Daily Micro-Tapering Support Group

[[Mo...]]

If you take .007 grams from a 1 mg pill, have you reduced any of the medicine or just filler? I don't know the answer but I am doing a slow taper and I know .003 of a .5 gram pill is only shavings. your answer will be much appreciated.

 

The active ingredient should be evenly distributed throughout your pill.

However , I do think that when you dissolve a whole pill for titration, you have less risk Incase it's not accurate..

[[...]]

If you take .007 grams from a 1 mg pill, have you reduced any of the medicine or just filler? I don't know the answer but I am doing a slow taper and I know .003 of a .5 gram pill is only shavings. your answer will be much appreciated.

 

The active ingredient should be evenly distributed throughout your pill.

However , I do think that when you dissolve a whole pill for titration, you have less risk Incase it's not accurate..

 

I think this is quite true.  Liquifying takes care of the doubt.  Another way to get around the doubt is to crush the pill and mix the dust.  Not as convenient, but will do the job.

[[Cl...]]

JR, yes, you are decreasing your drug by a lot, how much you pill weighs? An average weight of your full pill is needed to help you to calculate your dose.

My pills average weight is 0.1513 mg, I am cutting less than 0.001 grams of pill per day.

SG, I am seeing your post, a Big hug my Friend, I agree, the benzo distribution in the pill is decently homogeneous 

[[jr...]]

My pill weighs .130 grams. I take 3 per day. is .001 per pill per day too much? or should i take .001 off one pill and the 2nd day take .001 from 2 pills and the third day take .001 from 3 pills......etc?

[[We...]]

When I was taking remeron, my pharmacy switched suppliers several times, and each time there was a significant change in efficacy.  I always adapted, but always experienced 7-10 days of discomfort.

 

2 different pharmacists told me this was pretty common for psych drugs, and especially sedative drugs.

 

I found a pharmacy that would special order my preferred brand, and was able to avoid further brand switches.

 

Interesting, Builder. I wonder if my pharmacy would do that. I think I'll ask. thanks for the input

 

hugs

shan

  Many pharmacies have very little control over what brands of generics they use.  Major chains like CVS, Walgreen, etc, can only stock what their corporate purchasing people send them.  Even most local independent pharmacies get their meds through a membership distributor and just take what they get..  And both corporate purchasing and distributors are constanly in the market simply looking for the lowest prices.  They'll switch brands in a heartbeat over a few pennies.

 

A few corporate pharmacies do allow their local stores some limited discretion with brand choices.  My local Harris-Teeter (that's a large grocery chain) pharmacy told me they had a standard brand of remeron that they stocked, but they could special order 2 other brands.  One choice was Teva, so they noted in my files that my scrips for remeron were to be filled with  Teva brand.

 

Call around to area pharmacies and ask what brand they stock, and if they can get other choices.  Most will not let you choosem, but you may find and exception, as I did.

 

OK, thanks. Did they make you pay more for your order?

 

hugs, shannon

[[We...]]

Hello dear buddies,

 

Hope all is well with your tapers.

 

I am only on day 2 of my taper and am having sort of extreme withdrawal symptoms, like jaw and arms and legs stiff, irritability and of course tinnitus.

 

Do you think that I am making my solution incorrectly?

 

I only have a 5ml oral syringe and was wondering can I still make cuts efficiently with it.  When you say on day 1 to cut to 99.5 (the .5 equals 1/2 ml.....right).  Would it be easier if I purchased a 1ml syringe.

 

I realize that probably am one of the "dumb ones."  But I am honestly confused.

 

Thanks,

doodle dog

 

Doodle did hold at full dose? How long?

 

Yes, .5ml is 1/2 a ml and you can use the 5ml syringe.

 

Briefly tell me how you make your solution.

 

Sharkey

 

Hello Sharkey,

 

I held at the full dose for 8 days.

 

I make a 2 day solution with the .5 mg pill dissolved in 2 ml vodka,  then add 198 ml water.

