Have any suggestions on living with a partner with bipolar disorder? positive suggestions please.?

My girlfriend is bipolar and unmedicated. The meds the doctor perscribes are worse than the condition itself almost. And i want to learn how I can help her when she is manic. I guess i need positive suggestions to help live with this condition.

Well, you have picked a rough road but I think you can do it with support and patience as well as consistency. Truly the best thing you can do is take care of you, bipolar disorder affects loved ones even harder and I believe you need to find a support group, or even better a church you can get involved with for the help and love you need =) Praying for you and your girlfriend =)

I think the most important things are supportiveness and PATIENCE! It won't be easy, but she needs you to be there for her.
I'm sorry, I've never dealt with bipolar, but I've had depression and it wasn't easy. The best thing you can do is be supportive and understanding. Love her for who she is, and don't treat her like a patient.
i was just diagnosed with this as well they have me on effexor and ativan. she is prolly gng through one of the roughest times in her life. be patient and be there for her. dont walk out on her like my boyfriend did a few days ago. it will only trigger it and make it worse.
I dated a guy for a long time who suffered from bipolar disorder, though we did not live together. I know what you mean about the medications being so bad, this guy is still trying to find a good medication after almost two years. This is such a tough situation but I think just being there for her should help. Let her know that you love her and understand that she's going to be really up and really down. When my boyfriend was down, I would try to do things for him that I knew he couldn't do for himself, like get him food or help clean. When he was "up" I would just have fun with him and let him know that his actions didn't bother me.

I really feel for you, I know just how difficult this situation is, but I also know what its like to love someone enough to not even think about leaving because they suffer from this.
Read as much as you can about bipolar disorder and try as hard as you can to understand it and what it does to her mind. There's an excellent book that was written by Patty Duke (she was a child tv star back in the 50's or 60's) entitled, "Call Me Anna"- I highly recommend reading it. It's an autobiography-a quick and interesting read- and it really puts things into perspective.
My father was bipolar, my ex-husband is bipolar and my current boyfriend of 3 years is also. If you think there's anything else I might be able to help you with, feel free to email me through my profile-- my boyfriend also has a batchelor's degree in psychology and we'd both be happy to help however we can. Good luck, my friend!
wow, i have dealt with this before. Sam-E and flaxseed oil in large doses have little side effects (mostly lowered cholesteral) and science seems to think they make a difference for people with bi-polar disorder. Flaxseed oil, which is less expensive than prescribtion medicine, can be found in healthfood stores. when a friend of mine came off of psycotropics she switched to about a 1/4 of a cup 2 times a day and it worked for her. Good luck to you both. She is very lucky to have someone who is willing to help her through this difficulty in her life, that is the biggest healer of all. lol.