I was just diagnosed with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder, and my psychiatrist wants to put me on medication--specifically, one of the below:

a). Depakote
b). Tegratol
c). Lamictal
d). Thorazine
or
e). Lithium

I just wanted to know if anyone here is taking any of those medications (I'm sure you must be, considering that Lithium, at least, is a "classic" drug for bipolar disorder), and what sort of experience you've been having with them. Also, what about dealing with the whole thing completely without any meds? Is anyone managing to handle a severe case of rapid-cycle bipolar (i.e., walking out into the middle of the road at midnight and almost getting killed, laughing screaming fits, extreme depression, paranoia--you know the routine) without any medications of any sort? Is it possible to deal with it by other means? Any help would be appreciated.

I find this whole thing terribly ironic, considering that I'm a psych major....