Traditionally I've not had good luck with medications but I have been on lamictal in the past and had no side effects. The key is to start with low doses and go up slowly, over weeks. A lot of people have reported that it is effective quite soon after starting even though it is not at a therapeutic dose yet. It is also the number one choice for BP II.

I'm curious why do you need the people around you to validate a doctors diagnosis? Most people have no experience with mental health issues and they may have reasons to want to keep you as you are, after all if you become healthy you may change. Most people have trouble with change even when a family member is hard to deal with and they complain a lot the that is the role that person has been elected to play in the family dynamic. If that person gets healthy what are they going to complain about, or it just might force them to look at their part in the family, something that is scary and almost always unconscious.