Daily Micro-Tapering Support Group

[[my...]]

What good news to read this morning, SG!!  Thanks. 

Actually, my pills weigh an average of .172g. I assume the .001g per day is still fine and would just bring the total percentage down by a fraction, right?

 

[[...]]

That's right.  Weighing .172g instead of .170g does not change things much...

 

.5mg/.170g=2.94mg/g

.5mg/.172g=2.91mg/g

 

They are essentially the same number.

[[my...]]

Good to know thank you. Especially as I've gotten used to multiplying by 2.91! (or, 2.907 to be exact..  )

 

Actually, I wasn't planning to begin until I hit .5mg (.5068mg).... does that change anything?...well, of course it would, but again, not by much, right?  I could begin now but would prefer to begin MT on day 11/Day 1 of the next cut or the one after that.  Starting in the middle of a c/h pattern makes me nervous as I think the worst days are over for this cut..so either I begin on 1/29 or 2/8 when I hit ~ .5.  Tempted to start 1/29!

 

Don't mean to monopolize your time, SG! 

[[bu...]]

  Seroquel solubility in water is 3.29mg/ml.

 

 

 

 

[[...]]

Good to know thank you. Especially as I've gotten used to multiplying by 2.91! (or, 2.907 to be exact..  )

 

Actually, I wasn't planning to begin until I hit .5mg (.5068mg).... does that change anything?...well, of course it would, but again, not by much, right?  I could begin now but would prefer to begin MT on day 11/Day 1 of the next cut or the one after that.  Starting in the middle of a c/h pattern makes me nervous as I think the worst days are over for this cut..so either I begin on 1/29 or 2/8 when I hit ~ .5.  Tempted to start 1/29!

 

Don't mean to monopolize your time, SG! 

 

You know my vote.

 

.0029mg/.5mg=.58% so if you cut .001g every day that would be 5.8% after 10 days and 17.4% a month.  You'd need to hold four days to keep it at 15%...that's about one day a week...six cuts and a hold would be 15% a month.  You can see how how holds creep in more and more as you go lower.

[[...]]

Hi everyone. It's not a benzo anymore but I would like to do a micro taper off my seroquel. It's giving me lot's of problems.

I read about the 1:1 but could I do a 1:10? Because my syringe only goes to a ml. I know there's a lot already told on the thread but I'm way to brain fogged to read everything (it's a long thread)

Hope someone can help me out.

I saw a clip where you shake a jar really hard and then take out the liquid you don't take. So it is evenly dispersed through out the liquid.

  Seroquel solubility in water is 3.29mg/ml.

 

 

 

We can help with liquid tapering in a general way for Seroquel, but really for a drug like that you need to go to survivingantidepressants.org...they handle APs over there.  You need to dilute enough so that you can make accurate cuts with the syringe you are using.  It is also very advantageous to dissolve the drug in the liquid if possible.  I've never researched this for Seroquel.

 

It's moderately solluble in water. But I have heared that is not really important, that if you shake hard enough it will be distributed over the liquid. But is 17 mgs in 170 ml a good idea?

 

3.29mg/ml sounds encouraging.  100ml would hold up to 329mg.  What is your dose?  What are the pill sizes?

[[Co...]]

Hi everyone. It's not a benzo anymore but I would like to do a micro taper off my seroquel. It's giving me lot's of problems.

I read about the 1:1 but could I do a 1:10? Because my syringe only goes to a ml. I know there's a lot already told on the thread but I'm way to brain fogged to read everything (it's a long thread)

Hope someone can help me out.

I saw a clip where you shake a jar really hard and then take out the liquid you don't take. So it is evenly dispersed through out the liquid.

  Seroquel solubility in water is 3.29mg/ml.

 

 

 

We can help with liquid tapering in a general way for Seroquel, but really for a drug like that you need to go to survivingantidepressants.org...they handle APs over there.  You need to dilute enough so that you can make accurate cuts with the syringe you are using.  It is also very advantageous to dissolve the drug in the liquid if possible.  I've never researched this for Seroquel.

 

It's moderately solluble in water. But I have heared that is not really important, that if you shake hard enough it will be distributed over the liquid. But is 17 mgs in 170 ml a good idea?

 

3.29mg/ml sounds encouraging.  100ml would hold up to 329mg.  What is your dose?  What are the pill sizes?

 

17 mgs in capsules (it's powder inside) It is compounded already. So I can just open them

[[...]]

