There are a huge number of different medications for bipolar out there, each with their own side effect profiles. Unfortunately, you can't tell for sure what the side effects will be until you take them, and some side effects go away after a while and others don't. And the problem with the internet is that people usually go there to complain about their meds, and not to shout about how awesome their meds are working, so you get a very biased view of them. It might be a good thing that he's technologically illiterate in that sense.
I recommend checking out the crazymeds.us medication wiki. It has a whole section on medications for bipolar, although a lot of the newer drugs don't have their own pages. The pages are in plain English, though, which is a great help. There are also forums, which do have more up to date info about more recent medications or the very old ones. They won't let you discuss treatment for someone else, but you can read around to see people's experiences.
Can you call up the doctor who gives him the norco, and ask that doc to do an evaluation? Another good point is that some of the mood stabilizers in the anticonvulsant class are very good for treating pain as well, especially if the pain is neuropathic. It might be a good selling point.
Thank you for the responses!
My dad is technologically illiterate! Lol
Unfortunately he won't go to the psychiatrist. The only dr appointment he will go to is the one he has every three months so they will keep giving him the norco. My grandpa died of colon cancer and he won't even get a colonoscopy even though they found polyps in his siblings. My mom said he took lithium years ago and whatever the side effects were they were awful. Is there a different kind I can suggest to him? Unfortunately he wouldn't go for support groups or counseling. He's not much of a phone person either but I could try to get him on the phone more often. I'm not hard on my mom. I just understand their different levels of intellect. My mom's not ignorant she just doesn't care about things like history and science. She's more into the paranormal. Instead of thinking for herself she just parrots what he believes... I will try those things though! I'm going home to visit in March so that ought to cheer him up some also! Thank y'all!
Using only antidepressants for bipolar can be seriously bad news, because it can make the bipolar worse. You can't force him to do it, but he really should look into taking a mood stabilizer of some sort. Lithium is the classic, but given his other problems, he should see a psychiatrist who really knows what they're doing.
If you think having someone to talk to helps him, why not set up skype calls every week or so, or however often you think would be good? The face to face time could help, and you might be better able to talk him into going out and doing things like yoga or a hobby of some sort, and the social support could help. Unfortunately, given that he's an adult, he's responsible for his life and you can't force him to change his behavior. That's not to say you shouldn't try to help him, but that you're not ultimately responsible for saving him from himself if, god forbid, something really bad does happen.
Could be that you need to be in a group support situation.
What's happening in your fathers life should not be bothering you all of the time. You have a life to lead.
I'm sorry that you worry so much. In my opinion your dad won't overdose.
Does he go online? You could even write him long letters. It would help him to be stimulated intelligent people crave it. Try not to be too hard on your mom. Their relationship probably has lots to offer in different ways. Pamela