"i&#039;m ultra-ultra rapid cycling bipolar ii and bul. been thru 6 mood stabilizers / aps / aaps. my experience on those was disastrous.lithium made me more suicidal, lamictal made me binge, destroyed my memory, didn&#039;t help my mood, seroquel put 20 #s on me and made me a zombie, didn&#039;t help my mood, latuda and abilify made me shake. i was terrified of weight gain on depakote/valproate/risperdal. i was at my wit&#039;s end, suicidal, and terrified that i wasn&#039;t going to live to my 33rd birthday, then i found nih considers topamax to be a mood stabilizer so i asked my pdoc about it. within a week at 50 mgs i had a full day where i didn&#039;t cycle at all. i woke up feeling okay and stayed that way all day. i didn&#039;t cycle at all. things are looking good!"