Daily Micro-Tapering Support Group

[[bu...]]

I would mix 1mg ativan to 2ml PG.  Then you can add 8ml water, and your solution will be .1mg in 1ml.

[[sh...]]

Hey guys and gals!

 

I was talking with my friend justadad who I met here on benzobuddies and realized how long it's been since I've been here.  I also got a PM from someone needing help with titration which was a sign I needed to stop by! 

 

I am still completely benzo free and doing well!  How have you guys been?  See some of the same crew is still around keeping my thread going strong.

 

Stay strong!

Sharkey

[[ga...]]

Hey guys and gals!

 

I was talking with my friend justadad who I met here on benzobuddies and realized how long it's been since I've been here.  I also got a PM from someone needing help with titration which was a sign I needed to stop by! 

 

I am still completely benzo free and doing well!  How have you guys been?  See some of the same crew is still around keeping my thread going strong.

 

Stay strong!

Sharkey

 

OMG. SHARKEY!!!! :smitten:

 

OK, now that I have recovered. We have missed you! Been thinking that being a husband and daddy swept you away from us, which is good thing. A good thing to be benzo-free and have a real life. So happy for you!  :thumbsup:

 

Gard

[[sh...]]

Hey guys and gals!

 

I was talking with my friend justadad who I met here on benzobuddies and realized how long it's been since I've been here.  I also got a PM from someone needing help with titration which was a sign I needed to stop by! 

 

I am still completely benzo free and doing well!  How have you guys been?  See some of the same crew is still around keeping my thread going strong.

 

Stay strong!

Sharkey

 

OMG. SHARKEY!!!! :smitten:

 

OK, now that I have recovered. We have missed you! Been thinking that being a husband and daddy swept you away from us, which is good thing. A good thing to be benzo-free and have a real life. So happy for you!  :thumbsup:

 

Gard

 

heya Gard 

 

Yes, you are correct.  My little family has kept me very busy.  Can you believe my oldest is 3 already and my youngest is 1 and a half.  Man time flys. 

 

How have you been?  where you at on your taper now?

 

Stay strong!

sharkey

[[ga...]]

Hey guys and gals!

 

I was talking with my friend justadad who I met here on benzobuddies and realized how long it's been since I've been here.  I also got a PM from someone needing help with titration which was a sign I needed to stop by! 

 

I am still completely benzo free and doing well!  How have you guys been?  See some of the same crew is still around keeping my thread going strong.

 

Stay strong!

Sharkey

 

OMG. SHARKEY!!!! :smitten:

 

OK, now that I have recovered. We have missed you! Been thinking that being a husband and daddy swept you away from us, which is good thing. A good thing to be benzo-free and have a real life. So happy for you!  :thumbsup:

 

Gard

 

heya Gard 

 

Yes, you are correct.  My little family has kept me very busy.  Can you believe my oldest is 3 already and my youngest is 1 and a half.  Man time flys. 

 

How have you been?  where you at on your taper now?

 

Stay strong!

sharkey

 

Wow, time does fly. I crossed to Librium and have been holding for over 6 months. Symptoms were unbearable and life was just too messy to keep tapering. Check out the "new" Long Hold support group. Valley is our guru. Anne is over there a lot, too. I did a short attempt at reducing my Seroquel in September which brought all my symptoms back. Back-stepped a little on the Q. Then just started dissolving my Librium capsules recently. Holy mackerel. You'd think I'd cut a whole capsule. Just backstepped on the Q again. Gotta knock this neuropathy down to tolerable.

 

Librium is a nuisance. Anne (and others) have been working with me a lot on the chemical aspects of how to reduce things like Q and L that are not stable as liquids. Now I'm holding and praying the symptoms settle down again so I can start reducing. Well, I did make one, yes one, MT cut a whole week ago just to prove I could do it. But think I need to hold another week. Weird thing is that I was reducing the L earlier this year and don't remember dissolving being this bad. Go figure. Probably just my benzo brain doesn't remember!

 

Builder and SG are still our backbone. Don't know if you noticed that SG just suffered a horrible bout with kidney stones that they made him wait forever to get rid of. Horrible! But he has tried to continue to come on and help as he is able.

