i think it's different for every person....but when i'm off meds my life gets out of control!!! when i was younger i would spazz out sometimes but not like i do now. so i think it gets worse over time. but i didn't start realizing what was really happening and i actually had a problem until they told me i had bipolar disorder...maybe that made it worse.

some people can learn their triggers and they do get better because they can avoid them.

i havent got that far yet....but im working on it!!!

If you have been on meds, and go off them, you are almost guaranteed to have a severe episode of depression or mania shortly afterwards....sucks, I know.

Keep seeking your own answers icandy. Mainly because all mental illness affects everyone sooooo differently all anyone can give you is tips and trick that have helped them. No guarantees with any of this stuff. Could get worse, could get better, could stay the same.....who knows? Just have to take it one day at a time and hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Keep working....you'll find out the things that work for you!!!

i can only speak for myself. Mine only gets worse. Its best to be medicated so it wont get bad

I agree that we are all different but going off of my meds would be a BIG mistake for sure
I wouldnt think of trying it

I have been told that episodes get better managed by us because we know better how to mnage them.

Off medications edisodes do become more severe. They are leping outside their boundaries that meds normally keep them within. Theen when you go back to meeds you need more bec you can only crank them onto where the bad behanviors is at NOW. not where it once was.

Some of that depends upon if you are a rapid cycler as far as frequency goes. As far as severity goes, it has been my experience that they do get deeper and harder to treat when I try to go off meds.

One of the BP problems is we begin to feel better due to our meds so we think we can do w/o. So we go off meds and have a big crash. Yeah, nicely done.


learning warning signs (warning signs trip the trigger) is very important.
talk therapy helps.
meds.
supportive people.
too many don't understand

Best wishes

The research show that they do get longer and deeper if left unmedictated. You could join me for some of this happy shit, but, alas, you are too young.

Kindling theory suggests that every episode leads to a greater liklihood that you will have more episodes, closer together, and more severe. That is why prophylatic medication is considered so important- because, beyond the obvious reasons, "only" having one major episode in your life is better than 2, which is better than 3, etc...

Oh, so kindling theory suggests that your disease will worsen whether or not you are on meds, IF you continue to have episodes. It's point is that it is the episodes themselves that cause the brain damage that nurture further episodes. Ideally, meds prevent episodes, but in reality, all they can really promise is "delayed time to next episode."

Sucks!

I've seen stuff similar to what harriett has indicated.

I had my first full blown manic episode when I was 15 (or so my doc thinks). After that it was manageable but as the years passed I cycled faster and stronger until my last full blown manic episode 4 years ago....... way worse than the first and I haven't been completely stable since then.....

So for me... worse with time, way worse off meds.......

Mines have gotten less severe but more frequent. A roller coaster ride.

Thank you thank you for your comments.

I still am not sure what I am going to do. I want to go off medicine but maybe I'll try naturopathy (sp?) which is an eastern form of medicine? more about experimenting with herbs? Lots of uestion marks but I know insurance doesn't cover it. Bleh bipolar disorder... bleh

And now I am not sure whether or not my episodes will get worse and more severe especially if I go off medicine. Will the erath start to tremble and my world cave in? I just don't know.. kwuite the risk (my kyew doesnt work)

Why do you feel that you cannot do meds any longer? Also- it doesn't have to be one or the other. Take the meds that work for you and you need (you know which ones) and then supplement them with alternative medicine.

It's not a zero-sum game :)