Bipolar disorder - have you learned to deal with it?

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About two months ago, my boyfriend got diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He had been using anti-depressants for the last ten years and his doctors have finally realized that what he has goes beyond depression. Needless to say that this has been a big blow on him and myself. He is now using lithium and the side effects are as bad and sometimes even worse than his depressive bouts. His psychiatrist informed us that it might take a while for him to adjust to his new medication. So this period is basically touch and go and quite unstable - the unknown, I realize, must be the most difficult thing to look forward to... As soon as we found about his disorder, we went and researched every possible information there is on the internet, in the books and everywhere else. We now know a lot about bipolar disorder and we are learning to pick up on symptoms and how to deal with them. As the caretaker and the person closest to him I am feeling quite overwhelmed with the whole situation. He is an amazing human being but when he is in the depressed mode everything seems to turn upside down, he is a completely different person. In the manic mode, things somehow go back to normal again. I have been educating myself on how to live with a person who has the bipolar disorder. I have been trying to put in practice the tips I've read, but I still get restless and sometimes even feel helpless because it affects everything in our relationship. I keep reminding myself that I can't take the negative things he says or does personal, as it's one of the many unpleasant sides of his disorder and I am trying to be as encouraging as I can. I continue to love him and let him know that I do at every chance I get - I noticed that it helps, even though he does not always respond to it in his usual way. I would like to know if you have anyone close to you who suffers from bipolar disorder and whether or not you experience the same things I have been. Besides the very basic fact of accepting them as they are and keep on loving them while trying to balance everything else, how do you deal with this? Thank you in advance for all your feedbacks!