Just because the symptoms match doesn't mean anyone should be giving out diagnosis, unless you're a medical expert and know the history of the person in question.
If you tell me you've been so sick for so long and can't seem able to get rid of your illness, it'd be crazy for me to go and say you might have AIDS.
It his opinion as a sufferer the symptoms match, and its best to get it checked out in case it is bi-polar. What I read into it, was that it might save her the pain of suffering for 40yrs for something that can be helped.
AIDS is rather more serious & life-threatening medical condition rather than a psychological/mental one so its not a good example, but nevertheless I do hope if the symptoms I was suffering from matched someones on this forum they would be good enough to mention it, without others battering them down for doing so.
Neither I nor Berberella nor SJ are stupid enough to consider advice given over any forum as gospel, but it might be enough to provide us with the momentum to check it out for ourselves & then seek professional advice. And thats the kind of help that this forum might provide if you let it.