Medicine is a bandaid therapy is the healer.. it will never be a perfect thing this bipolar ride.. but you can certainly make it more comfortable with a good therapist and the right meds.. unfortunately the right med combo on average takes 2 to 5 years and that's not an exact science by any means.. you may be lucky.. it may take 10 years... that's why a good therapist is extremely vital.. you can start working on yourself regardless of the meds... wish you the best... also it sounds kinda selfish.. but working on yourself is the best way to help others around you... I'm in php right now and that's one thing I grasp more.. you can't change others only they can.. and only you can change yourself... pretty obvious but remembering that has gone a long way to how I handle things in my life. Gl