I will go med by med. Of course, they all have a synergistic effect that I cannot describe but I will describe what I can discern.

Lithium takes care of spending. Removes the impulse to spend. I carry several credit cards with me (for the sake of improving my credit history, I use multiple cards) and I pay on time every month. I just do not get this familiar feeling of wanting to buy anymore. I cooly and calmly get what I need. I have large purchases before me - plates, bowls, silverware - and I KNOW I will not be overwhelmed by the selection but rationally, with the help of my older daughter, choose only what I need. It is a hell of a feeling, and for that feeling I think it is wonder drug. Sure, it sucks to jump out of bed each morning to take Levoxyl, a synthetic thyroid med that needs to be taken one hour before breakfast, but I am not going to die from that. As for acne... I was thinking about it yesterday and maybe there is even a benefit. Tazorac, the anti-acne cream that I have to apply every single day lest I have a breakout, also prevents wrinkles. My older daughter sometimes says with amazement "Mommy, you have no wrinkles (after 40)". Well, maybe it is Tazorac. I doubt that I would have been applying Tazorac so religiously for a vague benefit of preventing wrinkles, but now I absolutely must - the consequences of not applying it are immediate - so maybe I am actually winning here.

I am sure Lithium takes care of impulsivity on non-shopping fronts as well, it is just that in shopping, the difference is so stark.

Geodon No delusions, helps with mania. Severe side effect, so p-doc will try a substitute

Depakote Prevents migraines. Leads to weight gain, but what can I do - I would not be able to work with the number of migraines I would have been getting without it.

Prozac Removes suicidal ideation, gives positive energy, makes grass green and skies blue, makes me smile and improves self esteem, provides for an ability to have spontaneous (non-manual) orgasms the way I used to before meds. In short, restores me in a mild form to the hypomanic pre-med state.

Temazepam Gives 8 hours of sleep. Enough said.