Lara, Bipolar is an illness that waxes and wanes, and the course is very individual. Some of us were suffering symptoms as children, others in their teenyears, still others as grown adults. It can get worse with age, but then some people get a little better as time goes by and they learn to manage stress and recognize triggers. For some, medication works like a charm, but that doesn't mean that their Disease is lighter than that of those who don't respond well to medicine. It just means that whatever has kept it going with certain people can be controlled with medication. It can be extremely disabling for some, especially if there are other problems as well, or it can be a bothersom "blip" in someone's self history. Some few seem to have a few episodes, and then no more; the much greater majority of us will have to manage it for the rest of our lives.
In the big picture, the taking of medications is not a big thing for me. It's minor compared to what I could do to myself and other untreated. Huggs dear, it's not an easy road but you're not traveling it alone.