ADs help with the depression and a little w social anxiety (Celexa), but they also give me ED which, as you likely know, is frustrating as hell.

As far as anticonvulsants go, I have only tried lithium. It did not sit well with me. It exasperated my psoriasis; taking it to a whole new level. A Level that made me go to yet another doctor who gave me methotrexate -- which, if you don't know, requires you to take a folic acid pill every morning, 6 days a week, and then 10 methotrexte pills all at the same time. (Well, you coul take them one at a time if you want, the point is they all must go down in one sitting.) The dry mouth was nothing. Lithium and the methotrexate are what drove me away from meds to begin with -- because I, like many of you, hate taking pills... it's the swallowing for me. They almost always get stuck.

APs tend to work best for me so far. Luckily the sensitivity to pharmaceuicals allows me to take a slightly lower dose (7.5mg vs the full 10mg). The only major side effect was weight gain (the first time out on Abilify).

After my break last year, I've been back on meds now for just about 2 months. This time around, we are foregoing an AD (which appeared to be working with the AP to make me lethargic, thus contributing to the weight gain). These day, we're sticking with Abilify as a mono-treatment, mostly, aside from my zolpidem prn for zzz. Leaving the AD out has kind of tethered the weight gain... a bit. Sure, I've put on a few lbs since going back on (like 8-10) but it's nothing compared to the 50+ I gained the first time around.