I've been doing research, trying to decide which mood stabilizer I want to try. All 3 sound promising, and all 3 scare the shit out of me due to side effects, to the point where this might not happen. 

I haven't been on meds in maybe 8 years, but I'm struggling with emotions pretty hard nowadays. Flareups over abandonment have been unbearable lately, and I worry the intensity of it will interfere with my progress, at least getting started. I'm starting a DBT program's intake process in a week, and I thought it'd be a good idea to find a drug to calm my emotions just a bit, to make it easier getting started with everything. I don't really know if that's a good idea.

I really do want just a little bit of help from meds, nothing heavy-handed or overwhelming, and I only want to use meds to help me get past the really intense stuff I'll be going through the next few months, then taper off to rely entirely on skills.

I'll ask the doctor too, of course, but do you recommend one drug over the others? If so, why?