Of course my brain is mine. And of course I am me. I am not bipolar. I am not the meds. Now, I have asked if certain issues I'm experiencing are because of my illness or because of medications (probably the side effects). It's not always so easy to tell, but certainly time can shed some light on this. Stability can. Reducing or increasing doses can.

I have has some medications that gave me side effects initially, but then as I got used to the medication the side effects eased (at the same dose or even increasing dose). In those cases it was originally the medication. But I am a believer that with time and proper medication and stability that the brain heals, just as a broken arm heals. But no matter what, the broken arm is still your arm at all times.