Tegretol XR (I think works better than Trileptal, but may require blood work to determine therapeutic level) - It is weight neutral for me. The only side effect I have is mild clumsiness, despite taking a large dose at 1400 mg. In the beginning, I did have some blurry and double vision, but that went away. I have no other side effects from it. It was a patience paid off kind of med. Available as a generic (carbamazepine ER).

Seroquel XR at medium to low doses can be side effect friendly. For me, 350 mg and below was weight neutral. I think doses like 300 or so are typical for people who have more of an issue of bipolar depression than mania. I do have issues with mania on occasion, and need higher doses like 600 mg. At that dose it is a bit weight unfriendly, but not nearly as bad as regular Seroquel (in my experience). This med can cause me to have morning "hangovers" if taken too late at night or if I go to sleep too late at night. Seroquel XR has NEVER given me any kind of EPS (i.e. akathisia, dystonia) or hyperprolactinemia, like other antipsychotics. My psychiatrist says it is less prone to do that. It's possible that Seroquel XR contributes to my high cholesterol and high triglycerides, but I'm not 100% sure of that. Recently became available as a generic (quentiapine ER).

Geodon was pretty good for my mania for a while, and I know it works very well for many people's mania. I'm not sure how good it really is for depression. I don't think it's meant so much for that. I have heard that antipsychotics like Latuda and Abilify are better for bipolar depression. Again, Seroquel XR can be very good for depression, too. Geodon is available as a generic (ziprasidone). I think Abilify is, too (aripiprazole).

If you are prone to hair falling out, know that Depakote and Lithium have that reputation, too. I, personally, found Lithium and Depakote to be evil when it came to side effects (I could provide a very long list), but I do know that some people benefit greatly from them with few side effects. My hair thinned out on Lithium, but not on Depakote. Lithium was weight neutral for me, but Depakote made me gain 30 lbs.