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A great web site is http://www.dbsalliance.org. It has all kinds of informative articles and even lighter stuff like bipolar celebrities and famous bipolar people through history. When you first get the diagnosis it is really scary because it makes it seem like it will never change and/or get worse. It takes time to digest the information and counseling really helps this. This web site helped me feel better in lots of ways, and worse and more scared in others (it profiles some with much more extreme cases). But there is so much great new medicine available now that knowing is way better than not. Get him on medication right away but get lots of emotional support for yourself and for him (which may be different people). If the medication does not work, tell your doctor and they will try something else.
My husband is also Bipolar (2) and was diagnosed for the first time when our daughter was 9 months old. Life events, like the birth of a child can sometines bring problems like these to the forefront. He started taking medication in a deep depression (Depakote and Paxil). It took weeks to work, which was agony, because he didn't want to take it (because it was a persistent reminder that something was permanently wrong with him which was in itself a depressing thought). But I gave him lots of extra love (which wasn't easy) and made him take it. When it finally kicked in he got somewhat manic and stayed that way for months, which he loved but was harder on me than the depression. We increased his Depakote and he finally eased up. He has been stable ever since (1.5 years). He is so glad to feel good and not get depressed that he takes his meds every day. He gained no weight, lost no hair (he takes a Centrum Silver vitamin every day to help this), is as smart as ever, and now enjoys the job he used to blame his depression on. He is still very much himself, complete with variation of mood and some temper tantrums, but the big long lasting mood swings are gone and he has a lot more confidence planning for the future because he no longer fears slipping down a depression hole. He is not a drooling drugged-up zombie!
I realize I have way too much to say about this. After his diagnosis, his sister and twin bro got diagnosed too. If you want to talk with me, email me back and I will give you my phone number. Hang in there! The first year is the hardest but there is lots of hope.
S.