Hi, Lydie, I had a service dog that helped me deal with my disorder, which isn't bipolar. I still took medication. The dog helped me cope and recognized symptoms coming on before I did and that warned me to sit down and get a handle on what was going on at the moment. When the dog died of old age, I didn't get another one. I got another dog, but not a service dog and I didn't train it to be a service dog.

By then I'd found a combination of medication that controlled my symptoms enough that I didn't need a service dog, but I did want a companion animal. I have a combination of neurological and auto-immune disorders compounded by PTSD (much improved) but no personal experience of bipolar disorder.

Are you by any chance taking drugs in the class of anti-convulsants, such as valproic acid -- with brand names such as Depakote, Epilim, Valparin, Valpro, Vilapro and Stavzor? This drug is notorious for causing nausea and vomiting, but it's very good for bringing about mood stability as well as helping migraines and seizure disorders.

If the answer is yes, I've known people who were able to stop the nausea if the doc switched them to a pediatric dose and slowly, I emphasize slowly, worked up to a higher dose. The nausea and vomiting stopped completely.

As to your question about a service dog ... it's certainly worth a try if you could get a properly trained dog, but I don't know if it has to be an either/or proposition -- either a dog or drugs. It could be both. Perhaps a service dog would help enough that you could take a lower dose of meds that would cause fewer side effects.

Bipolar does seem to be one of the disorders that has a very large biochemical component. Your psychiatrist and psychologist know you and know your basic personality and the symptoms of your disorder. They would not be recommending a service dog unless they thought it might help.

My personal experience was excellent, but as I said, it was not an either/or proposition for me.