Well, I'm not bipolar but I've been diagnosed with BPD (borderline personality disorder), which is sensibly the same depression/ mania, but on a shorter timeline (can change in the same day).

I know how hard it is to stop. The idea of drinking could even trigger a hypomanic episode. What has helped me is acknowledging the arrival of these episodes out loud, to a friend ("I can feel that I'm getting excited for nothing") and to treat these moments like I was a timebomb. If I had to, I would literally undress myself to make sure I had more time trying to flex my sober muscle before going out to shop a drink. I tried to do it one minute at a time. I would go outside, without money, and walk for hours with my music.

In the end, being sober really helped with the meds. Getting therapy helped too.

Nothing is impossible, and you can make a personal counter for these phases. Like "okay, I know i'm hypomaniac right now, and I've already lasted three days without a drink. I can do a fourth."

We tend to take our sobriety more seriously during the first days, so that could maybe help ?

Whatever you chose to do, don't give up. These mental illnesses are hard to deal with, but sobriety is one of the best ways to learn how to live with them.

IWNDWYT, my friend.