 

I have been working with just the one bottle to draw out my doses.  On Monday measured out 50 ml and removed the .5 ml from my morning dose.  On Tuesday did the same removing 1 ml from my morning dose.  Today I was to remove 1.5 ml so I took 1 ml from morning dose and thought that I would remove the remainder from my night time dose.

 

Perhaps my problem is that I need more containers to work with.....first of all.  And second I should remove the cut from the entire daily amount of 100 ml and divide my 2 doses evenly.

 

Today I had a pretty bad day and probably will not cut the other .5 ml this evening.

 

Or maybe I just need to stay on my full dose in liquids for a few more day before removing anything.

 

Sorry to be such a pain.  Hope I was brief enough.

 

Thanks so much.

doodle dog

 

Yes,  I would definitely suggest holding at full dose for a while longer.

 

Thanks so much for your response Sharkey.  Yes, I will do that for a while.  I was so sick last night that I took my bedtime dose early and then felt much better.

 

I am not too sure how to move forward at this point.  Dry taper?  Switch to valium?

 

Thanks for everything.

doodle dog

 

Hi doodle dog, Sorry you are going through hell   You know Ativan has the same very short half life that Xanax does. I am fairly certain you are experiencing interdose withdrawal. I know I did when dosing just two times a day. You might consider dividing your 24hr total dose into three doses, 8hrs apart and see if that helps before you try cutting more. It made a huge difference for me

 

 

Dear RDB,

 

Thank you kindly for your response.  Guess I am feeling sort of desperate.

 

3 times a day sounds like a good idea.  That should be pretty easy to do with the liquid.

 

Take care,

doodle dog

 

yes doodle,

 

I take Ativan too, and I dose 4 times a day. it really helps. hang in there

 

shan

[[We...]]

Hello dear buddies,

 

Hope all is well with your tapers.

 

I am only on day 2 of my taper and am having sort of extreme withdrawal symptoms, like jaw and arms and legs stiff, irritability and of course tinnitus.

 

Do you think that I am making my solution incorrectly?

 

I only have a 5ml oral syringe and was wondering can I still make cuts efficiently with it.  When you say on day 1 to cut to 99.5 (the .5 equals 1/2 ml.....right).  Would it be easier if I purchased a 1ml syringe.

 

I realize that probably am one of the "dumb ones."  But I am honestly confused.

 

Thanks,

doodle dog

 

Doodle did hold at full dose? How long?

 

Yes, .5ml is 1/2 a ml and you can use the 5ml syringe.

 

Briefly tell me how you make your solution.

 

Sharkey

 

Hello Sharkey,

 

I held at the full dose for 8 days.

 

I make a 2 day solution with the .5 mg pill dissolved in 2 ml vodka,  then add 198 ml water.

 

I have been working with just the one bottle to draw out my doses.  On Monday measured out 50 ml and removed the .5 ml from my morning dose.  On Tuesday did the same removing 1 ml from my morning dose.  Today I was to remove 1.5 ml so I took 1 ml from morning dose and thought that I would remove the remainder from my night time dose.

 

Perhaps my problem is that I need more containers to work with.....first of all.  And second I should remove the cut from the entire daily amount of 100 ml and divide my 2 doses evenly.

 

Today I had a pretty bad day and probably will not cut the other .5 ml this evening.

 

Or maybe I just need to stay on my full dose in liquids for a few more day before removing anything.

 

Sorry to be such a pain.  Hope I was brief enough.

 

Thanks so much.

doodle dog

 

Yes,  I would definitely suggest holding at full dose for a while longer.

 

ditto, doodle dog. (try saying that five times fast) I'd hold your full dose awhile longer until your body gets used to the liquid. hang in there, buddy. You can do this! we are all here for you.

 

hugs,

shannon

 

Hey Shannon,

 

I will do.  Thanks so much.  Guess I feel sort of defeated.  I had no idea to what degree ativan had a hold of my psyche and body.  Very scary.

 

Hope you are doing well.

doodle dog

 

Doodle,

I'm pretty sure we all felt like this when we first started to taper...when we realized how hard it was to do this. I remember when I first decided to get off this, and started to taper and got hit with the worst symptoms, I was FLOORED. I  couldn't believe how hard this was.

