Hey there
Have you ever tried Seroquel ? I know you are asking about the best mood stabilisers and Seroquel is known as an antipsychotic medication, however it does help the mania symptoms of bipolar where your mood changes between feeling highly excited (mania)) and very low depression.
Lithium and its toxicity levels worries me and having to have levels done can be annoying. Seroquel does have fewer sides effects in the most part, however in saying that all medications and the effects/side effects/ differ between each person, what may work really well for me may not be that way for you. But I have been on lithium and it was the most horrible drug I’ve ever been on, I felt like I was a complete wiped out zombie, I felt like I was staring into space with my mouth open, and in slow motion all the time, I felt like when I was walking I was marching like I was in the Russian army! Hahaha I must have looked like a , lcomplete retard. I can hardly remember the two years I was on this drug, I was so wasted on it. I was pretty sick though. I have also been on Lamotrigine, I wasn’t in that very long, I can’t really remember how I felt on it but it obviously didn’t agree with me as I was on it I’d say 6 months. All up I think I have been on about 15-20 different medications, benzos, sleeping pills, antidepressants , thyroxine, antipsychotics, mood stabilisers, SSRIs , SNRIs TCAs anti seizure meds, Ritalin lol. It can be taken with lithium or on its own, but I would suggest asking to try it in its own, see how you go. Long term use from research I have made is that it is a lot safer than lithium. My mood was never overly elevated,on it, however I do have ADHD too (wasn’t on meds for adhd at that time) so I can be pretty over the top and hyperactive, talk over people, show off etc) ) . But it kept a lid on the ruminating thoughts and getting too carried away, it also, over time, as my mood was very low, lifted me out of the darkness and I started to see colour in the world again, day by day, life became a little more manageable. It lifted my mood and dampened down the elevated mood. It was the first time in years I felt normal and didn’t have that horrible anxiety and I was laughing again and wanting to do things. The side effects were not bad, a little sedated at first, but take them at night, early and that will help the early morning hangover feel, but you soon get used to it. The first time I took 100mg I was stupid enough to take it on the way home from the pub, thinking it’s pretty late I’ll take it now and walk home, whoops I woke up in a hedge on the side of the road at about 5am! Not cool! lol I wasn’t sleeping well so it was really good in that aspect as it had a double purpose. They were not hard to come off I weaned off them in a short period of time and tolerated it fine. You don’t feel like crap if you miss one by accident, to be honest with you, this medication saved my life, I didn’t want to be around for a long time and as I was treatment resistant to most meds and it took a lot of trial and error, which was pretty soul destroying, but we got there in the end and it pulled me out of the hole, my lows are worse than my highs, so maybe it might not be for you, but it maybe worth thinking about if asking about the next time you see your Dr. I wish you all the very best mate. It’s a pain in the neck trying to find the right fit when it comes to meds, wish I didn’t have to take them and I’m pretty much off everything now and pretty stable just on Zoloft, with tools I’ve learnt along the way I can manage my symptoms, I know my triggers and do as much as I can to reduce the stressors, look after myself, I don’t drink anymore as that was totally out of control, and I am aware of what to look for if I’m slipping more down. Ok I’ll shut out. Good luck.
