I know that there is always hesitation when thinking about inpatient care, but it can be a life saver.
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I am in a somewhat rural area, with one inpatient facility (also doubles as drug and alcohol rehabilitaion facility). My next closest options are at least 120-150 miles away. I am still fairly leery about the whole situation, not to mention the prohibitve cost (no insurance). i am just keeping it as a backburner option right now...
I have been in this situation before and walked out better each time. With in-patient care, you'll get opinions from many different pdocs and that can help out greatly. There are many shrinks out there that have a lot of experience, but they may have only seen a few types of mental illness and BP disorder can be very complex. When you're dealing with more opinions, you're dealing with more experience.