Well first off just remember that she drinks to self medicate. And if she is on medication for her bipolar, they will not work wile she is drinking. I too suffer from bipolar and alcohol addiction, as well as PTSD, and anxiety disorder. Before I could manage my PTSD, Bipolar and anxiety properly I had to stop drinking. I have been sober now for 22 months without falling off, something I Never thought possible. Counseling and family support are so important. Keep supporting her, get her into counseling, but most important, she absolutely has to want to help herself.
Good luck and contact me any time. feezard@gmail

Thank you so very much for replying. Once she comes down from her mania I think she needs to revisit the doctor. Her meds aren't working anymore. Maybe she can try something different.
Again thanks for talking to me. At least I don't feel totally alone in this

Btw...congrats on 22 months of sobriety

Thank you. And before you give up on the meds, she has to stay clean for at least a couple months before you know if they work. I went through so many meds that I thought didn't work for me. I even had meds for restless leg syndrome. After I stopped drinking for 2 months, I stopped having "restless leg syndrome" and meds that I thought weren't working started working. Good luck.

Hi, Ursula. Welcome to the forum.

Inside my own strictly personals, it is harder to watch a loved one go through psychosis than to experience it myself. I have been on both sides of the BP help desk and. . . Ouch. For sure there is allot more help for the sufferers than the supporters and neither side of the help desk has allot of *Just* to work with.

I take ^it^ one step at a time. Having someplace like this to put my confusions into words sure is helpful in finding my way through the maze, whether for my own BP or a loved one's.

You may want to check out the group, Family and Friends of Bipolar.

Link to Families & Friends

https://www.dailystrength.org/group/family-friends-of-bipolar

Hi, good to meet you, sorry it's under these circumstances.

the most important thing to know is you cannot fix your daughter...you cannot do this for her. We have kids who have problems and we automatically want to save them, want to take all the bad and scary away, we want to make them safe.....but we can't.

BiPolar Disorder is a lifetime Disease with no cure. There are very specific treatments in the form of a proper multi-medication cocktail put together by a Psychiatrist and routine Therapy appointments. Those are the only treatments that help a person reach Stability with BiPolar Disorder. If your daughter is self-medicating with Alcohol then she needs to be in a program to detox from that. Until you can get her to properly treat her BiPolar Disorder she won't be able to get to a Stable Point.

This is not your fault and it is not your responsibility. She's an Adult, I'm assuming, and she has to do these things, you can't make her. Now, there is an exception to that, if she ever calls threatening suicide or threatening to hurt you or anyone else, you can call the police, report her and have her picked up and help on a 5150 or some call it being "Baker Act'ed". This is generally a 72 hour Involuntary hold in a Psychiatric ward of a Hospital where she would be medicated and monitored to make sure she was not in danger or hurting herself or anyone else.

I know you want to help your Daughter, I know you want to fix this and make it easier on her. I know you love her and worry for her. Unfortunately this Diseased cannot be fixed by a loved one. It takes hard work to manage BiPolar Disorder, and it is a lifetime Disease, there is no cure, just treatment. And the patient has to do the Treatment or life will be chaotic, in and out of trouble, possible legal trouble, etc.

If your daughter has a close friend that you know, someone she'd listen to, getting them to talk to her about treatment would be your best bet. Otherwise pay attention and if she mentions harming herself or others, have her picked up on a 5150.

Take care,
kat

Thank you for understanding. You've reinforced everything I know in my head so now I just have to work on getting my heart to follow. On the plus side she has made an appointment with a therapist and has asked me to go along so that the therapist gets the full picture.

Bipolar Disorder is a treatable disorder however in order to find stability you have to plug into your own treatment

Addiction needs really firm boundaries from family IMHO..... You getting sick won't help your daughter Ursula..... Enabling and codependency are often unfortunately what happens when someone you love becomes addicted to a substance

This is an illness separate from bipolar disorder even though there are concurrent illnesses going on

There are some really good full episodes of Intervention on Youtube... It's a wonderful show that has helped a lot of people understand what can help a loved who suffers from the illness of addiction

Sometimes you have to completely hit bottom before all you can see is up

When you go to the therapist I would be completely frank about what you've been a witness to.... Don't hold back.

I know this is really hard.... I've had it in my family as well...... Big hug and a blessing.....xo

For mothers who adult child suffers from addiction or substance abuse.... xo

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/lifetime-connections/201410/7-tips-mothers-adult-addicts

@Ursula Mom: That's very encouraging that your daughter has made a Therapist appt., that Is definitely a move in the right Directtion. Here's just a couple of informational things that need to be known.

A Therapist is a person's Support System, but they cannot Diagnose your Daughter, she needs to see a Psychiatrist for that. Also a Therapist cannot prescribe medications., A Psychiatrist needs to do that. And I beg of you, please make sure you take her too a Psychiatrist when the time comes and she agrees to meds...not a Family Dr., or an Urgent Care or the E.R., and here's why.

Nobody other the Psychiatrist you choose to see has the knowledge and expertise your daughter needs, they've not studied enough, they've not managed through extended Training....they just don't know enough about these medications and how they worded and understanded espcially if this client takes other medicine.

It is very, very imprtant that the patient takes her BiPolar medication at tthe exact time each day, as it will begin to build up in her Blood Plasma Level. Keep up the good work, just maybe a bit ore

Yes I agree that a psychiatrist is who she needs to treat the bipolar...... They are experts in psych medication and can refer her eventually for other support..... First she needs to be off of other substances though.......xo