 

Anne is busy with school but sometimes is on. She has slowed her taper way down because her symptoms ramped up so bad. Sad to see someone who was doing so well crash like that. But the holds she incorporates are keeping her functioning. I just messaged her that you showed up so maybe she will stop by. I don't know how she manages to keep teaching and helping on BB with her symptoms flaring up as much as they do.

 

Hope your family is all doing well. You sure do have your hands full. Busy, busy years, but wonderful years. I think of you often. Can't help it. I have the MT start page bookmarked so that's were I always enter BB. And you know whose picture is at the top of the page!

 

Gard

 

[[an...]]

Hey guys and gals!

 

I was talking with my friend justadad who I met here on benzobuddies and realized how long it's been since I've been here.  I also got a PM from someone needing help with titration which was a sign I needed to stop by! 

 

I am still completely benzo free and doing well!  How have you guys been?  See some of the same crew is still around keeping my thread going strong.

 

Stay strong!

Sharkey

 

Hi Sharkey,

 

It is wonderful to hear from you!!  I am so happy to hear you are doing well.  I often think of you and wondered how you were doing.  I assumed that you were doing well and living your life.  Time flies by. 

 

I am still tapering.  I thought I would be finished by now, but the last year has been rough.  I managed to get down to 0.168 mg/day, but symptoms got very bad back in May/June so I up dosed to about 0.216 mg and then held for a few months.  I started cutting again in late August, but I cannot go as fast as I did in the beginning.  I have only cut about 13% since then, but I got hit yet again with symptoms. Mainly BP spikes, off balance, shaky, etc.  I am again holding.  At this rate it will take me another year or two to get off this last little bit of 0.188 mg.  The longer holds do help, and I need to work so I have no choice but to go slow.

 

I hope your family is doing well.  Your little one must be about a year old now.  Again, I am so happy that you are off the benzo.

 

Take good care.  Please pop in now and again.  We are all thankful that you started this thread.  It is one of the top threads on BB.  Thanks to SG and Builder, it is still going strong.

 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

 

Anne 

[[sh...]]

Anne!

 

You are doing great girl!  .2 is awesome.  Keep on trucking along.  Speed not that important, just keep going down :-)

 

My youngest is half way to 2 already.  I have been off benzos for about a year and a half now and when I look back to how I felt then and how I feel now, the difference is unbelievable.  All you BBers out there still tapering, keep it up!  It is worth it for sure.

 

Stay strong!

sharkey

[[Ul...]]

Main issue was making sure I was converting .92 MG properly into GRAMS on the gram scale

I now divide my 3 doses into GRAMS.....each dose equaling between 103 and 104 GRAMS.. Total for the day being 312 G

 

 

NO, NO, NO! 

 

1 gram =1000 milligrams  so..

 

103 grams would be 103,000 milligrams.

 

Your pills weigh 170 milligrams, that's .170 grams!

 

2 pill weight 2X .170 grams, or a total of .340 grams.

 

92% (your current dose) is .92 X .340 grams, or .313 grams.

 

.313 grams = 313 milligrams

 

To convert grams to milligrams, multiply X 1000 (move decimal 3 places to the right)

 

To convert milligrams to grams, divide by 1000 (move decimal 3 places to the left)

 

.92 mgs converted on the gram scale for EACH dose ( 3xs a day)  I was told is 0.104 or 0.103 grams?  That would equal 0.313  or 0.312 grams total for the day.... 0.104x3= 0.312 GRAMS for the total amount for the day........

 

That's what I'm concerned about is just converting that .92mgs into grams.... I thought that was right!!!! 

 

I thought I was supposed to convert the .92 mg into grams in order to daily dry micro taper ( right now I'm just getting used to the pills at that dose)

 

Please help.... I'm freaking out!!!!

 

 

Fortunately, you seem to be getting thei actual calculation for your dose/cut correct.  But you continue to misunderstand the relationship between grams and milligrams.  I guess as long as you come up with the right final numbers, it maybe doesn't matter.

 

And I'm not trying to pick on you, but it just seems kinda important to me to understand the relationship between grams and milligrams.

 

One gram is 1000 milligrams.  There is no way you would be taking 100 or 300 grams of tablets, or 91 grams of ativan.  (300 grams is over 1/2 pound!) 

