Rapid Cycling Bipolar

How does one live with a close family member who has Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder? I wish someone could tell me. Some days it is fine, it can be even great, but a lot of days are PURE hell! While most people are trying to figure out how to get from point A to B I am still trying to find point A in the first place. How do you get someone to admit they have a drinking problem on top of that who doesn't seem to care half the time. A very loving person turning into a nasty soul in a blink of an eye then back again before you even have time to turn around and realize that it is all done (for the moment anyway). Even though we haven't had anything too expensive broken in the last month or so it still does not feel like progress a lot of the time. Sometimes it feels like 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Medication is a heaven sent I must say and I could not live with this person without it, trust me I tried, well he tried because he felt there was nothing wrong with him, it was all me, so he did not need medication. Not really his finest hours. My biggest worry is my kids, they seem untouched by this for the time being. But it puts more stress on me and I really don't have many people to fall back onto. My mom lives far away, my brother has 4 kids of his own, and my dad probably wouldn't want to deal with my wild children. I only have three friends that I don't even get to talk too- course even if I talked to them I still wouldn't ask them to help two of my friends have 3 children each of their own and while my other friend has no children and would LOVE to help with my children she is 7 hrs away! I don't want sympathy, what I want is just a little peace, calm, and quiet!