As you realized you looked back at your life and could see that BP has been at play.. Yes its hard to get the "diagnosis" but its a label .. Your life is still your life and always will be.

The decisions to try medication is just up to you...You dont have to. Its a personal choice .

What you can do is load up a huge tool box of coping skills and healthy living to help reduce the effects of BP .. Meditation, Yoga ,Mindfilness, Diet , Exercise, breathing exercises .. the list goes on and on .

As far as feeling like you are going to lose the "good times" thats not always the case .. many people with BP even medicated still have BP ups and down .. being on medication doesnt take it all away .. It just depends on your own unique BP.

You will find numerous people here that are Medfree and are doing really well .. yes they cycle but they use coping skills and learn to body surf through the rough times.

If you do decide to try a medication .. see a Pdoc .. NOT a GP they just dont know enough about Psych meds .. This is a case of not cutting corners.

There is still stigma when it comes to Bipolar .. thats just how it is ..But just because you are diagnosed it doesnt mean you need to tell everyone you know and family... Take time to process this development in your life , learn all you can about it, post here , read here .. You can learn to live with Bipolar and have a wonderful life .