 

But I guess I sorta believe in the big-picture-plan kinda thing. I think we are all going thru this so we can help prevent others from even starting this stuff in the future. because of our experiences, we will be able to help countless people. So hang in there, it might be a little bit of time before we are free of these things, but we will get there.

 

hugs, shannon

[[We...]]

I think when I'm ready to taper again, I will try this method. Cut and hold was painful for me.

 

Hi Jenn,

 

welcome. A lot of people have success with less symptoms with this method. When you are ready, it will be nice to see you here.

 

Good luck,

shannon

[[We...]]

Hi. I'm just wondering about my increase in symptoms. I did switch to diluting 4 of my 6 doses of X. All I did to dilute is add water to the alprazolam, which is already diluted in water and I ahd been taking for months. I can't imagine how doing that would be different in any way or increase my symptoms. Yet something is. I'm much more anxious, getting phobic about going out and about, have no appetite again.

 

And, that reminds me, I need to go eat something!

 

Thanks!

 

So Gardener, you haven't tapered any? just diluted with water and took the original dose?

[[We...]]

 

 

 

I think it was more this post that hurt their feelings.  I was trying not to single anyone out by quoting this:

 

You are missing the point. If you want to do small cuts you need to dilute.  If you make a mistake without diluting it will hurt bad.  If you dilute first, you can much more accurately do cuts at whatever rate you want.

 

:thumbsup:

 

Why is this such a difficult concept for many people?

 

It was when I saw the reaction of some people to this post, that I decided to include this comment in my blog.

 

4. Finally, I'd like this to be a safe place for people to share. When you're unsure of a person's intent because you can't see the other person or hear his/her tone of voice, try to assume the best.

 

Truly, it is very hard online to know a person's intent. Body language and facial expression tell us more about a person and the meaning than the actual words do. Emoticons sometimes work and sometimes don't. If you have been on a thread for a long time (such as us old-timers) and have gotten to know the style of the writers, you are less likely to make mistakes about intent and tone. But, there are newbies who jump in without reading the thread (it's getting pretty long), so I can see how we need to be aware of that and keep it in mind.

 

I think the problems between a few of the members that Challis is referencing began as an unfortunate misunderstanding. But then was escalated by direct criticism and attacks by a couple of the offended people who seemed more interested in venting their frustrations and "getting back" at people than solving the misunderstanding. It became obvious that the personality conflict wasn't going to be resolved, and I was glad to see the argument fizzle out.

 

Hopefully we have all learned something from it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didnt see anyine arguing.  I didnt see any of the offended people, myself and one other, attack or criticize anyone, quite the opposite occured in fact, and you just perpetuated it. 

 

I see now why I was warned about this place.  This is a little clique and if one disagrees or dares say hey, that wasnt nice, they are then in turn very subtly yet quite obviously at the same time attacked. 

 

Im sooo glad I am not listening to amy of you people because your giving some bad advice.

 

Are any of you chemists?  Do you realize that VODKA can change the chemical structure of the pills your diluting? 

 

This is my last post here, i hope you all will look into the medical advice youre giving people about mixing alcohol with benzos.  Its not very smart.

 

BarNone,

 

We are all going through hell here, and we are all just trying to survive it. If people call this thread a clique, it is only because we try to keep it positive, because the rest of the board is filled with a lot of horror stories that scare the heck out of is. so we try to stick to microtapering questions and to keep is positive.

 

When people defended Builder's comments, it wasn't to 'attack' you,  it was to actually help you feel better. we wanted you to realize Builder is just a very 'direct' and 'to the point' type of person who has given us ALL direct answers like that at one point or another. We didn't want you to feel offended or take it personally. And Builder himself apologized and let you know it was not his intention.

 

I know people are incredibly sensitive when in tolerance withdrawl and when tapering. I know am, too. So, I try to relax as much as possible, and not take anything personally. We all need community while going through this journey. I hope you can find some community and the right method for yourself and have a successful taper.

