Colorisnt, first off I want to commend you for having the courage to bring this topic up, I know it's not easy for you.
My 26 year old son was diagnosed with Bipolar II four years ago, and yes, it does run on my father's side of the family. Due to my son's diagnosis, I read as much and learned as much as I could so I could help him deal with his illness.
Two things that helped my son the most, and this was after trying every possible "solution" we could find for him.
1. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) also called Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is what ultimately changed my son's life and helped him the MOST. Fortunately we live in a city where the local mental health hospital has a WONDERFUL DBT program that is a one year intensive out-patient program, which my son attended. It was his salvation. By the time he completed his DBT program in March of this year, he was (with help from his Psychiatrist) able to cut down to 1/4 the amount of medication he was taking before. Also, he's so much happier and mentally stable, like having my son back again like he was pre-bipolar. In DBT (or CBT) they teach you techniques to manage your mood swings. My son said he didn't really start to "get it" until the second 6 months of the program, so staying with the program long enough for the techniques to become routine is very important. If you're interested in this treatment, call around to your local mental health clinics and ask who offers the DBT or CBT program in your area. There are also books on the subject (look on Amazon), but you really need to get into a weekly program to learn the techniques.
2. Go online to this wonderful organization called Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (website is www.dbsalliance.org). Under "Find Support" then "Find a Support Group near you", see if you can find a local group for you to attend. This is a support group for people suffering from depression and bipolar, and their family members. My son and I attended regularly for a couple of years, and this is where we learned about the DBT program and other very helpful information, plus met some other families dealing with the same issues.

Ciao