if you are unmedicated, I envy you because:

The sleep pills I've tried don't always work for me, and few doctors want to give those out regularly especially without other mood drugs. Sure, I could just not take the others and pretend I was but, like I said they don't always work and have unpleasant side effects.

It's easier to cope when I don't expect to sleep than with pills that don't work reliably.

And I dislike doctors, accept life is meaningless and simply existing is acceptable when need be.

It is definitely very different for me. I have just had 8 hours of sleep. I will exercise today (I feel great), I will have the stamina to mostly stand at my desk, and I will tackle creativity-requiring projects. I will live, instead of surviving.

I would pound on the doctors to death until they give me a reliable sleep aid.

And safety, too: yesterday after 5 hours of sleep I used public transit to get to work. It was someone's responsibility to drive me carefully. In a month that will change - I will bike to work. 30+ minutes of biking on heavy roads one way. After 5 hours of sleep, it would be unsafe for me to do that. So back to public transit? That is self-defeating.

I was ready to throw down my list of med related complaints, until I really thought of it, and I would not trade the way I feel now for anything. Sure, I would love to not pump chemicals into my body and feel like I singlehandedly support the big pharm companies, but my meds in combination with my ect have been the best thing to happen to me in a long time. My mood episodes are not gone, but they don't take me over. They have seemed to go away within a day or two. My weight is an issue, but I ama changing my diet and planning exercise. I can't really complain about it until I have done everything in my power to lose the weight. My thyroid is shot, but my levothyroxine is keeping it stable. I am thankful for the meds working. It has been a hard road getting here. I do fear destabilization, but for now I'll take what I have and enjoy it as best I can. Adversity is disappointing, but I am not crushed by it and that alone makes my bp treatment worth it.

Aww Hamster,

I have a narrow waist line from anorexia, I still can't fall asleep, my skin didn't clear up until I removed the dairy and gluten (really think that was the dairy). The other stuff.. no I don't shake anymore and thyroid is ok. My sex drive is higher than I'd like but even on meds it always was. I think it really isn't even my sex drive, but my need for that kind of close intimacy that comes with it.

I'm sorry you have to deal with all of that Hamster. When I started drinking fish oil every day, about 2 teaspoons, it really did change my skin, I don't remember if you are already taking that. I noticed my skin started to glow, the dryness went away, fine lines disappeared and a lot of the acne cleared up as well, but when I cut the dairy the acne completely disappeared, too bad the scars did not. But maybe worth a shot just to see what happens.

I agree with a lot of pros here about being unmedicated and Bipolar. But not all of them, you might be unmedicated but you still have your struggles. You still get overwhelmed, still have to be micro managing, and you still will have blips in the road.

Anika, you drink Fish Oil? I take capsules. What brand do you drink?

It's a brand called "Carlson", in a brown glass bottle with mountains on it. I buy the lemon flavored one, and it tastes like lemons.... not lying. Not too much after taste either. They have an orange flavor also, but the man at the health food store told me the orange flavor wasn't very good.

I was told that the oil works better to help digestive symptoms and skin because it has not been compressed like the capsules. I don't exactly know how true that is, but it seems to work great.

Thank you, I will get it once I have run out of capsules.

I am sorry to hear that. My acne is from Lithium - I used to have clear skin. I cannot imagine living without dairy. Maple cream top yogurt is my "better-than-sex" food, and I am lucky enough to like plain, unsweetened greek yogurt, and plain kefir, too. I give these foods credit for my very good immune health and good digestion. But I hear that these days you can buy beneficial bacteria separately in non-dairy form, and still reap the immunity-boosting and gut-friendly benefits.

I did a 14 day probiotic thing, 50 million bacteria a day!, I got a bit sick for a week or so, but it didn't help my digestive problems like I wanted, but I'm sure there were other benefits.
I have tried goat yogurt, can get it in strawberry flavour here, but I tell you it's gross! It smells and tastes like a goat farm, I'm sure you can aquire a taste for it, I'm not willing to try too haha.

