Daily Micro-Tapering Support Group

[[Di...]]

Strong,  Yes its actually prescribed as Lorazepam Intensol.  You can use it as a daily liquid micro taper or titration.

[[he...]]

Hey RodgerThat, what brand of clonazepam are you using to taper?

[Guest [Ro...]]

Hey RodgerThat, what brand of clonazepam are you using to taper?

 

Hereforhelp, I do not know the brand, sorry.  It's an orange .5 pill that is generic I'm guessing. 

[[he...]]

Does it have a 1 and a 2 on either side of the score line?

[[Li...]]

Perhaps this will help …

 

Pill Identification Wizard from Drugs.com

https://www.drugs.com/imprints.php

 

Scroll down the page to search by drug name or NDC (National Drug Code).

 

For example, here is the link to the image and info about the tablets hereforhelp referenced:

 

1 2 Pill (Orange/Round/8mm) - Pill Identifier - Drugs.com

https://www.drugs.com/imprints/1-2-17682.html

[[he...]]

Exactly. That's the Accord tablet. Thanks, Libertas, for the visual. Just wondering if we're tapering the same tablet, because I've been plagued by thoughts of not getting accurate dosing by filing and weighing these tablets.

[Guest [Ro...]]

Does it have a 1 and a 2 on either side of the score line?

 

Yes, it has a 1 and a 2 on either side.  It crushes very easily into complete powder and the mix material is white so you can see the orange drug throughout when mixed.  A couple of things that I do to more evenly distribute the drug are: 1) After combining the filler material with the K I stir it with the small tool that Bob7 recommends for at least an hour.  I just do it while watching TV and it makes a month supply so it's worth the time IMO.  Counting on the power of osmosis.  2) I fill a 30-day supply immediately and stir regularly between filling capsules.  I randomize the days that I fill so that it can be more accurate than sequential.  Bob7 mentions this in his videos and makes sense to me.

 

The switch to the filled capsules from the dry taper was easy for me so I'm guessing that it's fairly accurate. 

[[he...]]

Well, that makes me feel better about my tablets. You were able to file and weigh them without crushing until .044 mg of clonazepam without big issues? That's great. Did you ever adjust for the variance in pill weight? I try to pair tablets for my morning and night doses so they average out to match the average of the multiple tablets weighed that I based my taper rate on. I get concerned when I get one that's heavy or light that it's going to throw things off, especially if I have multiple ones for the same day or two.

 

I'm glad it's working for you.

[Guest [Ro...]]

Well, that makes me feel better about my tablets. You were able to file and weigh them without crushing until .044 mg of clonazepam without big issues? That's great. Did you ever adjust for the variance in pill weight?

 

Hereforhelp, yes I was able to dry cut with a file until .044 and it was reasonably accurate.  I did not adjust for variance in pill weight.  I am aware that it may not be 100% accurate but it's accurate enough to do the job.  If I had it to do over I would do the filling of capsules below .1 because I believe it's not only easier/faster but I think more accurate. 

[[he...]]

My Accord tablets can weigh anywhere between 165 and 174 mg, but I had one that weighed 181.0 mg. That kind of variance is troublesome to me. I typically use the ones between 168 and 172 and try to pair them between morning and evening doses so I average about 169.5. I really want to try crushing tablets. Do you use a mortar and pestle or a bowl and spoon? The one I was linked to on Amazon has some bad reviews for being un-cleanable and for leaving lots of tablet in the mortar. I just don't know if my body will treat the powder inside a capsule differently than the piece or pieces of tablet, but I need to try and see. I believe it will be more accurate and so much faster as well. The speed would be awesome. It takes me most of an hour to do about four doses right now. That's too long.

[Guest [Ro...]]

Do you use a mortar and pestle or a bowl and spoon? The one I was linked to on Amazon has some bad reviews for being un-cleanable and for leaving lots of tablet in the mortar. I just don't know if my body will treat the powder inside a capsule differently than the piece or pieces of tablet, but I need to try and see. I believe it will be more accurate and so much faster as well. The speed would be awesome. It takes me most of an hour to do about four doses right now. That's too long.

 

I use a small glass bowl and a spoon.  It crushes completely and easily and there's no need for a mortar and pestle.  The efficiency is amazing and I love not having to deal with the weighing every day. It's a game changer! 

[[he...]]

That's great. How do you get the powder out of the bowl and into a container cleanly? Do you use a pill bottle to store the powder or some other air-tight container?

[[je...]]

You just crush enough pills for the batch you're making so there's no need to store the powder. I only made pills in 2 weeks batches in case I needed to hold or reduce my taper rate.

 

So once you crush it and add the  cellulose you just transfer it to the capsules. You make all the capsules at once.

[Guest [Ro...]]

That's great. How do you get the powder out of the bowl and into a container cleanly?

 

I use the tool that Bob7 recommended.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V4BSVNY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Bob7 has videos on his webpage and the link is in my signature. He walks you through his process and I followed it exactly.  His spreadsheet is invaluable!

 

[[...]]

