Springday needs help with titration

[[Co...]]

Hi SpringDay,

 

I note that you have not logged into the forum. Perhaps you collected your titration schedule without logging in? If you need me to post up a new schedule with a new start date, just post here with the date. Additionally, in case it is not clear, you use two whole tablets - you titrate one of them and drink the amount indicated by the schedule (splitting it up into several smaller doses over the day), and you split the other tablet into doses to take over the day.

[[sp...]]

Hi SpringDay,

 

I note that you have not logged into the forum. Perhaps you collected your titration schedule without logging in? If you need me to post up a new schedule with a new start date, just post here with the date. Additionally, in case it is not clear, you use two whole tablets - you titrate one of them and drink the amount indicated by the schedule (splitting it up into several smaller doses over the day), and you split the other tablet into doses to take over the day.

 

Colin,

I have just printed and reveiwed my titration schedule.  Thank you.

 

I have several questions, and also want to verify that I am correct on some assumptions on how to accomplish this titration:

 

1.  I take 1 tablet by mouth as usual, and I titrate the other, until I get to April 12 when I have completed the titration on that tablet. I begin the titration of the other tablet, and am no longer taking a pill by mouth.

 

2.  At what point in this schedule am I using only .5mg of xanax to titrate?  I ask because I pay for xanax out-of-pocket.  The .5mg size will be cheaper than the 1mg size, and I will ask my pdoc for an rx for that dose when I reach that point.

 

3.  I take my xanax only at night, for insomnia.  I had not intended to take any during the day during this titration.  Will this be a problem w/d-wise?  Have others that take xanax only for insomnia continued to take the titrated mixture at night w/o problems?

 

4.  Re pouring off the liquid to get to the correct amount to drink (for example, 86 ml on Jan. 21).  The ml marks are quite small.  It seems it might be hard to pour off the exact amount, and "eyeballing it" will come into play.  Is this a problem.  The cylinder is 10 inches tall.  Using a syringe will not be possible at the mid-way and lower doses.

 

5.  Suppose I want to speed up my titration at any point in this schedule, to 10 days or even 7.  To pose this question, I'll use the beginning of my titration as my example:

 

Let's say I want to use 10 days, which on the chart is Jan. 30 and the dose is 74 ml.  Day 14 is Feb. 3 and the dose is 69.  Do I average the dosages from Jan. 30 thru Feb. 3 to determine what dose to take on Feb. 4 (day 15)?  If so, that dose would be 71.4 (72) ml.  Or, do I jump from 74 ml on Jan. 30 to the dose 5 days later which is 69 ml (Feb. 3)?

 

I think I have exhausted all my questions for the moment.  My pdoc is going to think I am crazy when I tell  her I will need an rx until November of '08!  I hope it won't take that long.    I don't know if she will keeping rx'ing that long.  I'll just have to ask her in my next appt.....

Many thanks,

[[Co...]]

Colin,

I have just printed and reveiwed my titration schedule.  Thank you.

 

I have several questions, and also want to verify that I am correct on some assumptions on how to accomplish this titration:

 

1.  I take 1 tablet by mouth as usual, and I titrate the other, until I get to April 12 when I have completed the titration on that tablet. I begin the titration of the other tablet, and am no longer taking a pill by mouth.

 

Correct.

 

2.  At what point in this schedule am I using only .5mg of xanax to titrate?  I ask because I pay for xanax out-of-pocket.  The .5mg size will be cheaper than the 1mg size, and I will ask my pdoc for an rx for that dose when I reach that point.

 

If you wish to switch to 0.5mg tablets, this will be when you reach 50ml and you are taking no additional tablets. You would need to halve the amount of liquid, but it will be much safer if I draw up a new table for you at that time - then there will be no mistakes. Do not try to use 0.5mg tablets with this table, it will not work. The only way you could safely use 0.5mg tablets is if you substitute two 0.5 mg tablets for a 1mg tablet. As I said, I will work a new table for you at that stage.

 

3.  I take my xanax only at night, for insomnia.  I had not intended to take any during the day during this titration.  Will this be a problem w/d-wise?  Have others that take xanax only for insomnia continued to take the titrated mixture at night w/o problems?

 

We find that most people benefit from taking benzos in even doses over the day, but this is not for everyone - do what best suits you. Titration is about controlling small accurate cuts; how you divide up your dose over the day is a separate issue.

 

4.  Re pouring off the liquid to get to the correct amount to drink (for example, 86 ml on Jan. 21).  The ml marks are quite small.  It seems it might be hard to pour off the exact amount, and "eyeballing it" will come into play.  Is this a problem.  The cylinder is 10 inches tall.  Using a syringe will not be possible at the mid-way and lower doses.

 

The syringe is a good idea. Simply pour out some of the contents into a shallow bowl and draw up the amount you require into your syringe. Do not obsess about this though. Even if you are a little out with your measurements, this is far more accurate than pill-splitting. 'Eyeballing' is actually plenty good enough. I understand why you wish to be as accurate as possible though. It certainly will do no harm!

 

5.  Suppose I want to speed up my titration at any point in this schedule, to 10 days or even

 

I will make up a new schedule for you; it will start from where you left off. A new schedule is important, as it allows you to keep proper tabs of your withdrawal rate. Titrating small cuts is great, but if we don't have a accurate idea of taper rate, it becomes an almost pointless exercise.

