Hi Sapien. I agree with Yaowen that you seem to be weighing this carefully. You and your doctor should do so together.

From my experience, and past psychiatrist's thinking, the goal is to clock some time really stable before making any changes, unless side effects affect functionality in a very concerning way. There are times we need to be patient and tolerant through some discomforts, though.

In the past, when I was very ill long-term, a pdoc said that Zyprexa should stay on the table as an emergency med for me. Emergency, not permanent. Then move on to something more tolerable, when the coast is clear.

Another observation I had was that some meds that slightly fell short in the past, were adequate, or better, at another time. Or when in combination with a different one, increased in efficacy. Lamictal was an example for me.