Daily Micro-Tapering Support Group

[[bu...]]

Looking for some advice from someone who is good at math, as I am not. 

I have two benzos to taper thanks to a failed attempt at crossing Ativan over to Valium. I plan to start with a daily microtaper of Ativan. And at this point I'm thinking I will have to do it with water. I would love to be able to do it with a compounded formula (Ativan in almond oil) but in my estimation i don't see how it's possible mathematically. I take .25mg Ativan twice a day.  So compound would be .25mg/1ml Thoughts?

 

 

Ativan is NOT water soluble.

 

Dissolve your .25mg tablet in 1ml 80 proof vodka (or 1 ml propylene glycol) and add 24mg water.  You now have a solution  with 1mg=100ml, or each ml contains .01mg.

[[El...]]

Looking for some advice from someone who is good at math, as I am not. 

I have two benzos to taper thanks to a failed attempt at crossing Ativan over to Valium. I plan to start with a daily microtaper of Ativan. And at this point I'm thinking I will have to do it with water. I would love to be able to do it with a compounded formula (Ativan in almond oil) but in my estimation i don't see how it's possible mathematically. I take .25mg Ativan twice a day.  So compound would be .25mg/1ml Thoughts?

 

 

Ativan is NOT water soluble.

 

Dissolve your .25mg tablet in 1ml 80 proof vodka (or 1 ml propylene glycol) and add 24mg water.  You now have a solution  with 1mg=100ml, or each ml contains .01mg.

 

Oops, yeah I know, should have mentioned that I would use alcohol.  Thanks builder. I was just trying to reference a water taper as opposed to using a compounded rx. I'm nervous about using the water method and I am crazy sensitive to alcohol(even though it's a tiny amount)  so that's why I waned to double check on here about using the almond oil....to make sure I was correct in thinking it wasn't possible to do a daily microtaper with the compounded rx.

[[bu...]]

"(or 1 ml propylene glycol)"

[[sh...]]

Looking for some advice from someone who is good at math, as I am not. 

I have two benzos to taper thanks to a failed attempt at crossing Ativan over to Valium. I plan to start with a daily microtaper of Ativan. And at this point I'm thinking I will have to do it with water. I would love to be able to do it with a compounded formula (Ativan in almond oil) but in my estimation i don't see how it's possible mathematically. I take .25mg Ativan twice a day.  So compound would be .25mg/1ml Thoughts?

 

 

Ativan is NOT water soluble.

 

Dissolve your .25mg tablet in 1ml 80 proof vodka (or 1 ml propylene glycol) and add 24mg water.  You now have a solution  with 1mg=100ml, or each ml contains .01mg.

 

Oops, yeah I know, should have mentioned that I would use alcohol.  Thanks builder. I was just trying to reference a water taper as opposed to using a compounded rx. I'm nervous about using the water method and I am crazy sensitive to alcohol(even though it's a tiny amount)  so that's why I waned to double check on here about using the almond oil....to make sure I was correct in thinking it wasn't possible to do a daily microtaper with the compounded rx.

 

It is possible to do with the compounded rx but if you use almond oil you will not be able to dilute with water meaning you will have to cut very small amounts.  This leaves too much room for error in my opinion.  If you are sensitive to alcohol.  Propylene glycol would be a good alternative as builder mentioned.

 

Stay strong!

Sharkey

[[El...]]

What would be the smallest amount of alcohol I could get away with using to disolve a .5mg Ativan pill? I would use this to make my two daily .25mg Ativan doses.

[[sh...]]

What would be the smallest amount of alcohol I could get away with using to disolve a .5mg Ativan pill? I would use this to make my two daily .25mg Ativan doses.

 

2ml of 80 proof alcohol or 1ml of higher proof alcohol is recommended to be sure all the benzo dissolves

[[Mo...]]

Sharkey or Builder...

If there is only a 0.25mgr / 1 ml Ativan solution available , would that work for cuts, too?

 

How much would you cut , is it even possible to micro taper that small?

 

I'm just wondering...

[[sh...]]

Sharkey or Builder...

If there is only a 0.25mgr / 1 ml Ativan solution available , would that work for cuts, too?

 

How much would you cut , is it even possible to micro taper that small?

 

I'm just wondering...

 

It is possible if you use a 1ml syringe but the margin for error is too great if some gets stuck to side of the container or in the syringe it could throw off your dose.  But if you are very detail oriented and use the right equipment it can be done.  I would definitely advice to use a more diluted solution.  Someone on here uses almond oil solution and cuts that way. That's not u Moodle?

[[Mo...]]

Sharkey or Builder...

If there is only a 0.25mgr / 1 ml Ativan solution available , would that work for cuts, too?

 

How much would you cut , is it even possible to micro taper that small?

 

I'm just wondering...

 

It is possible if you use a 1ml syringe but the margin for error is too great if some gets stuck to side of the container or in the syringe it could throw off your dose.  But if you are very detail oriented and use the right equipment it can be done.  I would definitely advice to use a more diluted solution.  Someone on here uses almond oil solution and cuts that way. That's not u Moodle?

 

Yup, that's me. All the way from 15 to 0.20 that way. Worked perfect for me.

But mine is Valium. 2:1 ( 1 ml is 0.5 mgr) and I've cut by 0.05.

Just used a three ml syringe.

It comes in a glass bottle with a cap where the syringe fits on snug. Just shake the bottle and suck up the dose that you need.

I am really not sure why there would be more room for error if you just use the same syringe.

And shake. Nothing gets stuck to the sides.

 

I think Elizabets doctor doesn't want to prescribe the liquid pharma lorazepam.

He only offered the oil. Because then he can prescribe only the 0.25 

 

So I was wondering by what increments to cut if it was Ativan and 0.25/ 1 ml

 

 

[[sh...]]

