Lithium tends to be what the pdocs like for bipolar I, yeah. Unfortunately, it made me sick as a dog and I couldn't tolerate it at all.

I have been on a number of other mood stabilizers. Lamictal was the best, till it nearly killed me (long story for another time, doesn't involve "the rash"). I'm doing reasonably well on Seroquel now. I had a million side effects from Depakote and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. However, as always with meds, your mileage may vary. I've tried a couple other things too, that either did nothing (Geodon) or that I wasn't on long enough to tell if it worked or not (Trileptal).

Hope that helps.

Candy