Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder

My boyfriend and I have been together three and a half years now; living together for almost three of them. I've never been so in love and connected with anyone which makes watching him in his various states of bipolar so difficult. There are days when he says very little. He'll hide his face in my lap and I can feel his body tense as he tries to fight back tears for no apparent reason. Since we've been together he's gotten on meds for anxiety, his bipolar, insomnia and hypertension; which all seems to go hand in hand. He's spent years self medicating with alcohol and has gotten himself into an addictive cycle in spite of being on meds. The insomnia has returned and the anxiety comes and goes and although the Effexor works it doesn't work very well. However, if he goes without the Effexor for a day or longer...well anyone with bipolar or living with someone that has bipolar needs no explanaiton as to what that looks like. He can be up and happy and one small thing can send him into a tailspin of frustration and aggitation for the rest of his day. Even though he does see a therapist on a regular basis who, I might add, has diagnosed him right on the money; in my opinion, my poor love doesn't seem to be improving. He's the most loving and caring man towards me and my daughter but she and I both have to treat him with kid gloves and keep smiling so he is not affected by any sadness or stress we may be feeling. Today is the third day of a long weekend and for the most part we've stayed snuggled at home watching movies and just hanging out. But I'm anticipating his anxiety with this already. I have to get him out of the house today. For his own well being and mine. He and I talk openly about his symptoms and possible triggers. Fortunately, we talk openly about everything which makes living with his bipolar a bit easier. There are still days when I'm at a loss as to what to do to help him. He also suffers from mild OCD which is far worse when he's having a manic episode. And for those of you new to this world, Manic doesn't mean happily energized. In my man's case it means, pacing, aggitated, easily frustrated, and visibly ready to climb out of his own skin. It's the worst part of Bipolar to witness. The depression, i.e. sadness, loss of interest, tears, etc. is more manageable or at least contained, figuratively speaking. The mania is chaotic and a bit frightening. I hold a BA in psychology and my main area of study was abnormal psych. in children. Some of my training has helped me to work with the situation; illness... If I had no training at all, and let me just say I'm far from an expert, I would not be able to have a relationship with this man I so dearly love. I have never seen bipolar disorder managed to the extent that there are no symptoms and wonder if that's possible. Needless to say I worry about him everyday. Hoping he's had a good day at work; hoping he hasn't received any bad news; hoping he has remembered to take his meds. etc. etc. I'm praying that today we can finish up a calm and relaxing weekend with a day out of the house and hopefully leave him and both my daughter and myself feeling recharged and ready to get back into our routine tomorrow.