So it looks like your current dose is 17mg?  If you set an initial goal of 7.5% for the first month that would be a 1.275mg reduction over 30 days, which would mean .042mg per day.  Make it .04mg.  17mg into 170ml liquid is a good choice.  If you did this, a .04mg cut would be .4ml a day.  But again, I am not familiar with this drug so best to run it by the people on SA.

[[Fr...]]

Just wanted to check in with a question. .4ml/day out of 150ml will lead me to an 8%ish monthly cut ?

 

I know SG57 wrote the equation to figure it out down for me somewhere I had posted but I can't seem to find it. Also interested in how many mg .4ml is in a solution of 1.5mg/150ml.

 

Also wondering about next month already. . . It's only been three days cutting a minute amount. . . 1.2ml today. . . So obviously I feel normal.

 

With a daily taper, do you just wake up one day with symptoms if you get them? Or is it a more gradually process? I'm worried about it "catching up" to me at a bad time I.E. an exam date or something. 

[[my...]]

Mana here,

 

Yes!  I know your vote  and thanks again. I'm going to write down the hold pattern for .5mg and work from there, calculating less holds if I start on 1/29 and more if I begin later. 

 

This is super helpful.   

 

[[...]]

Just wanted to check in with a question. .4ml/day out of 150ml will lead me to an 8%ish monthly cut ?

 

I know SG57 wrote the equation to figure it out down for me somewhere I had posted but I can't seem to find it. Also interested in how many mg .4ml is in a solution of 1.5mg/150ml.

 

Also wondering about next month already. . . It's only been three days cutting a minute amount. . . 1.2ml today. . . So obviously I feel normal.

 

With a daily taper, do you just wake up one day with symptoms if you get them? Or is it a more gradually process? I'm worried about it "catching up" to me at a bad time I.E. an exam date or something.

 

You'll feel the symptoms coming on...it won't be sudden and severe.  There will likely be some early warning symptoms that you will learn to recognize with experience.  I'm glad you feel normal.  The aim is to remain that way.

 

On your dose, yes, if your entire dose is in the 150ml then .4ml would be 8% in the first month (.4ml x 30 = 12ml; 12ml/150ml=.08=8%).

[[Fr...]]

Just wanted to check in with a question. .4ml/day out of 150ml will lead me to an 8%ish monthly cut ?

 

I know SG57 wrote the equation to figure it out down for me somewhere I had posted but I can't seem to find it. Also interested in how many mg .4ml is in a solution of 1.5mg/150ml.

 

Also wondering about next month already. . . It's only been three days cutting a minute amount. . . 1.2ml today. . . So obviously I feel normal.

 

With a daily taper, do you just wake up one day with symptoms if you get them? Or is it a more gradually process? I'm worried about it "catching up" to me at a bad time I.E. an exam date or something.

 

You'll feel the symptoms coming on...it won't be sudden and severe.  There will likely be some early warning symptoms that you will learn to recognize with experience.  I'm glad you feel normal.  The aim is to remain that way.

 

On your dose, yes, if your entire dose is in the 150ml then .4ml would be 8% in the first month (.4ml x 30 = 12ml; 12ml/150ml=.08=8%).

 

Thank you SG! If I recognize the symptoms coming on what is the best course of action? Return to a dose prior to symptoms and or just wait em out? Is it acceptable to go back a few days if holding doesn't work? Sorry for all of the questions but I am very new to this and I want to be prepared if I run into trouble.

[[...]]

You'll feel the symptoms coming on...it won't be sudden and severe.  There will likely be some early warning symptoms that you will learn to recognize with experience.  I'm glad you feel normal.  The aim is to remain that way.

 

On your dose, yes, if your entire dose is in the 150ml then .4ml would be 8% in the first month (.4ml x 30 = 12ml; 12ml/150ml=.08=8%).

 

Thank you SG! If I recognize the symptoms coming on what is the best course of action? Return to a dose prior to symptoms and or just wait em out? Is it acceptable to go back a few days if holding doesn't work? Sorry for all of the questions but I am very new to this and I want to be prepared if I run into trouble.

 

Holding is the first line of defense...that should do it in most cases, but really it is kind of an art to know what is best for you.  Another approach is to go back to the last dose you felt good on and wait, but I tend to be reluctant to backtrack as it does not always work, so I reserve this for stronger symptoms.  It is subjective and a judgment that you will learn to make as you gain experience.

[[Fi...]]

SG - I just spoke with my pharmacy, and they use a syrup called Ora sweet to dilute my K.  I will talk to the compounding guru pharmacist tomorrow about THEM diluting my current solution, as the pharmacist I spoke with today said they could likely manage that, rather than me messing around with it.  This would be wonderful in going forward, as I would like to start cutting daily again, and see if I can manage bigger cuts down the road. 

