It took years to be diagnosed (happened about 13 years ago and I'm 49 now), and then many years after that to get on the med cocktail that truly works for me. I'd say about 6 years. Since being on this combination of meds, I've been relatively stable, maybe 2-3 episodes a year, with a couple of 'blips' in between. But the episodes themselves aren't as bad as they were before I started taking these meds. Well, except for 2 major-major episodes.