Hey gonetomaui,

I am a recovering alcoholic with bipolar disorder. For me, the sobriety is absolutely critical, before meds, before therapy or anything. If I am not sober or drinking AT ALL, everything is out the window and all bets are off. Even at more than 3 years of complete sobriety from alcohol, drugs, and any controlled substance, the alcoholic characteristics in my behavior patters and in my past shape and control me much more than my bipolar disorder.

I will warn you that when I got sober this last time (yes, a rich history of the revolving door is in play) in Summer 2012 - I got off of everything, all drugs and alcohol, all medications, all supplements - there was a huge uplift from breaking free of everything, but yes I went hypo and by September was full blown manic and had to go IP with help from the police, twice.

So there is some consideration that coming off of alcohol can push you into hypo - it's a depressant after all. Looking back, I should have worked more closely with my care team, but hey in the end I am way better off.

Sobriety and Bipolar recovery are the story of my life for the past 4 years so I am happy to share as much as you like. PM me as needed.

Good luck,

moogs