 

But as long as you understand that  when you reduce the weight of the tablet by X%, you are lowering your dose by X%, you will be OK.  Follow bads formula, and you'll be alright.

 

Builder.... I understand and appreciate very much the time taken to do this....very much... I'm just so impaired and ill right now  ..... I need all the extra help I can  get.... My brother does my  doses for me....

 

It was Sg57 who got me this far thats how i got the numbers right....bless him....I just didnt understand the intricacies or details .... I'm slowly starting to in very tiny bits... It will take me time... Lots of time to get used to this modality after doing liquid.....

 

I dread when it comes time for me to try to do reductions what that will be like...

 

I will need all the help, patience and reassurance if you are all willing to give it to me when I do this...

I know its taxing...but I could never do this without all of you.... I'm afraid because I'm in a real bad place.... I've been extremely sick.

 

I thank all of you....

 

Hey Please! Trust my ugly honky butt....if I can do this titration thing, then ANYBODY can. I've been a mess to the max. Try to believe and trust in the process and the people helping you here. It'll work out in time. You'll see!

 

Jeff

[[Ul...]]

Hey guys and gals!

 

I was talking with my friend justadad who I met here on benzobuddies and realized how long it's been since I've been here.  I also got a PM from someone needing help with titration which was a sign I needed to stop by! 

 

I am still completely benzo free and doing well!  How have you guys been?  See some of the same crew is still around keeping my thread going strong.

 

Stay strong!

Sharkey

 

The Shark-Meister!! I was literally thinking of you this weekend while I watched our Tigers blow it against the Gators. I'm glad to hear that you're moving right along with life. Trust me, your kids will be graduating from high school before you can blink. I won't bore you with my taper. Been ugly with lots of life challenges, so very little taper overall. At least I'm not at 6mg/day of K!!

 

Love ya, brother! Geaux have a fantastic holiday season!!!

 

Jeff

[[ga...]]

Ah, memories. Geuax tigers! How long since I've seen you write that, Jeff? We have been at this way too long!

 

"Stay strong."  (More memories; now I'm getting sniffly.)

 

Gard

[[sh...]]

Good to hear from you Jeff!!  Those darn tigers,  they should have ran a boot leg on that last play and let Etling run in that touchdown.  I don't think Coach "O" will get the job after that game. 

 

Stay strong!

Sharkey

[[sh...]]

Ah, memories. Geuax tigers! How long since I've seen you write that, Jeff? We have been at this way too long!

 

"Stay strong."  (More memories; now I'm getting sniffly.)

 

Gard

 

[[...]]

I have a quick question. I have been feeling really bad and I want to enjoy Thanksgiving. I have been playing with the idea of updosing by .25mg for four days and then going back to my current dose. Is that something I could even do or would it through my whole taper out of whack?

 

Thanks 

[[ga...]]

I've heard of 1-day updosing being OK. I think it was called an emergency dose. Maybe somebody else has tried it longer. (And I'd like to know the answer to that, too!)

 

Gard

[Guest [ba...]]

I have a quick question. I have been feeling really bad and I want to enjoy Thanksgiving. I have been playing with the idea of updosing by .25mg for four days and then going back to my current dose. Is that something I could even do or would it through my whole taper out of whack?

 

Thanks 

 

Instead of up-dosing by 0.25 (a lot!), consider just going back up to where you were prior to your most recent cut.  Also, realize that up-dosing will take several days to be fully realized.  So if you were going to up-dose, you'd want to do it now in order to mostly feel it by Thursday.

[[...]]

Thanks Gard and bad,

 

I'll have to think about it. I've only reduced by .0228 as I just started my taper and I was having tolerance withdrawal before I started the taper so I've been feeling miserable for months. The dlmt didn't go as planned and I ended up with horrible symptoms ten days in. I held for five days and then did a two day cut and have been holding for three days now. The sxs have been up and down since. One day I even had a window so I'm not sure what each day is going to bring. I guess everyday is a mystery!!

 

Thanks again 

[[sh...]]

I have a quick question. I have been feeling really bad and I want to enjoy Thanksgiving. I have been playing with the idea of updosing by .25mg for four days and then going back to my current dose. Is that something I could even do or would it through my whole taper out of whack?