 

My grateful thanks again.  Finnie

 

Well there you go, they are suspending it with Ora Sweet.  It should be simple matter for them to just add more.  You can buy Ora Sweet and Ora Plus yourself if you wanted to do it yourself.

 

Okay, it's no problem for me to dilute my compounded K with either Ora Sweet, or as Builder suggested, with water.  I checked in with my pharmacist today and she feels that me doing it myself with either the syrup or water would be fine in small batches, more efficient in some ways than them diluting it.  I'm still left confused with how to measure out doses accurately to dose twice a day, as I'm going to be left with odd numbers that fall inbetween the 5 lines on the 1ml syringe, which has always been my concern. The pharmacist mentioned some type of syringe that dispenses in drops, but I didn't have a chance to drop in and discuss further with her.  What am I missing here??!

 

Thank you.  Finnie 

[[...]]

Okay, it's no problem for me to dilute my compounded K with either Ora Sweet, or as Builder suggested, with water.  I checked in with my pharmacist today and she feels that me doing it myself with either the syrup or water would be fine in small batches, more efficient in some ways than them diluting it.  I'm still left confused with how to measure out doses accurately to dose twice a day, as I'm going to be left with odd numbers that fall inbetween the 5 lines on the 1ml syringe, which has always been my concern. The pharmacist mentioned some type of syringe that dispenses in drops, but I didn't have a chance to drop in and discuss further with her.  What am I missing here??!

 

Thank you.  Finnie

 

If my memory is correct I think there are 20 "drops" to 1ml.  This would make the drops equal to .05ml.  IDK, it is up to you.  I've never worked with drops, but I would guess they are repeatable and accurate enough.  Personally, I would feel better using a syringe and seeing the plunger and tick marks.  Once you have control of dilution you can always adjust the strength to make the syringe measurement work out to anything you want.  If you are not comfortable with in-between tick marks, adjust the strength so you never have to use them.

[[an...]]

Okay, it's no problem for me to dilute my compounded K with either Ora Sweet, or as Builder suggested, with water.  I checked in with my pharmacist today and she feels that me doing it myself with either the syrup or water would be fine in small batches, more efficient in some ways than them diluting it.  I'm still left confused with how to measure out doses accurately to dose twice a day, as I'm going to be left with odd numbers that fall inbetween the 5 lines on the 1ml syringe, which has always been my concern. The pharmacist mentioned some type of syringe that dispenses in drops, but I didn't have a chance to drop in and discuss further with her.  What am I missing here??!

 

Thank you.  Finnie

 

If my memory is correct I think there are 20 "drops" to 1ml.  This would make the drops equal to .05ml.  IDK, it is up to you.  I've never worked with drops, but I would guess they are repeatable and accurate enough.  Personally, I would feel better using a syringe and seeing the plunger and tick marks.  Once you have control of dilution you can always adjust the strength to make the syringe measurement work out to anything you want.  If you are not comfortable with in-between tick marks, adjust the strength so you never have to use them.

 

Yes, that is correct.  20 drops = 1 mL  as long as you are consistent with the drop size.  If you have a scale, you can check. Put a container on the scale and then zero the scale.  Add 20 drops of water, and it should weigh 1 gram. Add another 20 drops and you should have 2 g and so on.  Each mL of water should weigh about 1 gram.

 

Anne

[[ga...]]

  Seroquel solubility in water is 3.29mg/ml.

 

Thanks! Just made note of that since I take it most nights for sleep right now.

[[an...]]

  Seroquel solubility in water is 3.29mg/ml.

 

Thanks! Just made note of that since I take it most nights for sleep right now.

 

Hi Gardner,

 

How are you doing since the crossover?  I hope you are feeling much better.  It must be a relief not to be dosing 6 times daily.  Our semester started last week so I have been very busy. I am hoping things will settle down soon.

 

I think of you often. 

 

Anne ((HUGS))

[[Fi...]]

Okay, it's no problem for me to dilute my compounded K with either Ora Sweet, or as Builder suggested, with water.  I checked in with my pharmacist today and she feels that me doing it myself with either the syrup or water would be fine in small batches, more efficient in some ways than them diluting it.  I'm still left confused with how to measure out doses accurately to dose twice a day, as I'm going to be left with odd numbers that fall inbetween the 5 lines on the 1ml syringe, which has always been my concern. The pharmacist mentioned some type of syringe that dispenses in drops, but I didn't have a chance to drop in and discuss further with her.  What am I missing here??!

