I took Trileptal for almost a year for the goal of mood stabilization. My problem has always been depression rather than mania. It seemed to have a period where it worked, but it was never used as a solo drug. It was always combined with something and my moods were constantly swinging up and down. When I started Lithium 4 months ago my moods finally evened out and I feel fine and I'm only taking Lithium. With the Trileptal I was up to 1200mg and was taking 4 other meds with it. It's not extremely potent but for some people it works. I had no side effects from it which is great but I'm not sure it worked real well considering how I now feel on the Lithium. Hopefully it'll work for you though. I do know people who have had great results with it. Take care!!