I have been in your shoes, almondjoy, and I can tell you for certain that if you continue to make your job your top priority even in the face of illness, the illness will win. It happened to me a little over a year ago, and by the time I had my meltdown and went out on medical leave for 3 weeks, it was too late to save my job. I had struggled so hard to keep everything together, and I just couldn't do it anymore. My pdoc gave me the choice between going out on leave or being hospitalized---either way, I was going to take time off whether I wanted to or not.

It took me all of two hours to fall apart again when I went back, and I was sent home to await my fate. Two days later I was fired. It was probably the best thing that could have happened to me, because I was a physical and emotional wreck and I just didn't have it to give anymore. But I look back sometimes and wish I'd taken better care of myself when I started slipping down into near-madness; unfortunately, that's what I got for putting my job ahead of my health.

Don't make the same mistake. You, not your mother, know how you feel and how much you can take, and you're coming pretty close to the edge by the tone of your post. There's no need to disclose the nature of your illness; that was another mistake I made, although I didn't have much of a choice because I was severely manic at the time and couldn't really hide it.

Wishing you the very best. You know what you need to do.