 

Thanks 

 

I know you want to feel good for Thanksgiving and I understand, but you could be tapering for a while and you will encounter more situations like this.  I wouldn't be so quick to updose.  For me personally if I make exceptions the next exception comes easier.  This process takes a bit of discipline.  I think you should save those setbacks for times when you really feel like you have to.

 

Stay strong!

sharkey

[[an...]]

I agree with Sharkey.  Last time I entertained,  I thought about an up dose.  Rather than plan it, I knew the day of my dinner party that an up dose was an option.  It turned out that I did not need to take the rescue dose, but knowing that I had the option helped me handle the stress without an uptick in symptoms. Believe me, I would have taken the rescue dose if I needed it, but I didn't.

 

Regards,

Anne

[[ga...]]

I think Anne and Sharkey are on the right track, tntd.

 

K is short-acting. I don't think it would necessarily take days for you to feel a rescue dose (not up-dosing, just one rescue dose). But everybody is different in how fast they metabolize meds, so it's hard to say.

 

Also, you talk about being in tolerance before you made your cut, so would a rescue dose help?

 

I am in the same state of wanting Thanksgiving to be good and yet feeling the extra stress of the holidays so higher symptoms. (Adrenaline does not help benzo w/d!) I am trying to adjust my expectations and I am also holding.

 

Do you have a good deli nearby so you can just buy your meal? Can you plan extra time to rest? Extra time to rest would be a great thing to be thankful for!

 

Hope it goes well for you. And if it's a bad day, there's always next year and many more Thanksgivings to come.....We will all have this behind us someday.

 

Gard

 

 

[[...]]

Gardener, Anne, & Sharkey,

 

I can't thank you all enough for you input and the wisdom of your experiences. I think I will just hold for now. I also was wondering if it would help any due to the tolerance withdrawal, that's why I was going above my original dose, so your reference to that was helpful as well. I really don't want to risk having to have more to taper from a higher dose as this is going to be a really long process as is.

 

You guys are great and I appreciate you being here and keeping me going. 

[[Ul...]]

Ah, memories. Geuax tigers! How long since I've seen you write that, Jeff? We have been at this way too long!

 

"Stay strong."  (More memories; now I'm getting sniffly.)

 

Gard

 

I know, Gard. We need to get off this trashy drug stuff so we can go live a life. Oh....and Happy Thanksgiving to you!!!!

[[Ul...]]

Good to hear from you Jeff!!  Those darn tigers,  they should have ran a boot leg on that last play and let Etling run in that touchdown.  I don't think Coach "O" will get the job after that game. 

 

Stay strong!

Sharkey

 

I agree...I'd say that the "O" now stands for "OUT"!!! Tiger nation needs to bring in a heavy hitter. Maybe Saban

 

Jeff

[[Ul...]]

I have a quick question. I have been feeling really bad and I want to enjoy Thanksgiving. I have been playing with the idea of updosing by .25mg for four days and then going back to my current dose. Is that something I could even do or would it through my whole taper out of whack?

 

Thanks 

 

Instead of up-dosing by 0.25 (a lot!), consider just going back up to where you were prior to your most recent cut.  Also, realize that up-dosing will take several days to be fully realized.  So if you were going to up-dose, you'd want to do it now in order to mostly feel it by Thursday.

 

I agree. A quarter of a mg is one snot of A LOT!! I'd hate to see you jeopardize things with such a large amount, but I'm no nuclear psychiatrist.

 

Make it a great week regardless!!

 

Jeff

[[ga...]]

Ah, memories. Geuax tigers! How long since I've seen you write that, Jeff? We have been at this way too long!

 

"Stay strong."  (More memories; now I'm getting sniffly.)

 

Gard

 

I know, Gard. We need to get off this trashy drug stuff so we can go live a life. Oh....and Happy Thanksgiving to you!!!!

 

And to you, too, Jeff! Thanks! 

[[...]]

I'm trying to decide whether it's necessary to dissolve .5 mg of Ativan in a little PG before adding water to get 120 ml of solution instead of water only. Builder says pg, yahoo benzo group titration schedules only mention water, and I found this article about propylene glycol toxicity in ICU patients who were receiving benzos in PG.  Seems like water should be fine if I'm taking the dose right away and not storing it.  ??  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16162774  How many of you only use water for either Ativan or Valium.  I eventually have to taper Valium, too.