Well, I was diagnosed at 30, but I had known something was wrong since I was about 14 or 15 years old. The first time I remember having psychosis (paranoid delusions) was when I was 8 years old. I had my first suicide attempt at 12...

I've been on Abilify at 26 years old for a month, then off due to side effects. No diagnosis though. Just a hospital psychiatrist put me on it when I was in having my son. Then Lamictle for month when I was diagnosed and off again for side effects. Then Lithium for a year. I went off it on my own because I didn't feel better and I was trembling and thirsty all the time and peeing all the time due to drinking all the time. Since then I've just been going along on my own.

I know I need to get in to see a psychiatrist again, but I'm waiting. I've been like this for so long I don't know what normal is. But, I also know that I'm getting worse, but it isn't my moods that bother me. It's my loss of cognitive skills like reading, remembering, organizing, and communicating. Those are the things that really frighten me... I don't know if meds help that.