 

Thank you.  Finnie

 

If my memory is correct I think there are 20 "drops" to 1ml.  This would make the drops equal to .05ml.  IDK, it is up to you.  I've never worked with drops, but I would guess they are repeatable and accurate enough.  Personally, I would feel better using a syringe and seeing the plunger and tick marks.  Once you have control of dilution you can always adjust the strength to make the syringe measurement work out to anything you want.  If you are not comfortable with in-between tick marks, adjust the strength so you never have to use them.

 

This is where I do the post of shame... I don't know how to dilute in order to make the strength work out to whatever I want, and thus avoid in-between tick marks...  Oh boy, I feel lost here...

 

So, using my currently dose as an example - 0.5mg pill and 3.05ml of liquid.  So, dosing twice a day would be half the pill (0.25mg) and half the liquid (1.5ml +0.25ml).  If I measure out 3.05ml of the liquid for the day and dilute it with ?? Amount of Syrup or water... And then I'm lost.  I'm thinking I need to dilute 1:1 ratio, which then doesn't make sense to me about how I adjust the strength.  Yup, I'm confused..... 

 

Although I would like to bake you a cake,or something else to show my immense appreciation, another thank you will have to suffice... Thank you.  Finnie

 

Or, Plan B would be not having equal doses in the am and pm, and then I wouldn't have to dilute.  My husband has a Plan C, going cold turkey 

 

 

[[ga...]]

You'll feel the symptoms coming on...it won't be sudden and severe.  There will likely be some early warning symptoms that you will learn to recognize with experience.  I'm glad you feel normal.  The aim is to remain that way.

 

On your dose, yes, if your entire dose is in the 150ml then .4ml would be 8% in the first month (.4ml x 30 = 12ml; 12ml/150ml=.08=8%).

 

Thank you SG! If I recognize the symptoms coming on what is the best course of action? Return to a dose prior to symptoms and or just wait em out? Is it acceptable to go back a few days if holding doesn't work? Sorry for all of the questions but I am very new to this and I want to be prepared if I run into trouble.

 

Holding is the first line of defense...that should do it in most cases, but really it is kind of an art to know what is best for you.  Another approach is to go back to the last dose you felt good on and wait, but I tend to be reluctant to backtrack as it does not always work, so I reserve this for stronger symptoms.  It is subjective and a judgment that you will learn to make as you gain experience.

 

:thumbsup:

 

I only backed up once, back in May, and then only a tiny bit (enough to keep me out of a psych ward, symptoms were incapacitating) and then just held a long time and waited it out. That was when I was making stupidly large cuts. Cuts my doctor told me were safe but obviously weren't. Have been getting advice from this thread since then and haven't had to back up since. Have done some holding, some slowing down, some careful speeding up, finally a complete crossover to Librium, but never went backwards again. Now that I am making only gradual changes, I don't think I will have to go backwards again. (Knocking wood.) Gradual is the key.

[[...]]

If my memory is correct I think there are 20 "drops" to 1ml.  This would make the drops equal to .05ml.  IDK, it is up to you.  I've never worked with drops, but I would guess they are repeatable and accurate enough.  Personally, I would feel better using a syringe and seeing the plunger and tick marks.  Once you have control of dilution you can always adjust the strength to make the syringe measurement work out to anything you want.  If you are not comfortable with in-between tick marks, adjust the strength so you never have to use them.

 

This is where I do the post of shame... I don't know how to dilute in order to make the strength work out to whatever I want, and thus avoid in-between tick marks...  Oh boy, I feel lost here...

 

So, using my currently dose as an example - 0.5mg pill and 3.05ml of liquid.  So, dosing twice a day would be half the pill (0.25mg) and half the liquid (1.5ml +0.25ml).  If I measure out 3.05ml of the liquid for the day and dilute it with ?? Amount of Syrup or water... And then I'm lost.  I'm thinking I need to dilute 1:1 ratio, which then doesn't make sense to me about how I adjust the strength.  Yup, I'm confused..... 

 

Although I would like to bake you a cake,or something else to show my immense appreciation, another thank you will have to suffice... Thank you.  Finnie

 

Or, Plan B would be not having equal doses in the am and pm, and then I wouldn't have to dilute.  My husband has a Plan C, going cold turkey 

 

Don't worry about it, we can figure it out.  What is your liquid strength?  And what is your current dose?  Your daily dose is a .5mg pill+3.05ml liquid?

 

[[Fi...]]

If my memory is correct I think there are 20 "drops" to 1ml.  This would make the drops equal to .05ml.  IDK, it is up to you.  I've never worked with drops, but I would guess they are repeatable and accurate enough.  Personally, I would feel better using a syringe and seeing the plunger and tick marks.  Once you have control of dilution you can always adjust the strength to make the syringe measurement work out to anything you want.  If you are not comfortable with in-between tick marks, adjust the strength so you never have to use them.

