actually it has been found that substance abuse is a way for a person with bipolar disorder to self medicate themselves as a way of coping with this disorder. most of the rest of what the other person's answer is pretty accurate. however the migraine's thyroid issues and such are all side effects from the medications that are used to treat bipolar disorder another side effect is called tardive dyskinesia which causes the person to have uncontrollable muscle spasms and there is no cure as of yet for this horrible side effect. i have ba in psychology and also have bipolar disorder and am a recovered drug addict.
what illnesses often co-exist with bipolar disorder?