 

Good luck!

Shannon

 

 

[[ga...]]

My pill weighs .130 grams. I take 3 per day. is .001 per pill per day too much? or should i take .001 off one pill and the 2nd day take .001 from 2 pills and the third day take .001 from 3 pills......etc?

 

I am not one of the math gurus, but I'll tell my experience, I am taking 1.1ml of a liquid form of Xanax. I tried to reduce by .002ml per day and found that too hard. I was actually pretty symptomatic when I started the micro-cutting. I had been holding for a month and not improving, so decided to just decided to keep going anyway but this time with micro cuts. I don't know if it was so hard because I was still in that old window or if I was going too fast.

 

Now I am diluting by .002 every other day. I'm a bit improved as of last night. If it goes well I may go 2days-1day-2days-1day. Other people have successfully cut much faster than I can.

 

I did read in Xanax Withdrawal that sometimes a person can make a cut that knocks them over and then a few months later make the same cut and be able to tolerate it.

[[sh...]]

Hello dear buddies,

 

Hope all is well with your tapers.

 

I am only on day 2 of my taper and am having sort of extreme withdrawal symptoms, like jaw and arms and legs stiff, irritability and of course tinnitus.

 

Do you think that I am making my solution incorrectly?

 

I only have a 5ml oral syringe and was wondering can I still make cuts efficiently with it.  When you say on day 1 to cut to 99.5 (the .5 equals 1/2 ml.....right).  Would it be easier if I purchased a 1ml syringe.

 

I realize that probably am one of the "dumb ones."  But I am honestly confused.

 

Thanks,

doodle dog

 

Doodle did hold at full dose? How long?

 

Yes, .5ml is 1/2 a ml and you can use the 5ml syringe.

 

Briefly tell me how you make your solution.

 

Sharkey

 

Hello Sharkey,

 

I held at the full dose for 8 days.

 

I make a 2 day solution with the .5 mg pill dissolved in 2 ml vodka,  then add 198 ml water.

 

I have been working with just the one bottle to draw out my doses.  On Monday measured out 50 ml and removed the .5 ml from my morning dose.  On Tuesday did the same removing 1 ml from my morning dose.  Today I was to remove 1.5 ml so I took 1 ml from morning dose and thought that I would remove the remainder from my night time dose.

 

Perhaps my problem is that I need more containers to work with.....first of all.  And second I should remove the cut from the entire daily amount of 100 ml and divide my 2 doses evenly.

 

Today I had a pretty bad day and probably will not cut the other .5 ml this evening.

 

Or maybe I just need to stay on my full dose in liquids for a few more day before removing anything.

 

Sorry to be such a pain.  Hope I was brief enough.

 

Thanks so much.

doodle dog

 

Yes,  I would definitely suggest holding at full dose for a while longer.

 

ditto, doodle dog. (try saying that five times fast) I'd hold your full dose awhile longer until your body gets used to the liquid. hang in there, buddy. You can do this! we are all here for you.

 

hugs,

shannon

 

Hey Shannon,

 

I will do.  Thanks so much.  Guess I feel sort of defeated.  I had no idea to what degree ativan had a hold of my psyche and body.  Very scary.

 

Hope you are doing well.

doodle dog

 

Doodle,

I'm pretty sure we all felt like this when we first started to taper...when we realized how hard it was to do this. I remember when I first decided to get off this, and started to taper and got hit with the worst symptoms, I was FLOORED. I  couldn't believe how hard this was.

 

But I guess I sorta believe in the big-picture-plan kinda thing. I think we are all going thru this so we can help prevent others from even starting this stuff in the future. because of our experiences, we will be able to help countless people. So hang in there, it might be a little bit of time before we are free of these things, but we will get there.

 

hugs, shannon

 

This is so true!  Facing this experience head on can be very intimidating.  And in the beginning can cause a lot of headache and unfortunately increases symptoms in a way that cannot be measured.  ACCEPTANCE at this point is the most important decision you can make.  once you do this it makes the process less painful.  This has been my experience.

