I started this some months ago and have been improving a lot since then. I was diagnosed 'depression with anxiety' for a good year under the same psychiatrist. I always felt as though I was just extremely depressed, but came to realize how much anxiety played a role in how I feel and how my switches from depression to anxiety, under activation to anxious restlessness, mirrored a form of bipolar. It's very possible for 'just depression' to actually be related to bipolar.

As of right now I am just taking Lamictal, recently upped to 200mg. I have been on several antidepressants that were of little help which largely influenced the lamictal decision. No side effects -- no weight gain, fatigue, dizziness, etc. It's a pretty 'invisible' drug. Perhaps the only side effect I may have experienced was a stark increase in anxiety peaking a couple of weeks into the titration. (This was anxiety involving the fear of loved ones getting hurt/in a wreck/dying while I was out of contact with them....not something I normally panic over.)

It's a bit of a shoot in the dark to make a leap from depression to bipolar depression sometimes. Lamictal can prove to be a silver bullet in this case, but I understand that titration on the med is a very long process that would be a waste of time for someone who wouldn't be benefited.