Good for you I wish some others who are abusing alcohol would realize meds can make you better. My own mother is Bipolar I and has refused to take her meds for 40 yrs (she's 65 now- use to be on lithium). She's an alcoholic and self medicates all the time. My sister and I have tried to help her many times over the yrs and got no where with it. She could never keep a job, she drunk calls people saying horrible things, fights with her neighbors....just not good. Definitely not a success story of someone who refused meds... That's why I sometimes get so frustrated with people dx with BP who refuse to take meds cuz.....they just don't want to.