By all means you should ask your psychiatrist to incorporate medical language to help you. I used to go to college and I got special consideration such as extra time with exams when my doctor told them I have bipolar. You should also tell your doctor your difficulties and mostly suicidal thoughts so that he can help you more. The psychiatrists are among the smartest of people but still they cannot read minds. Not yet, anyway. You are not abusing any privilege. This is what they call an "invisible illness" like cancer of an internal organ that cannot be seen. But emotional/mental/psychological problems are just as real as anything physical. Ani illness is not something to be ashamed of and should not be hidden from your doctor!

Thank you Victor for your speedy and accurate response. I'll go into that conversation prepared and ready to talk. I apreciate you and your replay. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post. Have a great evening!

good luck "hope" and remember this is a forum to get help because we understand because we are fellow travelers.

I hope you are able to have that conversation and get some concessions. as victor said bp is an illness just like cancer or any other and should be treated as such. is there any way you could do some of your work from home? It works quite well for me. it is worth a try if at all possible. the best of luck with it all and i hope you find the best route for you that takes care of you too.

Absolutely not! Your psychiatrist should be your main support here. Try not to be paranoid, but you want to protect yourself and your job if you truly like where you are working. Don't publicize your struggles because people are people and most like to tear others down with cruel gossip. If you have a good HR Dept, and if this is a large organization there should be policies and procedures eatablished and documented. Get your hands on these and follow them. Document visits and follow-through with actions your employer requests. I'm curious why these new meds aren't helping. Have you told your psychiatrist the side effects you are experiencing? Maybe you need a different dosage, formula, brand or even the type of medication itself. Or maybe a combination of two. One to offset the unpleasant side effects of the other. I went through this until I found a combination that worked. Hope this helps!

My story is, I worked for a Chicagoland blood bank. I was a distribution driver. I would deliver the units of blood and blood products to various hospitals around the Chicagoland area. Anyway, I was having a bit of a meltdown..not bad, but moody and my fellow drivers may have been gossiping. I went to the supervisor. I trusted him. I said I am bi-polar, and I needed a bit of time to get back into the swing of things. I trusted he would keep our conversation between both of us only. Well turns out, he had close friends and family members in two other positions. He told them most likely. It boiled down to gossip if I could do my job correctly and drive correctly. Very sad for a non-for profit. My driving record was and still is spotless. Gossip continued, I was watched very closely by the evil management. I finally had enough, and quit on good terms. I would have expected more compassion from a non for profit..hmm I guess I was wrong... Just my two cents. I would try not to tell your employer is what I am trying to illustrate. But yes, talk with your Pdoc about this. Maybe you can get "FMLA" days? Just a thought. Hang in there.