I have 1 child. He is 19. When I had him I think that was the beginning of my bp, that it set in then. I couldn't sleep, so I was put on Elavil. I guess it was safe bc I was nursing. But my gyno just thought it was post partum depression. But now the docs think it was the beginning of bp.

It has been tough having bipolar disorder and being a single mom. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 36 and had went into a psychosis. Since then I've been on mood stabilizers and other meds. Things have calmed down. But I feel a lot of guilt that my son has had to deal with my bad manias. I did have my mom though and she was a tremendous help. But unfortunately she passed away 8 yrs ago. Been doing it mainly on my own since then.

But he loves my hypo manias, lol. We have great fun during those, talking about our dreams, where we want to travel to. And I think bp and PTSD makes me a little more intense than other non bipolar s. So we have really connected over movies, music that kind of thing.

If I knew what I know today the only thing I would change is being put on the correct meds. I couldn't imagine my life without my son.

But this has just been my experience. I hope I helped some.