Meds?

Is is possible to be a fully functioning non-medicated bi-polar?

Considering all that I have read on this community and others, I would say most people need to be medicated in order to be fully functioning. I know that it is true for me.

it is.... but it requires a certain attitude to life (not saying it is good or bad.... we all cannot be rebels...). Forget normal. There is always gonna be hard times.... but one can learn to live with that in some cases. Spirituality helps (but you have to be really into it). There are natural supplements and alternative cures to that help.

Not saying everybody can do it, but for some it is possible... depends on the person.

Definitly depends on the person. I managed without meds for years, and then I tried meds,buuut that didn't work too well for me,so now I'm med-free again. Both sides of the track take a certain level of committment, and you know yourself better than anyone, so ultimately it's up to you,and what works for you...

I agree with the others who proposed it's all dependent on the type of person you are. For me personally, I need medication in order to function; I have had great success with a popular anti-psychotic in management of my bipolar & BPD; it's watered everything down, which is a nice change from feeling extreme extremes even though the episodes and swings are still there.

If this is something you're considering, or someone you know that is, I wish you all the luck in the world and hope it's a success.

Personally I was just diagnosed this year at the age of 44 with Bipolar I ...

Looking back I can see that I have had it all my life . Through out the years I've been on a few Antidepressants for a litle while .. then I would stop them and continue on my way.

The one thing I can say is looking backkkkk over my life I have done some pretty stupid things bad bad relationships ,inability to stay at one job for long ,,irrational fear of being abandoned ( my first husband cheated ) I have always worried about anything and everything to extreme even when there was no reason to worry ..

I think some people can funtion in life with out bipolar meds ( I did for a long while,,, but obviously looking back I can see I/am was huge mess)

I just feel if anyone wants to try and go med free they should talk to there doctor.

Good luck

I managed for years also. Sorta. I just didn't know I had anything wrong with me is more like it. And for years I worked at jobs that kept me physically busy so I don't think I would have noticed the mania anyway. But there were other signs that emotionally I was not balanced.
I have spent a good deal of my life fighting depression too. Took anti-depressants here and there but quit taking when I felt better. They probably just made me manic and again, I didn't know better.
Now though it has gotten worse and I am not happy with the me that is being projected to family and friends. And I am not happy with living with the roller coaster of emotions. So I chose to get help and make a change. It was hard because I really am afraid of medications.
But I can see where you could be Bipolar and feel like you can manage it. I don't feel it is impossible.
Good luck and I hope it works for you.

To me, the sticky point here is "fully functioning" because most "normal" people aren't! Fully functioning, for what purpose? Survival? A successful high-powered career? Those are pretty different levels of functioning!

I cannot function "normally" or "fully" without meds. And that's not even thinking about the bipolar, that's just the ADHD - I'm annoying to myself and others without the stimulants. When I'm off meds, my work suffers so much it's incredibly distressing.

I don't think I'd have made it out of my teen years without psychoactive meds, so I think that's also a "no" for me in terms of managing bipolar without meds. I probably could survive, but I wouldn't be functioning very well at all. The meds do seem to be helping at this point.

Yes, there were many famous people with bipolar who were writers, composers, poets... They didn't have medication. Some of them killed themselves though, which is why you might want to try medication.

some killed themselves on meds. So are we back to square one, informed, inidividual choice?

My DBT worker is a strong believer of not being influenced by tablets and being "pure in the mind" both during therapy sessions and during my time outside of the unit.

However.. and this is a rather big however. She said that she acknowledges some people with bipolar NEED medication to allow the therapy to even begin to be constructive. She also told me that she's looked at my file over the past five years and strongly believes that without medication I would be dead by now.

So yeah. Hope that helps a bit

I take enough to take the edge off, but I still have symptoms.

I give my pdoc a headache. >_>;

Funny, I'm getting the distinct impression from my T that he's not convinced that I actually need ongoing therapy once I get meds straightened out! I've worked through a lot of issues on my own and it seems like I'm fairly well adjusted overall, aside from having some crossed wires in my head.

Without meds, I manage and fail and ride a seriously crazy roller coaster of emotions...with meds I manage and fail and ride a crazy roller coaster of emotions...The ride's just not as crazy...I ask myself all the time if I really NEED this chemical cocktail...then I remember my many stays in hospital (usually following a brief NO MEDICATION episode) and am smacked back into the reality that I have an illness that I didn't ask for but live with and if I want to have the best experience that life has to offer me...perhaps I should stick to what helps and just try to function as best I can...given my crappy circumstances! We are all different with a range of functionality...but I have to ask...how great is life for an unmedicated diabetic? How easily can a paraplegic get around without his wheelchair? As much as I hate my medication...I am still here fighting to make it through each and every day...I think the meds make it easier for the most part...side effects aside...I have been places I don't ever want to go again thanks to my illness.

Med-free goal:
When I was first hospitalized I needed meds. That was back in april 2008. I still need them. However, I have been working towards going med-free. I've been in therapy, outpatient programs, trying alternatives (supplements, teas) meditation, developing my spirituality etc. I have been able to reduce my meds from 8 down to 3, currently i'm weaning off a mood stabilizer (a couple month process). So yes its possible, but for me I'm going to to have to know myself inside and out to not let the bipolar carry me away.

Best of Luck!!