Welcome to our world. I am sure that you will find, as have I, that everyone here is very friendly and will help in any way possible.

The most important first step is to establish a good working relationship with a competent psychiatrist and along with that, a good therapist.

Second, you, along with your doctor, need to find the right combination of meds to get you stabilized, to keep your symptoms under control. I have been on the same cocktail of meds for the past 7 years and they have kept my symptoms under control.

You can live a normal life with bipolar disorder. It just takes work and a good support system (sounds like your husband will fill this role). Don't give up.

By the way, most people with bipolar disorder are gifted in other ways, which are often very creative. The disease also made me much more compassionate, kind, and understanding with others (not a bad thing either).