I agree your pdoc misled you. For some lucky people, meds and therapy will stabilize them. Or at least give them a good long stable period. Since I've been on meds, my longest stable period has lasted 6 months. I long to get back to that. Even that is a big achievement for me, worthwhile of having a goal.

I agree a lot of people develop tolerance to meds after awhile. Or sometimes life stressors (sick or dying loved ones, financial worries, taking care of your child, working or trying to work and not being able to handle it) can take over, and your current meds may not be sufficient to help you.

I agree it is a good idea to take your meds as prescribed and not go off them unless your pdoc wants you to go off them or taper them or try something new. I have learned the hard way it is best to be straightforward with your pdoc about things you've done that you think may relate to BP, like overspending, not sleeping, depression, suicidal thoughts, self-injury, panic attacks (could be possible panic disorder or a side effect), tremors, eating disorder behavior (people with EDs often have depression or bipolar disorder), etc. Your pdoc can not help you if you don't let him or her know what is going on with you at the time. It's been a long journey for me, that's for sure. I first entered the psych system when I was around 19 years old, have been hospitalized twice (but have by the nick of my skin avoided it a number of times), and now I'm 40 years old. Still, I don't give up hope that there may be meds to help with minimal side effects or that I might enjoy another 6 month period of stability. Even that was awesome.

Hugs to you. You CAN get through this.