Since I started bipolar medications, the longest I was without any (meaning not even one) was probably a week. By the end of that week, I was hospitalized. I'm referring to quitting all meds at once, cold turkey. Not one by one. Obviously, doctors in the hospital or my private psychiatrists have taken me off a medication abruptly, but there was always a replacement immediately. When possible, my psychiatrist has weaned me off certain medications gradually when withdrawal or illness relapse was a major risk. For example, I was still on a mighty big cocktail when my psychiatrist started weaning me off of Lithium. So I wasn't "unprotected". There wasn't a replacement for it, but still (despite kidney damage), he weaned me off over the course of a few months. In that particular medication's case, the quality of my life only improved as I was taken off. That has not always been the case when I've been weaned off other medications, while still on some.

My youngest nephew quit his bipolar medications cold turkey. He never complained of any major issues. He believed it only improved the quality of his life. He felt more alert and lost a lot of weight, but was lucky enough not to experience a mood episode immediately. However, after a "Honeymoon Period", as I called it, his bipolar illness came back with a vengeance. It was so violent and quick that the illness itself took his life. He had been hospitalized less than a week before for suicidal threats. He only stayed in the hospital for three days. He "feigned wellness" to get out. The stupid doctors let him go (he was an adult of 24 years) on a non therapeutic dose of Lithium. It was maybe 400 mg. He was a 6'5" tall stocky man. The Lithium never even had a chance to start working in time. Some medications are like that. What if Lamictal had been his previous "wonder drug". Lamictal is not a medication you can get to therapeutic dose on in three days. You can barely even get to 50 mg of Lamictal in a week. This is a real issue for people. Time can run out waiting for relief.