Sorry to hear you are having such a hard time with your meds recently. I, too, am Bi-Polar II and I have been on a number of different medications. As many other posters have stated Lithium is a very common, and relatively affective medication for dealing with Bi-Polar Disorder. I am in no way an expert but I have done a good deal of personal study and from my experience, Lithium takes a few months to get to a useful level. First off, they have to incrementally increase the levels mainly because it's incredibly hard to metabolize and your body has to acclimate to it, so try to be patient with it. I had some annoying side effects that went away with time. I had essential tremors, my hands shook quite a bit, especially when I was trying to do fine motor skills like drinking. I learned to not fill my glass when I drank and use a straw for about a month. Also everything I ate was a bit salty, also make sure you try to have a stable in take of salt in your diet. Also you need to have urine tests done every once in a while to see how your kidneys are responding to the drug. I did pretty good on Lithium but I didn't have a way to pay for the urinalysis. One more thing Lithium treated my mania relatively well, but for many of us don't have the same results with depression. The down side to anti-depressants(AD) is some have a tendency to push Bi-Polar persons from a state of depression right into manic states. But if Lithium doesn't work on your depression, ask for some. There are AD's that do help and I am on one. Just watch your symptoms. One more thing. Don't lose faith, if Geodon worked for you then chances are you will find another one that does. I know when they pulled me off of Lithium I almost mourned the loss of the comfort it gave me. But now I am on Seroquel and have had a good deal of success with it. Thanks for sharing. Hope all turns out well and if there's anything else we can do let us know.