 

Stay strong!

sharkey

[[ga...]]

Hi. I'm just wondering about my increase in symptoms. I did switch to diluting 4 of my 6 doses of X. All I did to dilute is add water to the alprazolam, which is already diluted in water and I ahd been taking for months. I can't imagine how doing that would be different in any way or increase my symptoms. Yet something is. I'm much more anxious, getting phobic about going out and about, have no appetite again.

 

And, that reminds me, I need to go eat something!

 

Thanks!

 

So Gardener, you haven't tapered any? just diluted with water and took the original dose?

 

I held for a few days and then proceeded very slowly with .002 every other day for about a week. I felt worse and worse but got a window last night where I now feel just "on edge," kind of how I felt earlier in my taper before my big crash and hospitalization.

 

 

[[sh...]]

Hi. I'm just wondering about my increase in symptoms. I did switch to diluting 4 of my 6 doses of X. All I did to dilute is add water to the alprazolam, which is already diluted in water and I ahd been taking for months. I can't imagine how doing that would be different in any way or increase my symptoms. Yet something is. I'm much more anxious, getting phobic about going out and about, have no appetite again.

 

And, that reminds me, I need to go eat something!

 

Thanks!

 

So Gardener, you haven't tapered any? just diluted with water and took the original dose?

 

I held for a few days and then proceeded very slowly with .002 every other day for about a week. I felt worse and worse but got a window last night where I now feel just "on edge," kind of how I felt earlier in my taper before my big crash and hospitalization.

 

Have you held with your cuts?  so you cut for a week and have held at those cuts for now?

[[We...]]

Hi. I'm just wondering about my increase in symptoms. I did switch to diluting 4 of my 6 doses of X. All I did to dilute is add water to the alprazolam, which is already diluted in water and I ahd been taking for months. I can't imagine how doing that would be different in any way or increase my symptoms. Yet something is. I'm much more anxious, getting phobic about going out and about, have no appetite again.

 

And, that reminds me, I need to go eat something!

 

Thanks!

 

So Gardener, you haven't tapered any? just diluted with water and took the original dose?

 

I held for a few days and then proceeded very slowly with .002 every other day for about a week. I felt worse and worse but got a window last night where I now feel just "on edge," kind of how I felt earlier in my taper before my big crash and hospitalization.

 

OK. well, the window is a great sign!

 

You know, this may sound wacky, but my psychologist explained the 'inner child' thing. How our 'inner child' can have a remarkable hold over our physical bodies. So, even the change of switching something, can sorta freak him or her out. (like diluting liquid, or starting a taper) I was sorta hesitant at first--but I tried some of her suggestions, like verbally out loud in a way you would talk to a child, explained what was happening--like if I was starting a taper, or switching meds, or doing something different. I was actually amazed and how my body and mind relaxed by doing this. I also started  sleeping with a stuffed animal hehe. we all just want to feel safe, and when we do something that is different, it can make us feel unsure and not safe, but if we can explain and reassure our little inner selves, what is going on, it can be quite helpful.

 

love shan

[[ga...]]

Another dilution question from the Princess of Paranoia. I ran out of my dilution last night and my son was already in bed. I tried to make a dilution myself. It wasn't pretty. I may have made a 10% dilution or I may have made an 11% solution. I'm lucky I made any solution at all because I knocked the cylinder over twice. Fortunately it was empty and fortunately it didn't break. Don't ask me why I think it might be 11%. Too embarrassing. 

 

Is this going to totally mess up my taper?

[[ga...]]

Hi. I'm just wondering about my increase in symptoms. I did switch to diluting 4 of my 6 doses of X. All I did to dilute is add water to the alprazolam, which is already diluted in water and I ahd been taking for months. I can't imagine how doing that would be different in any way or increase my symptoms. Yet something is. I'm much more anxious, getting phobic about going out and about, have no appetite again.

 

And, that reminds me, I need to go eat something!

 

Thanks!

 

So Gardener, you haven't tapered any? just diluted with water and took the original dose?

