switched to milk Valium micro taper 3 days ago....slammed....scared

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Hi SG

 

Thank you for responding as ever.

 

I have changed the pills from my pharmacy back to the original generic now.

 

Although the ratio is different I am not taking any more liquid than before. I take a 2mg tab at 6am, then .25 milk dose at midday, then 2mg tab at 6pm.

 

The only difference is instead of taking .25ml milk dose, I now take 12.5ml as the ratio is 2mg:100ml.

 

So, I guess I just have to wait and see for a couple of days and not make any more cuts.  I have only just got the replacement pills so not enough time to make a new milk batch with them before I am due my milk dose in 30 mins. I will use the old batch for today only, then back to the actavis pills tomorrow.

 

The pharmacist was there ages telling me there was no difference in generics etc and how it was all in my head. I just nodded politely and got the pills in the end.

 

Maa x

[[Di...]]

Hi MAA

 

TBH I'm not a fan of messing about with ratios. When you are tapering, the brain gets confused very easily with numbers etc, especially if numbers were never your forte in the first place, as in my case. I have always been a dummy with math, and that’s why I always try to keep things as simple as possible…. KISS!!!

 

I personally don’t see a problem with splitting the tablets. Of course splitting tablets is never going to be 100% precise, but if you have a reasonably good splitter the cuts should be fairly accurate. When you think about it logically the tiny discrepancy in the cut and the fact that you are then only using a small portion of that tablet anyway when you measure your dose, means it really shouldn’t affect you too much anyway.

 

We all have a tendency to over-think things when tapering (me more than anyone), but chances are sometimes we have problems because we “think” we will have problems. When I look back logically on things that happened during my taper, and the things I blamed for those problems, I now realise that in probably most of the cases it was just good old fashioned benzo w/d that really had no explanation anyway. As you also mentioned previously, hormones do play a big part too, and there’s not a lot you can do about that. Hormones were also a big challenge for me throughout my taper.

 

However, everyone has to approach tapering the way they feel the most comfortable, so if you aren’t keen on splitting your tablets then I suggest you use 2mg with 200ml of milk, which still keeps with the 1:100 ratio. I think this is better than the more concentrated 1:50 ratio, which is what the 2mg in 100ml is. I always feel the 1:100 ratio is better because it is the most simple to understand and work out, especially when the brain is a bit foggy. If you change the ratio, then it's only one more calculation you have to make and keep track of, and you want to avoid any confusion as much as possible when you are tapering.

 

Of course there will be wastage with whatever method you use because as your titration dose gets lower the mixture will last longer and longer and the milk will spoil anyway. Even when I was using liquid valium I always made a practice of not keeping a batch going any longer than about 4 days, because I wasn’t certain about how potent it was after that time.

 

Another way around all this is to avoid the tablet titration totally, and switch to liquid valium. With LV you do have a lot more flexibility to make smaller batches as your titration dose gets lower. For example, normally you would use 1ml LV with 99ml water (to make the 100ml mixture), but to make a smaller batch you could use something like 0.5ml with 49.5ml water (to make a 50ml mixture), or 0.2ml to make a 20ml mixture. Then of course you would use it up a lot quicker. Maybe something to consider.

 

Your issue with the change of tablets could well have caused a problem too. Technically there shouldn’t be a problem, but we have all heard the anecdotal stories from people who do seem to have issues with different brands, so I think it is best to stick with the same brand for your entire taper. If you do need to change brands then it would be best to probably do a small updose and hold until you are certain things are okay. I always used to write on the prescription itself the brand I wanted so there could be no mistake.

 

I hope my input has helped a little, and not confused you further.

 

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Hi DP

 

Thank you for responding to me!

 

I have the same brand tabs now so going to make a new milk batch this morning for my midday batch.

 

Dummy question here, I only have 100ml jars and lots of them as I bought in bulk. If I want to keep the ratio the same and do 2mg in 200ml how would I best do that??

 

Sorry I know it is a silly ask.

 

Maa 

[[Di...]]

Do you have any larger glass containers at all? Maybe a glass measuring jug that you could put some plastic cling film over and store that in the fridge? Maybe even a coffee mug might work, as long as you cover it with some cling film so there's no evaporation.

 

Another thought. You do want to avoid transferring the mixture as much as possible, because each time you transfer to a new vessel you stand the chance of losing some of the mixture that sticks to the sides. So I normally wouldn't suggest this, but maybe you could make it up in some other container and then transfer it into 2 of your 100ml bottles. I guess you probably wouldn't lose that much, and if you've already mixed the batch pretty well what you do lose should have a even amount of valium in it, so it shouldn't affect the overall potency.