Wow! I've been reading introductions on here before introducing myself and I have to say that I both relate to and feel deep compassion for many of you on here. I joined PC Forums a short while ago but never introduced myself in Bipolar Forum. So here goes....

I'm in my 40's, a mother of 2 grown kids ( my baby is 20), have a stable family and am disabled both with my MIs and physical disabilities. I was diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder at 14 but told my first pdoc off & walked out because ,even though I knew he was right, it totally freaked me out at the time. So several years and broken relationships and an abusive marriage and divorce, trouble holding a job longer than 3 years max( because I was dating my boss, I know, always a great idea. NOT!), years of poly drug abuse, to suppress memories of childhood abuse, eating disorders, and suicide attempts later.....


I FINALLY went back to get serious about getting help. That was in my 30's. I got sober and the mood swings didn't get any better. My then pdoc evaluated me and agreed with the first one. Bipolar I Disorder, but also diagnosed me with PTSD. Due to a lay off( I was working when I found the 2nd pdoc) I had to quit seeing him because I had no insurance. That meant going off meds, too, because I couldn't afford them. I hit another downward spiral, ended up hospitalized, and had to start over in therapy.

Fast forward to now... I'm in therapy again with a new pdoc( again) who kept the first 2 diagnoses and added borderline personality disorder into the mix. So I'm still in intense therapy, and taking Prozac and Risperdal and they're tweaking my meds yet again this Tuesday. I had to drop out of DBT(for borderline personality disorder) due to a string of physical medical issues this year that have landed me in the hospital 4 separate times this year, and it will still be awhile before I can re-enter DBT because they're currently testing me for colon cancer on top of everything else. So there is the soap operaI call my life right now.

I am pretty isolated right now and I know that's not good for me so I thought I would at least check this PC stuff out to reach out in any way I can right now. Since then, I've found some good people, at least some people in the same boat as me, and that at least makes me feel a little bit better. I look forward to hearing from some/all of you as we share this journey!!

Hope everyone is having a good Labor Day weekend!