How long do you think you'll have to take meds?

Regardless if you do or don't stay on medication isn't the biggest concern. I think the biggest concern is not to feel defeated. Being on medication doesn't have to be a death sentence unless you make it, so. You can also work with your doctor to lower medications so you take the minimum amount as opposed to taking so much that you feel numb. You can work with a therapist to come up with coping mechanisms that allow you to function and tackle things that may trigger you easily. You can exercise for your health and for sleep.

You can do things to make it more bearable for yourself.

I decided to stop all mine. they weren't working all of the time because I kept forgetting what my regimine was and I would go to the doc for symptoms and they would end up changing them or adding to them, leaving me confused.
I might end up back on something, but I don't know what. I switch personalities, and then forget things, and I have treated my doctors like yoyos and I think they might have given up on me.

Why / how would bp get worse with age? I'm much wiser now and have more coping skills and more mistakes and experiences I've learned from.

yea i wondering the same thing.

Kindling?

Probably forever. If they can work out the right ones. I've been off meds for a week and it hasn't been a smart idea. Back on the merry go round again.

If you just go off like that you'll get med withdrawals.

I hadn't been back on them long.. And the doc told me to stop the Prozac cold turkey. So just back on the Seroquel until I see the pdoc in 3 weeks.

Until they find a way to fix the chemical imbalance in my brain without meds I'm stuck with them.

I see kindling theory this way... you do nothing, it WILL get worse. But taking meds and not doing anything to fix your life is pretty much "nothing". Meds can lessen intensity of your emotions/feelings/whatnot... but they cannot make you motivated, there's no social-grace-in-pill (when it comes out, I order a truckfull, please). Meds will not make you stay in place where you should be when you feel like running and will not make you leave when it's time to go... Meds will not make you appreciate good people more and to avoid abusive assholes. Meds will probably not give you self-confidence (at least not in itself).

If you don't do things to help yourself... and to fix unhealthy patterns... yes, it will get worse.

Meds are secondary here.

That's my view and mine only of course, but well...

Ive heard Bipolar gets better with age.

3 pdocs and a T told me "for life".

Apparantly life really IZZZ short because I only took them for about 2 years!!!!

I agree with blue's perplexity and Venus' view on the kindling theory.... With age comes knowledge and wisdom. I've learned to surf these waves pretty darn well over the time I've gotten to know and accept myself so completley

at the rate i'm going, i'll probably never see the day

i'll be dead first.. depressing thought, but yeah

I heard the opposite...