 

I held for a few days and then proceeded very slowly with .002 every other day for about a week. I felt worse and worse but got a window last night where I now feel just "on edge," kind of how I felt earlier in my taper before my big crash and hospitalization.

 

Have you held with your cuts?  so you cut for a week and have held at those cuts for now?

 

No, I held for  a few days (when I first diluted), then have been cutting every other day for about a week, maybe 10 days. Was more and more miserable until yesterday. Did have some health and sleep problems in there for a bit, but those are improving.

[[...]]

Another dilution question from the Princess of Paranoia. I ran out of my dilution last night and my son was already in bed. I tried to make a dilution myself. It wasn't pretty. I may have made a 10% dilution or I may have made an 11% solution. I'm lucky I made any solution at all because I knocked the cylinder over twice. Fortunately it was empty and fortunately it didn't break. Don't ask me why I think it might be 11%. Too embarrassing. 

 

Is this going to totally mess up my taper?

 

If you pull to dose you will be a little short, but if you pull to toss you will be on the plus side as you didn't throw away as much as usual.  I'd have to know the details to quantify how much you were off by.

[[ga...]]

Hi. I'm just wondering about my increase in symptoms. I did switch to diluting 4 of my 6 doses of X. All I did to dilute is add water to the alprazolam, which is already diluted in water and I ahd been taking for months. I can't imagine how doing that would be different in any way or increase my symptoms. Yet something is. I'm much more anxious, getting phobic about going out and about, have no appetite again.

 

And, that reminds me, I need to go eat something!

 

Thanks!

 

So Gardener, you haven't tapered any? just diluted with water and took the original dose?

 

I held for a few days and then proceeded very slowly with .002 every other day for about a week. I felt worse and worse but got a window last night where I now feel just "on edge," kind of how I felt earlier in my taper before my big crash and hospitalization.

 

OK. well, the window is a great sign!

 

You know, this may sound wacky, but my psychologist explained the 'inner child' thing. How our 'inner child' can have a remarkable hold over our physical bodies. So, even the change of switching something, can sorta freak him or her out. (like diluting liquid, or starting a taper) I was sorta hesitant at first--but I tried some of her suggestions, like verbally out loud in a way you would talk to a child, explained what was happening--like if I was starting a taper, or switching meds, or doing something different. I was actually amazed and how my body and mind relaxed by doing this. I also started  sleeping with a stuffed animal hehe. we all just want to feel safe, and when we do something that is different, it can make us feel unsure and not safe, but if we can explain and reassure our little inner selves, what is going on, it can be quite helpful.

 

love shan

 

Thanks, Shan. This reminds me of something I read online about acceptance. It said you had to have two different brains to get through withdrawal: your withdrawal brain and your acceptance brain. The acceptance brain needs to learn to observe the withdrawal brain. Just observe and accept. And the acceptance brain needs to do some mental talking back when the withdrawal brain is feeling awful and fearful. Like this, "That's my withdrawal brain saying that I am afraid I'm not going to make it. The truth is I am healing even when I feel awful." I have been working on just observing and accepting and it truly is hard work.

[[sh...]]

Hi. I'm just wondering about my increase in symptoms. I did switch to diluting 4 of my 6 doses of X. All I did to dilute is add water to the alprazolam, which is already diluted in water and I ahd been taking for months. I can't imagine how doing that would be different in any way or increase my symptoms. Yet something is. I'm much more anxious, getting phobic about going out and about, have no appetite again.

 

And, that reminds me, I need to go eat something!

 

Thanks!

 

So Gardener, you haven't tapered any? just diluted with water and took the original dose?

 

I held for a few days and then proceeded very slowly with .002 every other day for about a week. I felt worse and worse but got a window last night where I now feel just "on edge," kind of how I felt earlier in my taper before my big crash and hospitalization.

 

Have you held with your cuts?  so you cut for a week and have held at those cuts for now?

 

No, I held for  a few days (when I first diluted), then have been cutting every other day for about a week, maybe 10 days. Was more and more miserable until yesterday. Did have some health and sleep problems in there for a bit, but those are improving.