 

This is where I do the post of shame... I don't know how to dilute in order to make the strength work out to whatever I want, and thus avoid in-between tick marks...  Oh boy, I feel lost here...

 

So, using my currently dose as an example - 0.5mg pill and 3.05ml of liquid.  So, dosing twice a day would be half the pill (0.25mg) and half the liquid (1.5ml +0.25ml).  If I measure out 3.05ml of the liquid for the day and dilute it with ?? Amount of Syrup or water... And then I'm lost.  I'm thinking I need to dilute 1:1 ratio, which then doesn't make sense to me about how I adjust the strength.  Yup, I'm confused..... 

 

Although I would like to bake you a cake,or something else to show my immense appreciation, another thank you will have to suffice... Thank you.  Finnie

 

Or, Plan B would be not having equal doses in the am and pm, and then I wouldn't have to dilute.  My husband has a Plan C, going cold turkey 

 

Don't worry about it, we can figure it out.  What is your liquid strength?  And what is your current dose?  Your daily dose is a .5mg pill+3.05ml liquid?

 

Liquid strength is 1mg = 1 ml.  Yes, my current daily dose is .5mg pill + 3.05ml liquid.  I am doing a c/h/h, so, this will be my daily dose for 2 more days. 

 

F.

[[ga...]]

  Seroquel solubility in water is 3.29mg/ml.

 

Thanks! Just made note of that since I take it most nights for sleep right now.

 

Hi Gardner,

 

How are you doing since the crossover?  I hope you are feeling much better.  It must be a relief not to be dosing 6 times daily.  Our semester started last week so I have been very busy. I am hoping things will settle down soon.

 

I think of you often. 

 

Anne ((HUGS))

 

Hi Anne! It's so good to hear from you. I think of you, too. Both my kids started their semesters today, so my guess is you've started, too. I'm glad you found time to come onto the thread. You always have such helpful things to add. How are you feeling these days? Better, I hope.

 

When I finished my cross, my brain found the L to be tiring and depressing and it also really wanted its X back. Those intense symptoms of my brain demanding the X and not getting it lasted several weeks, but are settling down now. Quite a relief.

 

I'm glad I crossed and I'm glad the worst of it seems to be behind me. I only dose twice a day now! I've picked up the pace of my taper a bit. I'd really like to be able to do 20%/month. Life's stressors seem to be magnified but my anxiety levels are not horrible, so I think my pace is OK. If the waves get worse, I'll slow back down again, but I am really looking forward to getting lower on the L. I felt better on it when I was below 30mg. I'm hopeful that I will have more windows when I get down below that again. That's my plan!

 

Hope you are having lots of windows and the semester is going well for you!

 

Gard

 

 

[[...]]

Don't worry about it, we can figure it out.  What is your liquid strength?  And what is your current dose?  Your daily dose is a .5mg pill+3.05ml liquid?

 

Liquid strength is 1mg = 1 ml.  Yes, my current daily dose is .5mg pill + 3.05ml liquid.  I am doing a c/h/h, so, this will be my daily dose for 2 more days. 

 

F.

 

Looking at your sig I'm guessing your dose is .805mg... .5mg in pill and .305mg liquid.  So this would make your strength 1ml=.1mg and 5 ticks on the 1ml syringe would be .005mg K.  And you cut this every three days so you're moving at .0017mg a day and 6.2% a month.  Very gentle.

 

That strength is kind of high and hard to work with.  Diluting it 10x to make it .01mg/ml would make things easier.  Each .05ml would become .0005mg and you'd be free to make the daily cut you want and not have to deal with the in-between tick marks.  This will use a lot of Ora Sweet, even with 50% water dilution.  Another option would be to dilute 5x to .02mg/ml to save on Ora Sweet.  This would make each .05ml=.001mg, which still accomplishes the goal, although you'd lose the simple math.

 

How to do this - To dilute 10ml worth of OS .1mg/ml pharmacy liquid to 50ml .02mg/ml add another 15ml OS and 25ml water.

[[St...]]

I am doing dry cut and hold and taking away .01 a week, tapering Ativan...I still have pretty strong symptoms...I don't want to crossover to another benzo, and I am wondering if a daily taper would help....I would like to stick with dry cutting and not LT because of the adjustment to liquid...would this help do you think?  I am now at .73.  Just need some opinions on this....I will continue on the .01 cut if a daily taper won't be of much help....thanks for your opinions.....Stella