 

7.  To pose this question, I'll use the beginning of my titration as my example:

 

Let's say I want to use 10 days, which on the chart is Jan. 30 and the dose is 74 ml.  Day 14 is Feb. 3 and the dose is 69.  Do I average the dosages from Jan. 30 thru Feb. 3 to determine what dose to take on Feb. 4 (day 15)?  If so, that dose would be 71.4 (72) ml.  Or, do I jump from 74 ml on Jan. 30 to the dose 5 days later which is 69 ml (Feb. 3)?

 

What, no point 6?

 

Sorry, you've totally lost me. The schedule indicates the date when you make a new cut. Take the dose indicated on any particular date until the schedule indicates a change. With your schedule, you will making small cuts every day; it is only later on in your schedule where you will stay on the same dose for more than one day. The formula for the schedule recalculates your dose every day, and then indicates the nearest value on your cylinder that fits the calculated value. The amount being cut is automatically reduced as your daily dose diminishes. When you reach a low dose, the cuts stop becoming smaller, and instead your dose is reduced at a steady rate of decline. It is still very gentle.

 

I think I have exhausted all my questions for the moment.   My pdoc is going to think I am crazy when I tell  her I will need an rx until November of '08!  I hope it won't take that long.    I don't know if she will keeping rx'ing that long.  I'll just have to ask her in my next appt.....

Many thanks,

 

Well, it probably is longer than you need to do this, but after you have been cutting for a while, and you have more confidence, you might like to speed up the taper. I can work up a new schedule for you.

[[sp...]]

Got it.

 

I was just trying to save you from re-caluclating a new table if I tolerate well and decide to shorten duration (at some future time).  I will contact you if I want to do that.

Be Well,

SpringDay

[[Co...]]

Hi Springday,

 

You've not logged in since your post above; I'm just wondering if everything is going OK. No news is usually good news, but do keep us up to date.

 

Take care.

[[sp...]]

Colin,

Thanks for the follow up.  I do intend to keep in touch with the board.  Am dealing with other health issues.

 

The titration seems to be going fine and I feel more confident now.  I even shorted one dose accidentally (poured off a tad too much) and I didn't freak out about it - great since I am a perfectionist!

 

I will see my psydoc in about a week and hope to get her on board.  If I do well at current dose for 30 days I may try reducing my rate.  For now I'm good.

Be well,

SpringDay

[[Co...]]

Good to hear, Springday.

[[sp...]]

Hi Colin,

If you happen by and see this, I would like to reduce the duration of my xanax titration schedule.

 

I would like to go from a cut every 14 days to every 10 days.  Titration rate stays the same (10%).

 

Can you create another schedule for me?  I want to give you a week's notice so February 19 will work for me as a new start date. 

Thank You,

springday

P.S. to anyone you knows:  I want to create a signature line when I post on the board.  Can anyone give me the technical steps to create a signature line so that I can shows my dosage, etc?  Maybe I missed the instructions somewhere on this site...

[[si...]]

sure - click on profile (green button on top) a new page will open showing your profile.

 

modify profile to the left -

click 2nd link down under modify profile

 

now scroll down your profile page (which has been visible all along under profile) you will see a space wide enough for a paragraph - enter in pertainent data.

 

after you are done - scroll down and click finished.

 

[[Co...]]

OK, I'll look at new titration scedule for you. I might start you on another date if the numbers are more suitable (if your new table requires titrating midway through a tablet).

[[sp...]]

sure - click on profile (green button on top) a new page will open showing your profile.

 

modify profile to the left -

click 2nd link down under modify profile

 

now scroll down your profile page (which has been visible all along under profile) you will see a space wide enough for a paragraph - enter in pertainent data.

 

after you are done - scroll down and click finished.

 

 

silver,

thanks for the excellent instructions!

Springday

[[sp...]]

 

OK, I'll look at new titration scedule for you. I might start you on another date if the numbers are more suitable (if your new table requires titrating midway through a tablet).

 

Colin,

I do not question "the master".    I'll follow whatever you provide to me...

Springday

[[si...]]

your welcome

 

and yep colin is the master

[[Co...]]

Hi Springday.

 

Here's your new schedule. You will notice that it states that the starting dose is 1.5 tablets - this is just for the calculation - you still use two whole tablets (one to split over the day, and one to titrate). Just take your 1 tablet and 50ml on the 19th, and then use this table from then on.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/spreadsheets/tt-springday-2008-02-20.html

 

Place the following in your signaturte:

 

[url=http://www.benzobuddies.org/spreadsheets/tt-springday-2008-02-20.html][b]My Titration Schedule[/b][/url].

 

The above will appear like this in your schedule:

 

My Titration Schedule.

[[sp...]]

Thanks, Colin for the new schedule.

Springday

[[sp...]]

Greetings,

I have a titration question for Colin:

 

I am titrating my last 1mg tablet of xanax (see my titration schedule in sig line below).

 

when I reach .5ml on the schedule - should I switch to the .5mg tablet and get a new titration schedule?  Does it matter - i.e. - is it easier on the body, etc. - to titrate from the .5mg vs the entire 1mg?

 

Thanks for the info,

SpringDay

[[Co...]]

Hi,

 

No, stick to your 1mg tablets. Switching to 0.5mg tablets would have the effect of being able to half the size of the cuts that are possible at the moment, but frankly, cuts this small are overkill for 99.9% of our members. You would notice no difference. Effectively, using 1mg tablets enables you to divide 0.5mg into fifty parts; using 0.5mg tablets would allow you to divide 0.5mg into one-hundred parts. The majority of people quit by splitting 0.5mg into no smaller than quarters (standard pill-splitting)!

[[sp...]]

Will do.  Thanks for the education, Colin.

SpringDay