adventureseeker: As of now I feel pretty good, so I'm just going to wait until everything is officially done before I do anything. Plus I still don't want to take meds due to the fact that I know all the side effects.

Glad you're feeling well enough right now... whether you decided to see a doctor now or not your license will be approved before anything would come up. That being said, I totally respect the fact that you're committed to your profession. I suffered for 10 years before I ever felt like I was in the place in my life where I could get professional help. I was also sufficiently depressed at the time so the combination was enough to make me go to the doctor. Basically, you're smart enough to know something is wrong. As long as you feel safe there really isn't any harm in waiting to see a doctor but it's just longer you have to suffer.

As far as meds, again, I hear you about the side effects. I was hesitant for the longest time and told my doc up front which meds I absolutely would not try due to the side effect profile. Meds are worth it but it can take a while to find the right one or the right mix. Please, please hear me when I say you don't have to feel bad, you don't have to have the ups and downs. I just feel terrible when I hear people are going to wait to get help because I know I did that and it's not worth it. I got treatment for over a year before my family or my job knew anything was going on and the only reason anyone ever found out is because I told them voluntarily. Things don't always have to be this rough for you and I would encourage you to see a psychiatrist... therapy is great but it's not typically the total package for people with bipolar disorder. Be honest with the psychiatrist and tell him/her that you know about the meds and you're in a position where you're not going to be able to tolerate lots of side effects. In that case it's definitely possible to titrate very slowly to minimize the side effects. I am sensitive to medications and have had some side effects with meds, but they've always gone away after a few weeks and many meds like Lamictal, which is fantastic for a lot of people, had no side effects for me at all. That certainly doesn't mean you wont have side effects but it's possible. I'm really hoping you'll think on it for a while and decide that at the very least you'll go speak with a psychiatrist or two about this. No obligations with that obviously... you dont have to do what they say!!!! Again, I wish you the best. Take care.