I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in January 2011, right after I turned 18. I've been prescribed lithium and zyprexa. I am currently down to one lithium in the morning, one at night and 1/4 pill of zyprexa at night. My psychiatrist is wonderful and I am so pleased with my progress. He said that it is a possibility that I may be able to come off the meds overtime. However, everyone I've spoken to (sorry, got distracted by how colorful that smiley is, haha)...ahem...everyone I've spoken to who has friends who are bipolar says that they can never go off their medications because they keep having episodes or hallucinations.

I've only had one manic episode in my life which is how I got diagnosed. Most of my life I was depressed until I was prescribed zoloft which triggered my manic episode. I would have minor hallucinations growing up and up until I was diagnosed. I am worried because I don't want to take pills the rest of my life. I know it's part of being healthy, but I know that I am strong enough to deal with my issues once the doctor says I can go off my medications. If you have never seen A Beautiful Mind, it's a true story about a college professor who is diagnosed with schizophrenia and he ends up being able to control his hallucinations without the aid of medications. I want to be like that. I feel like since I only had one episode, and that I know that my hallucinations aren't real and that I am someone who is very aware of my feelings and know what is normal and what isn't, that I can be like A Beautiful Mind and be able to control my symptoms without the aid of meds.

Is this normal or logical? I think so. It makes sense to me. I've always felt normal even before I was diagnosed and more so now that I'm not depressed anymore.

Is there anyone who has been able to come off their meds and live a normal life?