I just tried some coconut bliss icecream, it was really really yummy, good texture too, hardly can tell it's not dairy, and it felt really weird to eat icecream and not die of stomach cramps imediately after, I kept waiting for the pain, but it never came. Funny how you get trained to expect the pain, and it feels wrong when it doesn't happen.

"What a drag it is getting old..."

Things are different today, I hear every mother say...

Doctor please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took 4 more
What a drag it is getting old."

That's just part of a Stone's song called "Mother's little Helper". It was a hit probably before you were born. I sing it a lot. And the last time I got sucidial Iwent around the house singing "Paint it Black" which was popular probably before you were born, too.
So much for coping.

My parents were bent on feeding me goat milk, and I threw it up, it was so gross. So I never mustered the courage to try goat yogurt, especially given its weird thin consistency. But I LOVE goat cheese. Absolutely love it. It amazes me how such a blissful product can be derived from such a gross origin.

being nonmedicated means I am not sure whether I will be more functional with the meds or not. i find i wish to trial a med because i struggle at this time. patience wearing thin.

You know, I was wrong when I wrote:

"you can fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night on your own, unassisted"

BP is a terrible sleep disease among other things and being unmedicated does not at all guarantee good sleep. Good sex life unless you are depressed, yes, but not sleep. So taking it off the list.

Stop taking your meds, live naturally

Singing sure sounds like a form of coping to me.

I had terrible problems with sleep all my life. So yeah, it's one of the bad effects of bipolar.

I have ordered capsules from that company. I will see how they work. The oil was quite expensive. But I might try it later, if the capsules to not work too well. Thanks for the pointer!

Passing the gene is enough to break you! VERY MUCH AGREE ON THAT!!!

I feel your pain. So far, BP meds have done nothing... I mean NOTHING for my symptoms. All I get are nasty side effects. Maybe the docs will get it right someday, but so far, not a single BP med has provided a single benefit.

While I am not really currently medicated- I do take xanax on a prn basis- I do still deal with a lot of the effects listed. I think some come with the disorder itself and some are just my own personal bad genes.

• you can fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night on your own, unassisted

I have always had sleep issues. Once when I was a child I went 30 straight days without closing my eyes! It takes me over an hour to get to sleep on a GOOD night and I never sleep more than 3 hrs without waking and having to get back to sleep.

• your skin is clear without creams and facewashes - by itself

I have pretty serious acne issues even tho I am 44. To make matters worse, I am allergic to benzoyl perioxide (clearasil). I have read that acne can have stress-related origins, so I believe it is related to being bipolar.

• your hands do not shake

My hands shake, constantly! I even remember ppl asking me about it as far back as high school.

Every single one of those applies to me. What else...
You do not get dehydrated in extremely small amounts of time.
You can concentrate because you are more alert.
Your memory is not close to non-existent.

I can't sleep no matter what. Need a Xanax to sleep. Racing thoughts all night without meds. Thank you meds!!!

I have the opposite sleep problem. I am a chronic sleeper. For me, hypomania means 4-5 hours a sleep. Good days are 9-10 hours. Im okay with 7. My sleep has to reset once a week. (Too much sleep)

Apparently I am on my THIRD psych medication to cause sexual side effects. First Risperdal, then Geodon (high doses only), and now Topamax.

I am lucky, no?

Oh well, I have been advised to let the passage of time heal it so I will give it a couple of months before making any decisions. I know that with Risperdal and Geodon (high doses only) time did absolutely nothing, but with Topamax, apparently the passage of time helps.

Why do I always draw this particular card? It is amazing.

I am going to take "your skin is clear without creams and facewashes - by itself" off the list. Being forced to use Tazorac has done wonders for my skin and I always receive compliments. I look younger than I am thanks to it. So, no complaints in this department.