It sounds like you have a good grip on your own treatment. It's impossible to convince somebody else that they need treatment. Seems like we all have to go through the same struggles and learning processes to achieve what's best for ourselves. I'm BP1 and it took me three years of arrests and hospitalizations to decide what was best for me. I started using lithium and that saved me. I've been using it for 37 years now. I've read many books by well-known people, particularly celebrities like Patty Duke and she/they had to go through the same steps to reach wellness that I did.
Their money and celebrity didn't ease the pain at all. So be pleased with yourself. I know that with my kids I tell them what helped me through my experiences and hope they make the best decisions. I wish you peace.

I feel your love and concern for your son. I am technically schizoaffective-bipolar and my prognosis was not good for a long time until I was put on Abilify and Depakote. Wrote and publish three book and earned two degrees. The human psyche seems to be stubborn, sometimes not for our own good.

About all you can do is to continue to love your son and be available when he is able to understand. Self-insight is hard to come by for anyone. My parents did not have the education or the desire to understand my illness. They were in denial, which is a big part of their culture. I have suffered but suffering makes us more human and in some cases stronger. I wish both you and your son health, and along with it, as much happiness as possible.

You got my vote on seeing the symptoms in my son being the the hardest part of my condition. We are solid proof that similarities cause more problems than differences. We seem to trigger one another continually. In my longest running BP support group, we recognized the ways that BP sufferers triggered one another did exercises on how to channel the phenom toward positive ends. Alas, those exercises required collaboration from both sides of the trigger effect. My eldest son and I can't even agree on a name for ^it^, much less collaborate on managing the symptoms.

Pass the meds. . .

Yes I agree with Tommy and Victor..I think people have to go through something until they can come to grips that something just isn't right. It's not an easy thing to do in the beginning to admit you have a MI and even then it can take some strong convincing that it wasn't a "one-off" kind of thing. I sure hope you harbor no guilt about your son possibly inheriting your genes. It's our trials that make us after all in life. Hugs!

It took me a while to accept taking meds. I finally just take them every morning as prescribed. I feel better. I hope your son will accept the meds.

It's great that you're informed and your meds are working well....It's hard to see those we love make lousy choices and it happens too often.....sigh

I hope that your son will come to a point where he recognizes that he needs some help.... You can always remind him that there's great help available to him when he's ready to reach out for it.... Big hug....xo