I'm currently on Depakote 2000mg daily and Chlorpromazine 25-50mg 3 times a day as required.
I hate taking medication. Unless I'm really freaking out, I don't believe it helps me at all. The side effects such as weight gain reduce my quality of life. So I don't take drugs for my health, I take them only because...
1) My wife feels better when I am on meds
2) It proves I'm ill and so makes claiming benefits much easier
Here's a list of the medications that I've been on and how they've affected me
Mood stabilizers...
Depakote: At the moment I'm on Depakote 2000mg daily. I was prescribed it in March 2007 when I was manic and it quickly brought me down to earth. The ongoing side effects I have are peripheral oedema (swollen lower legs) and continued weight gain.
Lithium: I was prescribed Lithium when first diagnosed but it had absolutely no effect on me at all, my mood continued to swing and eventually the shrink gave up on it.
Antipsychotics... the worst effect of these is the phenomenal weight gain. I had been 10.5 stones (150 pounds) all my adult life and after 18 months on meds I was 17 stones (240 pounds). These are not slimming pills...
Olanzapine: Very effective in the past at reducing mania but caused acute and overwhelming oedema right up my legs, arms and even my face. I also put on a lot of weight over a very short period of time. I would be reluctant to take it again.
Chlorpromazine: Effective anti-manic for me but caused me problems with feeling dizzy and faint as well as oedema. I'm back on it just now and as long as they leave me to manage it myself (i.e. only take it when I feel I need it) I'm fine with it.
Risperidone: Only had one dose of this (as an alternative to Olanzapine). It was like taking an acid tab (LSD) and I had a very bad nightmarish trip. I never want to be given this drug again (I must admit I was a bit mad at the time so maybe it was a bit of a chicken and egg thing).
Benzodiazepines...
Diazepam: Excellent. My favourite drug. Very relaxing effect. Whether I'm anxious or agitated, within 30 minutes I usually am calm and chilled. Unfortunately I asked my shrink to prescribe this "as required" for me and he immediately refused. I guess he's probably got me down as a benzo abuser now and given me a lifetime ban. The NHS really works hard not to give me anything that to make me feel better but strives to cause me maximum distress... and always succeeds.
Antidepressants... prior to being diagnosed bipolar, I was thought to have unipolar depression and over a lengthy period I tried the following antidepressants. None of them alleviated my depression but here's the effects they had on me....
Fluoxetine: Caused intense agitation and anxiety and had to be stopped after 10 days.
Citalopram: Made me feel very relaxed and chilled out, a bit like smoking a spliff. I was on this for ages but it failed to animate me and I remained virtually immobile in a relaxed state of apathy.
Mirtazapine: No noticable effect at all.
Imipramine: No noticeable effect at all.
Venlafaxine/Lithium/L-Tryptophan: I had these drugs together as "triple therapy" for quite a while but they had no beneficial effect on me.
Venlafaxine on it's own: Although I had this previously in a cocktail, the last time I was prescribed it on it's own, it induced full blown mania within a few days and so was quickly stopped.