Hey, I just want to encourage everyone to keep trying.

I have been diagnosed since 2014, been seeing therapists and psychiatrists consistently.  I was first put on Wellbutrin for suspected depression, but became manic which led to my diagnosis ultimately.  I was tried on many other medications, and abilify was decent-ish at controlling my mood but I gained 20 lbs in a couple months (went from BMI of 21 to 26) with no lifestyle changes.  This caused me to continually stop taking the med when I was  "stable".

Finally, Lamictal was suggested and I was put on a low dose.  The physiatrist continued to up the dose due to persistent symptoms and finally I am on the max dose she is comfortable with prescribing as monotherapy (200 mg) and it just works for me.  No side effects.  I am back to my baseline weight while making 0 lifestyle changes.  I just feel steady, not foggy or tired.  It took my nearly a decade, I've been good for 1.5 years now and have accepted I have to take it every day.  My counselor described it as a "vitamin" to keep me healthy.

The point of this post is that it can take a very long time and lots and lots of trial and error, lots of money unfortunately to finally see someone competent to find something that will work for you.  So keep trying