I'm only 25, but the first person to suggest i was somewhere in the BP spectrum told me this when i was 13 or 14, and was put on meds shortly after. that didn't stop the adolescent attitude of "i can do better, you don't know anything" leading me to "self medicate" for about 5 years (with horrible results of course). Don't think that an early diagnosis would've made things any better, they didn't for me. though my life has yet to be robbed (still being relatively young) this has slowed down my progress to get a bachelors in chemistry, to a crawl, and i know at some point in the future (probably more than i can foresee now) it will hinder my ability to obtain, and maintain a job, a meaningful relationship etc..

Everything that comes so easy to 90% of people, is about a million times harder for us. to be "normal" requires relentless effort, and a tightly regimented schedule, and in an ideal world that's possible, but it's not realistic. i feel as if we were cheated.