Hullo, Terry.
I am managing pretty well. I am on some medications that help smooth out the ups and downs, though not as cleanly as Lithium. With Lithium, I was really in control. It's interesting that the medications I'm on now, Prozac and Zyprexa, have similar effects to Lithium, but not the same. Still, it evens things out so I'm not climbing the walls and scraping along the basement of Hell in turns. I still have mood swings, but they aren't as bad as with no medication, and I can manage the extremes, so I don't go out and shop when I'm high or think about death when I am low. That's a plus. Also, it controls the fine tremors I used to have before I started taking Lithium, which also stopped the tremors. I hate to think what my life would be like without the treatment. I have a pretty good idea, actually; I worked as a nurse's aide on a psych ward for a couple of nights. Not a pretty sight.
