I'm assuming that when you said "gone off her meds" you meant she had "stopped taking" her prescribed meds? If so, I'm confused by your statement. If someone had stopped taking their prescribed medications, then how would "modern chemistry" have factored into the equation?
I found that confusing too, but I suppose meds could create some sort of dependency that would leave you much worse going off of them than you would have been without taking them in the first place. Still, I know at least one bipolar man (result of a brain injury) who is certainly helped by his meds.
I did imply that she had stopped taking the medication by the way I phrased that and don't know that that is the case. It does reflect what my friend said people were talking about in that town.
I also know, however, that agressive medication for something like bi-polar disorder (what used to be called manic depressive, right?) can make the condition worse if the patient stops taking the medication. At least that was the thinking many years ago when I drove an ambulance for a living in the NY area.
There are also cases where someone who is bi-polar starts taking sleeping pills for related problems. I know personally of a case where someone stopped taking Ambien and went into a psychotic episode within days, taking the couples young children and just disappearing for a few weeks of wandering around. She's now institutionalized and that was a case of stopping the medication triggering a reaction.
But, again, I have absolutely no direct knowledge about this case, just what my friend heard, so it's not anything to base any conclusions on. It might be enough only to get people to NOT draw premature conclusions.