Totally can relate....

It makes me feel that the difficulties I face because of my BP aren't significant, when really they do interfere with my ability to study and work and live in so many ways.

While there are some totally awesome famous, successful BP out there, a number of studies have shown that people with BP are less likely to complete tertiary education, have lower paying jobs, and higher unemployment than the average. Some of this is due to the age of onset, ie people drop out of tertiary education due to onset of disease.
There was also something about BP people "underachieving" (I guess that's performing at less than what they would be expected with education, training and experience) because of a lack of confidence in their ability to cope.

When my life fell apart... I totally felt like any confidence that I had, any thoughts of being able to "succeed" had been completely demolished. I felt like such a failure...
I could not imagine a career, where before I had every reason to believe I had a promising career in front of me.

Now I have redefined success - there are things that are more important in life than your career, degrees and achievements, like family, friends and doing things that are important to you.
Work to live, not live to work.... I guess experiences like what we have all gone through are bound to make you rethink what life's all about...

Sorry if this is a ramble... just some thoughts...