First of all, hi! I'm Melanie and I haven't visited this forum in several years. I have Bipolar type I disorder as well as ADD. I create artwork from home when my boyfriend is out and about, but am otherwise a bit of a couch potato (just as of late... pregnancy has made it too difficult to move around much). It's lovely to meet you all!

So, this is a problem: I have about a month to go before I deliver my son and just over the past few days, I've become a bit manic (which, by the way, is *miserable* while pregnant... but then again, so is everything). It began with severe insomnia and a long-overdue bought of chattiness and happiness, but now I am hallucinating. They're my standard hallucinations, nothing very disturbing- just textures moving on walls and furniture. It's more distracting than anything.

I'm just worried that this will progress. The only medication that I'm able to take during this third trimester is lamotrigine, which is a mood stabilizer that is really more geared towards depression than mania. I've been painting a little to keep myself busy, but am running out of things to paint (eek)... and, well, mania just bothers me in general since my last episode almost destroyed my VERY important relationship.

Questions, then (sorry for the rambley post, but mania):

-Have you ever successfully coped with mania *without medication* and, if so, how?
-Am I s.o.l. ...?

Seriously, I can't take my meds and am completely opposed to putting my child in a situation that might force me to take drugs that I am not okay with.