I don't want to guess.  I don't have a 1ml syringe but I would think it has 10th's which would mean you could cut .1ml a day or .025mg which to me is too much for a daily taper.

[[Mo...]]

I don't want to guess.  I don't have a 1ml syringe but I would think it has 10th's which would mean you could cut .1ml a day or .025mg which to me is too much for a daily taper.

 

Yes, I agree. For Ativan that's a lot.

 

Thanks Sharkey

 

[[an...]]

I don't want to guess.  I don't have a 1ml syringe but I would think it has 10th's which would mean you could cut .1ml a day or .025mg which to me is too much for a daily taper.

 

One solution to this  is after you take your dose from the syringe, draw up some water in the syringe and drink. Do this two or three times.

 

Another option, is to just use plain old water.  The Ativan does not dissolve, but if you refine your technique, it can be done. The key is to shake very well and then quickly (and I mean quickly) measure your dose. I successfully did this back in 2007 and I am currently using the same method. Many others have been successful using just water as well. You just need to be more careful.

 

Anne

[[an...]]

Here is my crude drawing of a 1 mL syringe and how to read it

http://s567.photobucket.com/user/anne20151/media/mLSyringeB_zpsluhcrmjh.jpg.html

[[bu...]]

What would be the smallest amount of alcohol I could get away with using to disolve a .5mg Ativan pill? I would use this to make my two daily .25mg Ativan doses.

 

 

2ml vodka =.8ml alcohol.  That's .16 tsp...pretty tiny!

 

And if you're really adverse to using any alcohol, please consider propylene glycol.

 

Dilution is the key to making tiny, precise measurements.

[[bu...]]

I don't want to guess.  I don't have a 1ml syringe but I would think it has 10th's which would mean you could cut .1ml a day or .025mg which to me is too much for a daily taper.

  A standard 1ml syringe has 50 graduations, so each graduation is .02ml.

[[El...]]

Thanks all. Just feeling overwhelmed. Appreciate your input so much.

[[Mo...]]

Thanks all. Just feeling overwhelmed. Appreciate your input so much.

 

No rush.... It can be much, yes.

 

I think your best bet would be titration and we can help as soon as you're ready.

 

I'm so sorry you're feeling so badly.

[[El...]]

Thank you moodle

[[...]]

Hi everyone - Can anyone help me with a math issue ?  I went to my psychiatrist and we agreed to start micro tapering with some liquid.  Starting with my nightly dose which is 12.5 Valium.  So he told me to mix 2 mls liquid Valium with 50 mls water and take 10 mls of that every night for a week along with a 10 mg. pill and a 2 mg. pill.  Then next week to do the same mixture and reduce it to 5 mls a night. He was crabby and in a hurry that day so I couldn't really get to understand how much I am deducting from the 12.5 dose .  It almost seems like I'm adding  more Valium to the dose and besides, it's not a daily micro taper.  Can anyone help me get this?  What I'd like to do is reduce the dose maybe using a 100 ml water / 1ml liquid Diaz., by 3 or 4 mls every day - I was looking at Diaz- pam's schedule and it seems straightforward and easier.  I'd appreciate any help cuz this thing he has me doing isn't making sense to me.

Thank you!!!

Jan

[[...]]

I assume this is the Roxane liquid?  That is 1ml=1mg.

 

2mls diluted with 48ml water would be a .04mg/ml strength so each ml would contain .04mg V.  He has you dosing 10ml (.4mg) plus 12mg dry for a total of 12.4mg a day for a week.  Then you reduce 5ml which is a .2mg cut to 12.2mg.  It is a slow taper at .1mg a week.

 

A similar taper would be to put 1ml (1mg) liquid V into 99ml water and reduce by 1.5ml (.015mg) a day.  More than likely you could double or even triple that and still feel fine.  It is a slow rate.

[[...]]

Thank you for helping me understand SG57 - so if I wanted to go a bit faster how would I do that ?  Or maybe I should just stick to what he said and try it for the two weeks.  I just wanted to make sure I wasn't adding more......

[[...]]

Okay I get it - disregard my last post.  Thank you so much.

Jan

[[sh...]]

Hi everyone - Can anyone help me with a math issue ?  I went to my psychiatrist and we agreed to start micro tapering with some liquid.  Starting with my nightly dose which is 12.5 Valium.  So he told me to mix 2 mls liquid Valium with 50 mls water and take 10 mls of that every night for a week along with a 10 mg. pill and a 2 mg. pill.  Then next week to do the same mixture and reduce it to 5 mls a night. He was crabby and in a hurry that day so I couldn't really get to understand how much I am deducting from the 12.5 dose .  It almost seems like I'm adding  more Valium to the dose and besides, it's not a daily micro taper.  Can anyone help me get this?  What I'd like to do is reduce the dose maybe using a 100 ml water / 1ml liquid Diaz., by 3 or 4 mls every day - I was looking at Diaz- pam's schedule and it seems straightforward and easier.  I'd appreciate any help cuz this thing he has me doing isn't making sense to me.

Thank you!!!

Jan

 

What is the concentration of the liquid Valium?  Is it 1mg per 1ml?  Or 5mg per 1ml?

[[...]]

Sharkey, it is 5 mls to 5 mg.  I was thinking I would want to try to go just a bit faster .... Not sure how much to reduce if I use the solution he told me to mix .  Not good with numbers.

[[...]]

Thank you everyone for helping me!  I am so math challenged and since I am still suffering from my last cut I am in bad mental condition as well as physically really unwell - couch most of the day. You guys are great and I and you for your help and encouragement, all of you,  I will be back with more questions, to be sure.......

Jan