Medication for Bipolar: Can a person heal from bipolar?

As a masters level licensed psychologist I learned that Bipolar mental health conditions can be particularly tricky to deal with. There is no one size fits all solution. There are medications that can be prescribed by a psychiatrist and need to be monitored. Labs to assure the proper level is achieved and to prevent unpleasant side effects and medication interactions. There are various kinds of “talking therapies” such as counseling that can be added to customize the treatment depending on the individual’s needs.

I very much agree with what you said about, "The worst thing that happened to the Mental Health profession was the separation of therapy from prescribing medication. It was a bad solution to the shortage of providers. Therapist don’t understand the effect of your medication. And prescribers don’t know who you are."
It amazes and frightens me that gps are regularly prescribing antidepressants and other psychoactive medications, oftentimes off-label, seemingly with zero regard for how strong these drugs are.

It sounds like you have found a truly wonderful practitioner who agrees with you that less is often better when it comes to medication. Congratulations on your self-education. I am trying to do some self-educating myself, and I've found the internet a helpful tool for that.

I have been able to do a great many things, build companies, get married, have four children and travel a great deal all crammed in between bad flare ups.

I did not find Lamictal effective. I am on Latuda( 6 months) with Lithium (35 years). Lithium is like magic for me but I’ve been on it a long time and it has
side effects.

We are hoping Latuda can replace it. So far nothing has even come close. But the Latuda seems to be helping; yeah I can tell the difference.

I also take massive quantities of Effexor and Wellbutrin, but one thing at a time I guess,

Talk to the doc about what’s happening,

Good luck!

Thanks for the information!!!

It is my understanding that bipolar disorder does not have a cure, but can be managed with meds. I have bipolar 2. I feel good when I am medication compliant. I don’t know how I would be if I weren’t because I never want to go back to my premedicated days. My sister’s brother-in-law has bipolar 1. He takes meds, feels better and then he stops because he is morally opposed to meds and doesn’t think he needs them. When he stops taking them he either becomes manic or falls into a deep depression. He has been hospitalized 19 times (he’s 65) since his diagnosis in 1996. When he was taking meds as directed, was a successful HS math teacher for 4 years. Lost that job when he had a manic episode because he stopped taking meds. A few years later, when he was taking meds as directed, he started working at Lowe’s and was very successful for 6 years. Recently, he stopped taking meds and had to be escorted out of the store by EMTs because he thought he was Jesus. He was hospitalized and his family decided enough was enough. He has lost everything. His family refuses to enable him any longer (he was living with his parents), his kids and ex want nothing to do with him, he has lost 15 jobs since 1996, and now lives in his car. IMO, you are feeling better because you are compliant with your meds. Bipolar disorder has no cure. You might consider getting a second or even third opinion to confirm your diagnosis. If it is indeed bipolar, it’s manageable with lifestyle and medication. Good luck.

@hopeful1953 I hope by now you’ve come to terms with your diagnosis and the support members have offered has helped you. It is a manageable disease with psychopharmacology (meds) and behavioral talk therapy and a good support team. Having others you can depend on I feel plays a big role in managing it and maintaining your med regime. Good luck with your journey.

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This is a difficult question to answer, I think most clinicians would say no bipolar can be treated but not cured. I am developing a different theory as it applies to me. I was sent to a psych hospital at seventeen for substance abuse. They evaluated me and did not diagnose me with anything except substance abuse; they transferred me to the detox wing were I got clean and sober

Fast forward and I am 43. I am married, four kids a highly respected business man and quite comfortable. During the intervening years I had a lot of psychotherapy from a gifted psychiatrist. Though he's was a doctor he did not believe I needed meds and clearly I was doing quite alright.

In my early forties the company took off. I worked a lot, neglected my health and surprise I was feeling depressed ( as I understood it then) and tired. I had never taken any time off. I stopped exercising and worked most nights till midnight getting up at five. What I needed was a good vacation.

What I got was a diagnosis of major depressive disorder and 450mg of Effexor 450mg of Wellbutrin and Lithium 900mg. By age 50 everything was gone, my children, my homes, my business, our families fortune and the last nail in the coffin I went to prison. Along the way more doctors more hospitals, ECT, TMS, Ketamine, psychotherapy eventual ending this past May at 14 meds and me with shotgun in my hands.

How did that happen? I had to figure it out. So I started doing my own research. I'm good at research as I was an invest manager and that's what we do. I came to the conclusion that my medications were making me sick. By now my diagnosis was bipolar disorder. I was still on the same meds plus additional meds to treat the side effects.

All this research led me to conclude that I may not have had anything when this all started, who knows what I have now. I presented my findings to my mental health provider and my PCP, both agreed that my conclusions were sound.

Together with my providers we have started slowly reducing and eliminating medications. I have also dramatically changed my diet and increased my exercise. I feel best I have in decades. The match that started me on this journey was a book “Brain Energy”by a doctor Palmer at Harvard and MaClain. Reading this book is one thing I can recommend!

The road I am on is a slow, filled with fits and starts but it's working. I would never do what I am doing, with out the help of my providers first I had to convince them and then they jumped right in with all four feet.

I don't know what I have. When we can’t reduce the meds any further we’ll know. I believe (perhaps foolishly) that I don’t have anything. That the diagnosis to start with was flawed, I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

Do your own home work dig for answers change what you can like diet and exercise and bring what you find to your providers. It is my life I am done abdicating my health decisions. I need their help but they need mine too.

Is mental illness curable? I don’t know. For now I remain diagnosed as having bipolar with melancholic features.

Be careful on your journey these are bad illnesses. I hope the sun shines on your travels and that your sleep be filled with happy dreams.

Yes, at age 75, first diagnosed with major depression 30 years ago, then bipolar disorder 20 years ago - after I stopped taking all meds., I am happy to report that I am only on 37.5 mg ET Effexor & hope to within the year be off that, too. Meds. thrown at me by most of the 6 (and sick!)psychiatrists I've had over the years have complicated and exacerbated what was a simple spiritual illness. I ran from the responsibility of self-care, self-advocacy with superficial docs without a clue to the emotional/spiritual roots of most illness, especially mental illness.36 years a member of Al-Anon, grown up in the family disease of alcoholism, gambling, & untreated mood disorders of both parents, I've learned with the tools provided in 12-Step programs how to care for myself, how to advocate for my wellness, and apply sound spiritual principles to daily living, no matter what challenges come up. I have a God that's NOT me, money, property, prestige.I have a daily reprieve from bipolar disorder when I practice the spiritual principles of the 12 Steps,also conveniently compatible with the Jewish faith of my ethnicity.I learned the hard way that psychotropic drugs created a form of neurological dependency that only 1 out of 6 psychiatrists agreed was detrimental to my wellness overall. A former colleague in hospital care agreed that peace of mind, serenity, or happiness is the antidote to all illness, whether labeled physical or mental. BTW, I am a 51-year survivor of thyroid cancer. One of my teachers stated back in the 1980's that his cancer patients with addicts & alcoholics in their families taught him the greatest discovery of all: Twelve-Step programs help any individual & family, no matter what the illness, cope with it, 1 day at a time, better than any medication, pill, liquid, or pharmaceutical. Look up Bernie Siegel, M.D. His books & cd's testify to the benefits of a spiritual rogram of daily living.