[QUOTE=BirdDancer;6760654]
Question 1: For anyone who has taken carbamazepine (Tegretol) for extended periods, how often did your psychiatrist (or other doctor) order carbamazepine levels (in the beginning and then later down the line)?
That's one med I've never taken.



Question 2: How often do you get comprehensive metabolic panel, lipid panel, hemoglobin, TSH/T4/T3 (thyroid) blood tests done?
Because I'm on clozapine I get a CBC with diff monthly. No test no refills. That's handled by my pdoc. I get a CMP, lipids, and thyroid every 6 months and that is handled by my family doctor.

And who orders them? If someone other than your psychiatrist, are the results shared with your psychiatrist?
Yes, the labs from my family dr go automatically to my pdoc. My pdoc labs don't go to my family dr but I don't think that's a big deal; a monthly lab panel is a lot to have to read when he won't be making any decisions about the treatment.

Question 3: Have (or do) you get other types of testing done that in some way relates to your bipolar medications? For example, EKG, MRI, etc? If so, how often and who orders them?

I get an EKG every few years, whenever my family dr becomes worried about my high pulse rate. But it's always normal so life goes on.