Blood tests in the US are weekly for 6 months, every other week for 6 months then monthly while on the med. I don't even think about it anymore.

Side effets are not always great. I sometimes wet the bed but incontinence pads take care of that. I drool quite a bit at night. I gained weight initially but have lost that weight plus 15 lbs so it's not necessarily permanent. I need a good bit of sleep but that was true on Seroquel too (before clozapine).

When you've tried everything else it is worth trying it. I really don't have anything with it I can't handle. I'd pretty much run out of options so I'm glad this works for me.