Sounds like the exact same experience. My depression would last nine months to a year and like you I finally ended up in the hospital, honestly in the treatment center because I had tried to put an end to my suffering. When I was diagnosed as bipolar two, it was a relief. But it has been a battle to find the right medication. I’m on.Lamotrin also. I am going into my sixth week of being off Seroquel completely. Taking buspirone for severe anxiety, but it doesn’t seem to be working and the side effects are not fun. They make me shake and sweat a lot lol. It looks like I’m gonna have to go back on klonopin or Xanax for the anxiety. The Seroquel was so sedating for me and what it did to my body was awful. I feel so much better without it. I feel like I’m turning into my old self again, but I have to be very careful not to self medicate the manic episodes. My parents died a couple of years ago and I was so medicated that I was numb and now being off Seroquel I feel like I’ve just now started the grieving process so I don’t plan on ever going back on a antipsychotic again. I can handle the mood swings, but the Lamictal helps even those out. I can’t handle the anxiety. Fortunately, I’ve got two great doctors that listen to me and understand my symptoms. And they work with me to help me find solutions. In the beginning my psychiatrist put me on so many different meds. I was severely overmedicated. I couldn’t even drive. I had Walmart deliver all my groceries. I received my medication in the mail. I never left the house. People would call me and asked me to meet them at the beach or to go out to lunch and I would always come up with an excuse, not to go. Things are different now off Seroquel. So much better it’s really nice to talk to people who have been through the same thing because the word bipolar is thrown around so easily today. Family and friends just brush it off. I had a accounting job for seven years. When I started, I was so manic. I would have to drink a bottle of wine the night before so I would feel bad enough to be able to sit in that chair for eight hours a day. Then I had a serious bout of depression and could not remember how to do my job so job. I took another job and could not comprehend the instructions and understand and retain the information that they gave me so I got fired again. Depression is like walking through quicksand. I’m on disability now. I could only keep a job for three years at the most the job I had for seven years was an exception. I was a little surprised it took them so long to fire me. I always thought I was a failure because I couldn’t do anything really good for a long period of time. I’ve done a lot of research about bipolar too and the medication‘s and the side effects and I understand now why I behave the way I do.