I have been on a few and none did diddly for my bipolar depression, but that doesn't really mean much, as we are all as different as a thousand snowflakes. There is no question that some people can become too activated and manic on some doses of some of these meds. So, beware.

That said, I have a belief that way too many psychiatrists in the US take mania incredibly seriously--as we all should--and don't really give a flip about maximally treating depression. Sorry, I know this may offend some--I apologize. It's just been my experience with more than one shrink that there is this attitude of sort of, as long as he's not manic, we're good. I hate that, because it says you don't care about the overall quality of my life, you really only want to make sure I don't think I'm Jesus or running naked down Broadway. Which is a noble goal, but should not be the only goal.

So anyway, if you decide to do it, have a big-time plan in place to identify and act, should you start getting hypo. It is essential.

I really feel for you. As you can tell, one of my major gripes about my lifetime of bipolar care has been the incredible lack of urgency by various pdocs about the misery caused by my depression. It makes me sad to think about it. Needless suffering, in my view. I hope you feel better really, really soon.