hi. some people can do monotherapy. I was on a high dose (30mgs) Abilify all by itself until other problems popped up.

I understand your problems with APs. Abilify works for me and doesn't slow me down too much, but the other ones I tried weren't so great. Risperidone wasn't terrible, but I was worried about TD and prolactin levels, so the doctor put me on Abilify.

I have personally refused lithium, because of the horror stories. I also refuse depakote, because of hair loss and lethargy when I did try it, plus I don't like doing labs.

I don't know anything about Saphris. Is that the dissolving tablet? Some of the atypicals are supposed to be good for all parts of the spectrum--manic, depressed, and mixed. Seroquel has lots of data behind it, but that's probably because the company paid for a lot of studies. Personally, I've found Abilify to be helpful for agitation and keeping mood swings to the upper ends to a minimum, but I still get severe depression.

I hope you and your doctors find something that works well.