I'm sorry that you went through that as a child, I can relate and I also had my first attempt at 8. I am also diagnosed BP II (diagnosed at 31 and I'm 34 now). I think it's natural to question the diagnosis and what helped me recognize that my diagnosis was correct was reading on bipolar. In saying that there are other mental illnesses that can share symptoms with BP, so that's why I think it's important to educate yourself on the illness to see if it fits for you. I can suggest a great book "Bipolar Breakthrough" by Ronald Fieve. I live in Canada, so i don't have any recommendations on insurance etc., but I will say that if you do have bipolar it doesn't go away.

Looking back on my life I had symptoms as a young child and my illness has gotten progressively worse. For some people that is the pattern. Medication isn't the only part of managing the illness though I would say it's about 60% of the equation for me. What also helps me is eating healthy, sleeping regularly, avoiding alcohol, drugs, exercising and seeing a therapist. I would also suggest tracking your mood. This one is free and is online: http://www.medhelp.org/land/mood-tracker. I hope that helps.