@bpcyclist thank you so much for your response, i really appreciate hearing from people who have lived with bipolar 1 themselves. i will definitely be looking into your book recommendations as well.

to answer your questions: he recently (2months ago) started taking 3mg of vraylar and he's really happy with it--no side effects at all. he had previously tried lithium and risperidone, though i don't remember the dosages, but both of them didn't work well for him. he's told me that after finding vraylar, he's okay with taking medication for life if he needs to (which it seems like he understands that he does need to). i'm still worried about this though, because during his mania he was incredibly resistant to medication or treatment, and i'm worried that will persist in future manic episodes. but i wanted to ask--in your experience, if someone is willing to accept treatment while they are stable and at baseline, can that change when their mood shifts? or do you think that he will maintain his perspective of trying to get better?


i do think that he wants to get better and values his stability over mania, but i can't help being nervous that he might change his mind.

thank you again for your response, i value it more than you could know. as this is all new to me, i have many questions and it's very helpful hearing from you. you've already been a big help but if you'd be willing to answer some other questions i'd be so happy--though please don't feel obligated to respond, i dont want to ask too much of you.

if he stays on medication and continues treatment, is it still inevitable that he will have another episode? and if he does have an episode, is it possible that he be more controlled with his medication, or should i expect full blown mania whenever it arises? how much does your perspective shift when you have a mood change? (i.e. should i expect him to change his mind about continuing treatment when he begins feeling more "up" again?)

thanks again, wishing you the best