All of the atypicals (and typicals for that matter) cause me massive weight gain (even the so called "weight neutral" ones like Abilify and Geodon), and emotional and cognitive dulling. I've been on ALL of them. Geodon has been the most tolerable so far because I haven't had too many episodes while on it, and the episodes I had weren't that bad, but there's still the weight gain that I'm counteracting by starving myself, and the brain fog that's killing me in school and has me worried about starting grad school in the fall. Oh and being on more than one atypical at a time causes my prolactin to go out of whack to the point where my period stops.

As far as the mood stabilizers go:
Lithium - insipid diabetes, weight gain, cognitive dulling
Topamax - dopamax
Lamictal - weight gain, massive cognitive dulling.

I can't stand live with weight gain and cognitive dulling. I feel like so fat and stupid.

I haven't had any drug allergies thank goodness, but the side effects are almost worth wanting to go med free. I have a lot of ambivalence about being on bipolar meds. On the one hand I'm thankful my episodes aren't as awful or as long as they used to be, but on the other hand I feel like they almost do more harm than good. I sometimes stop taking my meds for up to a week, but inevitably come back to them after I get sick of being awake for 3-7 days in a row and just want to be knocked out.