It's been a great drug for me. It was in the first round of meds (and there have been probably 20 different meds I've tried) for my treatment a few years ago and it's the only one that I'm still on. No side effects that I know of.

But it's my understanding that you do still need to have blood drawn every so often to check levels. I have mine drawn and tested every 3 months or so just because of the trileptal.