I have heard that it takes 3 to 5 years to find the right mix of medications for you and most Doctors agree that medicating mental illnesses it a hit or miss process. I feel like we are guinea pigs for the doctors and it took me 8 years since finding my first meds to get the courage to change meds. You have to take into account that each person is different. For example, seroquel and depakote made me gain weight but a friend of mine did not gain weight on seroquel. I quit taking seroquel and got on saphir lost 14 pounds. But i don't know if I will keep it off. I had always been a skinny person so being a bigger person has been really hard and I ask my doctor the same question why give someone with depression a medication that makes them fatter and more depressed?? And for the past eight years I have lost, get a lot of compliments then eat ice cream and chocolate until I have gained what i lost back. So maybe it is me aging and getting in a depressed state and not so much the medications. Meds can only do so much.