That's pretty much the way it's worked with me. I wasn't diagnosed till I was 53, which was when things reached critical mass and I could no longer ignore what was happening to me. It kept getting worse (my dx was BP-NOS at first and has 'evolved' over time) until about six months ago, when I started an AP on a regular basis instead of PRN. I've had to have the dose bumped up a couple of times, but I'm pretty steady on the meds now despite what's going on in my life.