You may want to to create a whole thread asking that question, or even create a poll with various age ranges. It would be interesting to know, though the folks here that would answer may not perfectly represent the whole bipolar population in the country/world. I was 32 when diagnosed. My older sister was maybe in her early 40s. My nephew was only in his teens. I was the very first in my immediate family officially diagnosed. My diagnosis actually likely helped my sister's and nephew's psychiatrists diagnose theirs. Family history. Actually, my dad most likely has bipolar disorder. He's never received this dx, to my knowledge, and he's in his 70s. His mother was surely bipolar, too. My grandfather tried to take her to a psychiatrist, but when she got there she demanded to leave before seeing the psychiatrist. She was in her mid 30s. She was psychotic at the time.

Do you wish you received your bipolar diagnosis before you did? Or, were you glad you didn't know during those earlier years - even if you had been symptomatic then?