 

This is great news!  you are on your way!!

[[ga...]]

Another dilution question from the Princess of Paranoia. I ran out of my dilution last night and my son was already in bed. I tried to make a dilution myself. It wasn't pretty. I may have made a 10% dilution or I may have made an 11% solution. I'm lucky I made any solution at all because I knocked the cylinder over twice. Fortunately it was empty and fortunately it didn't break. Don't ask me why I think it might be 11%. Too embarrassing. 

 

Is this going to totally mess up my taper?

 

If you pull to dose you will be a little short, but if you pull to toss you will be on the plus side as you didn't throw away as much as usual.  I'd have to know the details to quantify how much you were off by.

 

I put water in the graduated cylinder and then add 1ml dropperfuls of alprazolam trying to make 90% water and 10% alprazolam. I lost count of the dropperfuls. I wasn't sure if I had added 9 or 10 and the liquid wasn't up to the top line on the cylinder (which I think is a bit off in its markings). My son had always done this before, so he knew what it should look like in the cylinder and I didn't. I really thought I had counted 10 dropperfuls but the cylinder said I was short. So I added another dropperful. Now I have diluted liquid to last a couple of weeks. It is either 10% of my original strength or 11% of my original strength. I measure my doses straight from the dilution. I don't use the throw-away method.

 

I will never wait until bedtime to make a dilution again (says the benzo brain).

[[ga...]]

Hi. I'm just wondering about my increase in symptoms. I did switch to diluting 4 of my 6 doses of X. All I did to dilute is add water to the alprazolam, which is already diluted in water and I ahd been taking for months. I can't imagine how doing that would be different in any way or increase my symptoms. Yet something is. I'm much more anxious, getting phobic about going out and about, have no appetite again.

 

And, that reminds me, I need to go eat something!

 

Thanks!

 

So Gardener, you haven't tapered any? just diluted with water and took the original dose?

 

I held for a few days and then proceeded very slowly with .002 every other day for about a week. I felt worse and worse but got a window last night where I now feel just "on edge," kind of how I felt earlier in my taper before my big crash and hospitalization.

 

Have you held with your cuts?  so you cut for a week and have held at those cuts for now?

 

No, I held for  a few days (when I first diluted), then have been cutting every other day for about a week, maybe 10 days. Was more and more miserable until yesterday. Did have some health and sleep problems in there for a bit, but those are improving.

 

This is great news!  you are on your way!!

 

So you think it was just the transition to dilution that set me back? As I am explaining in another post, the dilution is likely not that accurate! I have been clumsy and in a cog fog since I started the Xanax. And I don't think my son is as patient as I am about getting every little bubble out when he draws up doses for me. But it's better than me spilling the whole bottle, which I did once!

[[St...]]

In what thread to people create micro-tapering plans? Or get suggestions for them. I'm on 5mg of valium right now, liquid. I would like to start attempting to taper, but I'm not positive how to do a microtaper or what pace is sensible.

[[Sh...]]

Quote from the BB fellow who chose to leave the MT thread. I do not wish to stir up the issue again, I just want to know if there is any validity to his comment.  I use 2ml of Vodka to dissolve my 1mg of clonazepam.  I am ok, but a bit more symptomatic.  Anxiety and feeling uneasy. I am on day 13 of full dose using liquid. Are any of you chemists?  Do you realize that VODKA can change the chemical structure of the pills your diluting? 

 

This is my last post here, i hope you all will look into the medical advice youre giving people about mixing alcohol with benzos.  Its not very smart.

 

Thanks, Shaani

[[ga...]]

In what thread to people create micro-tapering plans? Or get suggestions for them. I'm on 5mg of valium right now, liquid. I would like to start attempting to taper, but I'm not positive how to do a microtaper or what pace is sensible.

 

You are in the right place! There are a few people on here (who I call our math gurus) who will come to your assistance soon! I am a newbie with cog fog, so I don't try to create plans (and everyone is grateful for that  .)