I would argue that it's bad to overly look at the symptoms of a medication. It's the surest way to end up getting said symptoms. By that, I mean that you'll trick your mind into. Now that's not to say that you shouldn't know the things to look for. But, this is something your pdoc will discuss with you.

As far as Lamictal goes. I take it once a day myself. It keeps me more balanced, but me and my pdoc are still working out the dosage.

I would also add that there is nothing wrong with having to take medication. Our brains are just a very complex system of chemicals. Sometimes they just need outside help to be balanced right.