hey there pianopiano

I was diagnosed 6 months ago and still struggle with the idea of meds.  currently, I'm taking them, but by next summer, I plan to be on a well established alternative care regiment, meaning consecutive months of regular exercise, vitamins/supplements, massage, mood charting, blahblah.  then, I want to gradually decrease my meds and see what heppens.  I plan to do this under the care of my psychiatrist (she disagrees but will help).

as for using this site, I'm new to it also so I guess it depends on what you want.  there's a lot of support, creative outletting, blogs & forums (see the "how to use this site" link).  I HIGHLY recommend buying the Icarus Project first publication, "Navigating the Space Between Brillance and Madness" .  it helped me more than any other bipolar book out there.  here's a link where you can get it for $8.

http://www.akpress.org/2004/items/navigatingthespacebetweenbrillianceandmadness

I learned a ton about alternative treatments just by doing google searches.  the short story?  good sleep habits, exercise, vitamins (especially B-Complex & omega 3s), diet (protein in the am, carbs in the pm), and knowing your "mood triggers".  some people swear by massage, accupuncture, meditation and other great eastern philosophies (meditation is SO flippin hard for me but I hear it gets easier!).  Stay away from St. John's Wort & other "natural" remedies that mess with your Serotonin levels.

there are some mainstream books that help as well (Take Charge of Bipolar...Julie Fast)  although none of them will say you can be "healthy" entirely med-free.  I say to h*ll with that, some people can't but others can.

good luck, you're not alone, just keep reaching out...

bluedrumm