Newly diagnosed with Bipolar II

Newly diagnosed with Bipolar II. My APRN prescribed me Lamictal. Any advice? I am in the stages of acceptance I suppose. I've always had a temper, mood shifts even as a child. Recently after the birth of my daughter I initially thought I had post partum depression. Last week my APRN diagnosed me with a very mild case bi polar disorder type II.

Navywife, dealing with a diagnosis like this can be a big thing and i am impressed that you are able to accept it. I was diagnosed in january of this year with bipolar II with anxiety. It was hard for me to deal with everything all at once. I was also given lamictal to start out with. I was given a very low dosage to start out with, which is the way you need to start with lamictal, but my doctor at the time never decided to raise that dosage to higher than 100mg a day. The three doctors i have seen since him have questioned the wisdom of that choice. I didn't feel much different. Did your doctor also give you an anti-depressant of some sort? Those were the things that were hard for me. Doctors kept giving me SSRI's which alone aren't a good fit for me. I know that now, and that is just my personal experience. Everyone has their own "cocktail" so to speak. What works for me might not work for you, or what works for you might be bad for me. But you will find what works best for you. I've been on Welbutrin for about a month now and it is doing wonders for me (it works through dopamine and norepinephrine instead of seratonin). My depression was really bad, so we had to address that. Winter is bad for me (Seasonal Affective Disorder), so my doctor recommended vit. D pills to help balance that. Also, fish oil (omega 3) can have a mood stabilizing effect if taken in higher doses (though if you don't take it with the right food you get nasty seaweed/sushi breath all day). These things have been working for me. I just went to my doctor today and he gave me something to help me sleep and lithium, so we will see how these things work.
All in all, just know that it gets better. Sometimes things just really suck, but it won't last forever. I don't know how many depressed or manic nights i have lain in bed praying that the next day would be better. Sometimes they were, sometimes not, and that is okay. Just trust me that even if you can't see how, things will get better.
Make sure you have a close friend. I was lucky enough to have a friend who's brother has been dealing with bipolar for years now. That support literally kept me alive through the times where i wanted to die, or when i got so angry i wanted to hurt someone, or when everything was just too much and i needed to run away. My friend was there, not to tell me it would be okay, but just to be there and not judge me and love me. Find someone you can be completely open with about this; that you can be weak with. Your name says you are a navy wife. That is honorable and strong. Thank you. Sorry for the long post. I hope you find at least a little comfort in knowing you aren't alone. Never alone. With love.