Today was my first day of a two-week IOP program. So far, so good. The group therapy was my biggest concern but it turned out better than expected. In the last part of the session, an advice nurse came in to answer questions on meds.

I explained that antidepressants triggered my manic episode and asked for alternatives, and she replied that not all meds are alike and I may need other types of meds, and two other patients said that they use depakote and it works wonders for their depression and anxiety.

I will see my pdoc on the 20th and have our next meds discussion the following Monday, so I want to do some research on depakote and other meds that might be helpful. I am currently taking lithium and zyprexa.

A few that came up in the discussion: depakote, lamactil, topamax (I see there is a thread on that), saphris, and abilify

What I need to know:
Will it relieve my depression?
Will it cause weight gain?
Will it interfere with my meds?
Side effects?

I know my pdoc can tell me that, but I'd like to hear from other people's POV first and get a sense of what they do.