Thank you Laurie. What you say about Bi-polar makes perfect sense. Whatever the exact disorder, it is very difficult to deal with. I think she uses the alcohol to deal with that. So far the medical community hasn't helped much, to be fair, I know its hard to know what to do, what works, what doesn't.
I've kept myself out of the picture so long, I don't really know how to focus on me. Between running the household, running a business (such as it is), taking care of my elderly parents, not much room for self, other than to fallout from exhaustion, LOL. Now I kind of stumble around the house not knowing what to do with myself. Of course, right now I'm sort of emotionally exhausted, so its kind of good not doing much. Hopefully I can re-charge a bit. Reading the posts here helps immensely. (please keep them coming, 'tis a highlight for me)