depression. That's how the AD merry-go-round started and ever since I've had highs and lows. My highs were never high enough to make me think I was BP (I always thought you had to be psychotic to be BP, I didn't understand there was a "spectrum"). I've done stupid things like I sign up for the Peace Corps and a plethora of other whacky things. I was just diagnosed about a month ago and things are not better yet. I'm going off the AD's and onto a mood stabilizer. I started off depressed as ever but I've been on a high for over a week now which explains why I've written all this in a few minutes. I have a call into my pdoc but he isn't that great - I need to change. I called him telling him I was sleeping only 2 hours a night, not tired the next, etc. - he called me in sleeping pills. So I told the therapist (who works in his office and collaborates with him) the same damn thing and what did she say "Well maybe you need sleeping pills, oh wait, he gave you those." It's going to be a struggle but I will get better and so will you.

I was dx manic depressive at 14 (bp was not a term back in '86). Then dx again at 27, bp. The second dx they actually tried treatment of medication. Thankfully. Medicated for 7 years now and when I can afford the meds, I am absolutely stable. I've been completely stable for 5 or 6 years now with a combination of Abilify, Lamictol, Trileptal and Cytomel. The Cytomel changed about a year ago from Levoxyl. I credit a fabulous pdoc and tdoc for everything. I have had great luck in finding great tdocs and completely lucked into my current pdoc, who is outstanding in his field. I feel for those who can't seem to get stable, it's such a hard journey.

I was 25 when I was diagnosed. There are some bipolar websites out there. However, many of them seem to gear toward giving info to people that deal with bipolar people, not actual bipolar people themselves. A few things to remember since it's kind of fresh in your head-being diagnosed with bipolar can be upsetting, but releiving at the same time, at least you know what the problem is. Definitely stay on your meds-I say this because many people feel better and think that they are o.k and might not need them at the time-this is a wrong assumtion, this is just your medicine working, so don't stop. Keep close contact with your psychiatrist with any mood changes so your doctor can make any adjustments in meds as needed. As long as you try and keep track of how you feel and take your meds regularly, bipolar isn't really bad to live with. As you can see, you could probably come on here and ask questions, people on these boards are very supportive. Best of luck to you!