I'm like the rest of this thread, I was treated for depression for nearly ten years. Then I wound up in the hospital. The pdoc said he would treat me the same whether I was bp or depressed. I noticed he gave me lithium though, and they don't give that for depression.

SO... by the time someone said "you're bipolar", I pretty much had it figured out, so I didn't have a big shock or anything. The are many, many bp sufferers who lead highly productive lives. Bipolar people tend to be highly intelligent and many do adapt to their circumstances. Others cannot. If it were not for my mom I would be out on the streets. As it is I have been able to arrange for SSDI and decent health care, but I guess I'm fortunate in that regard.

So, things are what they are. BP is not the end of your life. It does mean that you will change parts of your life to adapt the best you can.