Medication List/Rankings

How would you rank Bipolar Meds that you've taken?

Mood Stabilizer
1. Lithium 2. Lamictal 3. Depakote

Anti-Psychotic
1. Invega 2. Abilify 3. Latuda 4. Seroquel 5. Geodon

Anti-Anxiety
1. Klonopin 2. Valium 3. Ativan

I'll do this on a scale of 1-5.

Lithium - never took it
Lamictal - 5
Depakote - 5

Invega - 1
Abilify - 3.5
Latuda - 3.5
Seroquel - 1
Geodon - never tried it

Klonopin - 5
Valium - 2
Ativan - never tried it

Lamictal and Depakote get a 5 because they somewhat help(ed) my symptoms and caused no side effects.

Invega was AWFUL! Abilify caused no side effects but didn't help symptoms very much. Latuda is good, but caused rapid weight gain. Seroquel was AWFUL!

Klonopin works very well for me and Valium didn't do much.

On a scale of 1-5

Lets see,

Abilify is a 5
Vraylar is a 5
Lamictal is a 3
lithium was a 5, but is now a 2 because of it's side effect caused to me, everyone is different so please don't be discouraged in taking this one, it is known to be very effective.
Saphris is a 1
Ambien is a 5
Seroquel is a 2 only because of the grogginess I felt with it all day, but it did wonder for my sleep.
Wellbutrin is a 5
Diazepam (valium) is a 5.
now I take Elavil (Amitriptylin) for sleep and it is a 3 because it does help me sleep but it leaves me tired.

Prozac was a 5 but it is now a 1 because it stopped working completely

I can't remember other drugs because I have taken so many but they either stopped working or their eventual side effects were too much for me to take.

Ohh.. I only ranked meds in your list. I have taken others. On the same scale:

Wellbutrin - 1 (made me paranoid as hell and borderline agoraphobic)
Prozac - 1 (made me have an awful mixed episode and I had to go to the hospital. I enjoyed the mania though )
Saphris - 1 (tasted awful, didn't work, and I ended up in the hospital)
Zyprexa - 1 (made me gain weight insanely fast) Actually, I would rate this a -5.

I think this is all the others I have tried.

Why was Invega awful Jelly?
What was your lithium side effect quietgirl?

I think it was Seroquel that made me gain 50 lbs. but it did make me fall asleep.

UGH! Invega.. It made me lactate, it made my prolactin insanely high, it made me gain weight, and it made my periods completely stop. I have been off of it since about February 2016 and I still haven't gotten a period and my prolactin finally reached a "normal" level a few months ago. And I still can't lose the weight. My NP said she thinks that all the problems I have now are from the Invega and it would take up to 2 years for my body to fix itself.

*At first I was taking the pills, then moved on to the injectable.

z7z wrote:Why was Invega awful Jelly?
What was your lithium side effect quietgirl?

I think it was Seroquel that made me gain 50 lbs. but it did make me fall asleep.

Lithium made my hair thin out and some med (maybe it was a different one or maybe it was lithium) but some med makes my hair fall out easily. I took it for two years and it worked wonderful with the moods. It was the one drug that stabilized me after so much trial and error. But eventually I couldn't stand my hair thinning out even when I tried taking vitamins with it. Another side effect, but I could tolerate it, I was thirsty a lot. Dry mouth. I took so many meds it could have been another med doing that, but when I stopped it, I am fine now. I am stable. But lithium worked great!

Abilify made me balloon with the weight gain. Plus all the antidepressants I was trying out for so many years. Wellbutrin does not have gain weight as a side effect. Just an FYI.

Scale of 1-5, 5 being the best

Geodon - 4
Lexapro - 5
Abilify - 1
Topamax - 1.5
Risperdal - negative 5
Xanax - 1

I was fortunate to find medicine that worked for me. Abilify gave me heart palpitations, Topamax gave me Glaucoma symptoms, Risperal made me gain 100 pounds in three or four months, and Xanax made me suicidal within an hour of taking it.

It's amazing how different medications are worst/best for different people. I guess it really is trial and error when you're psychotic or depressed and trying new meds.