Hi irritable4life,

Yup, I can understand your reluctance to try new meds - especially if you're getting a bit of pressure from family telling you you function better without them, that's a hard one.

I think it's pretty calous when they tell you things like "adjust your attitude" .... "bipolar is made up" - in fact I've never heard of such nonsense! They are not psychiatrists, doctors, professors etc. and I think that their nasty comments are doing your mental health no good right now.

You say they don't let you go to hospital? I have no words to explain how mad that makes me!

You're facing a rather challenging situation.

You asked for advice so the only thing I can think of -

Find a great pdoc.

One that you trust.

Rely on the support of your pdoc for now, if you find one, who can help to give you suggestions on how best to manage this unfortunate situation.

As a footnote - I think that you are far from alone and I can bet my bottom dollar that there are some out there who face the same challenges from family in "denial" that bipolar is a genuine disorder and do not bother to educate themselves on the syptoms, not that that makes your situation any easier though ....................