I'm glad you found my response helpful (I was hoping to help and not just rant ). It's an especially sensitive topic for me since I've had some form of mental illness since age 4, so I've always felt like I was treated a bit differently (at times undeservedly).

My therapist mostly leaves the med stuff to my doctor, and focuses on helping me handle and control the results of my meds. The ultimate goal should be that you feel some control of your mood swings independent of your meds affects.

I know how hard and frustrating it is to navigate the system to find the right doctor... you can get stuck with some pretty aweful docs. I'm sorry that you're having such trouble with your psychiatrist -- it's a good thing you've received education in this area, being an "informed consumer" is crucial when dealing with your health.

Are you a psych major, or in another major? I'm a stereotypical psych major, but I think I have a greater compassion and understanding from what I've gone through than many of the "normal" students can achieve. Almost all psych majors should have dealt with mental illness (but resolved it by the time they practice) IMO.

I hope you can find the right cocktail soon -- it's so frustrating to keep going on and off meds. Have a good rest of the weekend!

Jessie