Do you use a mortar and pestle or a bowl and spoon? The one I was linked to on Amazon has some bad reviews for being un-cleanable and for leaving lots of tablet in the mortar. I just don't know if my body will treat the powder inside a capsule differently than the piece or pieces of tablet, but I need to try and see. I believe it will be more accurate and so much faster as well. The speed would be awesome. It takes me most of an hour to do about four doses right now. That's too long.

 

I use a small glass bowl and a spoon.  It crushes completely and easily and there's no need for a mortar and pestle.  The efficiency is amazing and I love not having to deal with the weighing every day. It's a game changer!

Roger,

You hit on the biggest benefit of gel capsules.  Making a large batch so you don't have to deal with weighing every day!

[[he...]]

If this will work for me, it would be a game changer. I've been considering doing Bob's method for awhile now but have been scared to change anything. Now I'm starting to get more symptoms and wonder if this would help at all. As long as it metabolizes at the same rate and timing, I should be fine.

 

Thanks everyone!

[[wh...]]

Help please with Zoplidem (Ambien) taper and symptoms.

 

From Jan 2021 I tapered to half a pill 5mg, did that for 6 months, then september 2021 halfed that to 2.5mg.

 

three weeks ago I halfed it again to aprox 1.25 mg. the last week I have halfed again to what could be described as crumbs.

 

Feeling very ill, nausea, lightheaded and very dizzy when I turn my head from one side to the other when lying down.

 

Is there anything I can do to help these symptoms. I am about to stop the Z drug and need help.

 

Many thanks.

[[...]]

whitebeach,

 

You are almost at the finish line.  Do not give up.  You have good reason to hope.  So many have gone before you.  Read the success stories online.

 

Trust in the gift of time.  In time, this will pass.  Once your reach zero, you may still feel symptoms for a while but as each month passes, you will be better and better.

 

For now, try to eliminate all external stress.  Stress creates anxiety and anxiety feeds the symptoms.

 

Also, make a list of short goals to accomplish.  Each day, finish one and then feel the blessings of accomplishment. 

 

Also, getting a therapist can be very useful to improve your sleep with cognitive behavioral therapy and other tools.  You must find non-drug ways to cope now that you don't have the drug. 

 

Are you sleeping reasonably?

[[wh...]]

whitebeach,

 

You are almost at the finish line.  Do not give up.  You have good reason to hope.  So many have gone before you.  Read the success stories online.

 

Trust in the gift of time.  In time, this will pass.  Once your reach zero, you may still feel symptoms for a while but as each month passes, you will be better and better.

 

For now, try to eliminate all external stress.  Stress creates anxiety and anxiety feeds the symptoms.

 

Also, make a list of short goals to accomplish.  Each day, finish one and then feel the blessings of accomplishment. 

 

Also, getting a therapist can be very useful to improve your sleep with cognitive behavioral therapy and other tools.  You must find non-drug ways to cope now that you don't have the drug. 

 

Are you sleeping reasonably?

 

Hi Bob,

 

Thanks for your support. It is hell right now. The dizziness is the worst ever. I am sleeping 4-5 hours but feel awful on waking.

[[...]]

Here are my "helps" for sleep.

Sleep: Magnesium Taurate|Meditation|Aspirin

Sleep Emergencies: Benadryl|Muscle Relaxant|Advil|Unisom|Rarely Lunesta

 

However, as long as you are in benzo tapering and even for a time after you taper, sleep will be hard.

I am going to try an SSRI to combat my generalize anxiety and mild depression to see if it helps with sleep.

[[he...]]

RodgerThat, which gel capsules did you order, and are you reasonably happy with them? I've read the quality of some of the brands have wavered over the years. Thank you.

[Guest [Ro...]]

So, I ordered the smaller ones because I figured my dose is so low.  I think Bob7 lists the larger size on his website.  The smaller size worked for me but if I was at a larger dose I'd definitely need to size up.  Check out his website for the size he recommends. 

 

These capsules are great.  No complaints at all as they are easy to fill and snap closed.  I'd definitely buy them again if I needed to.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I5TPVXI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[[he...]]

Thank you, RodgerThat. Is your spatula the spoon style or the V-spoon style? The link was for the V-spoon, but I wasn't sure if that was best. So is yours round or V-shaped on the end? Thanks again! The one Bob recommends is out of stock, which is probably why you had to find a different one.

[Guest [Ro...]]

Thank you, RodgerThat. Is your spatula the spoon style or the V-spoon style? The link was for the V-spoon, but I wasn't sure if that was best. So is yours round or V-shaped on the end? Thanks again! The one Bob recommends is out of stock, which is probably why you had to find a different one.

 

Yes, I bought the V-spoon that I linked.  It works really, really well so measuring small amounts.  Highly recommend.

[[he...]]

That's helpful. Since I'm not doing filler yet, I think I can get away with the 00 size. We shall see. Thank you for all your help RodgerThat and Bob7! I'm hopeful this will work for me since it's still a dry taper method. I have a bad taste in my mouth after trying the two liquids I tried, literally.