Surfer>I feel the same way. I had a pdoc become concerned that I was becoming manic because I was more expressive once. It was our second meeting and I was not at all animated, just slightly more comfortable than the first. My episodes are rare and I am "normal" for long periods of time between them. I felt like I had to be flat-lined through every future session.

Fresia> I think the fact that most pdocs have had few, if any, BP patients is a HUGE factor. And specialists are overbooked and rarely available. Then novices are left to rely on rudimentary info.

The problem with self-advocacy is that I find uniformed pdocs often discount your knowledge/experience. More than once I have been dismissed because I have MI. I've never had this problem with other medical issues. But, yes, there is no choice but to give it a go.

And WOW, 30 years? You probably have a lot of battlescars and (clearly) much wisdom.