I'm so confused and a wreck

[[Ta...]]

Hi Brite,

 

Here's the link for the site I bought cylinders from. If you don't want the glass one just go to their site and choose another kind. Type 'graduated cylinder' in their search field. 

 

http://www.sargentwelch.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_WLS24655-E_EA_A_Flint+Glass+Cylinders_E_

 

Double graduated means that on one side the graduations go upwards and on the other - downwards. So if you get the double one, it's fine, you use one side.

You can find the syringe in any drugstore. They tend to give them for free at the pharmacy counter (just ask for a baby syringe) or sell it. They hold 5 ml with 1ml divisions.

 

Now, I got stuff from this site in a matter of days but I also had to wait more than a week. Don't worry! You will get it and start your titration.

 

When you get the cylinder and syringe, all you will need is a teaspoon and a cup. 

 

Let me know if you need any other info. When you get the stuff we'll get your schedule ready. 

 

Take care!

 

Tanya

[[si...]]

i see that looks like serious business - i never would of made it with my blunt syringe and pill crusher.

[[Ta...]]

i see that looks like serious

business - i never would of made it with my blunt syringe and pill crusher.

 

Oh yes you would have. If you could put that spa together without instructions (you are my hero silver  ), you could do this, no problem.

[[si...]]

ah shucks tanya thank you - but you know there were not all that many pieces to the spa - i was just freaked cause it was electrical and there were no pictures - and no names on the parts.

[[br...]]

Hi Brite,

 

Here's the link for the site I bought cylinders from. If you don't want the glass one just go to their site and choose another kind. Type 'graduated cylinder' in their search field. 

 

http://www.sargentwelch.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_WLS24655-E_EA_A_Flint+Glass+Cylinders_E_

 

Double graduated means that on one side the graduations go upwards and on the other - downwards. So if you get the double one, it's fine, you use one side.

You can find the syringe in any drugstore. They tend to give them for free at the pharmacy counter (just ask for a baby syringe) or sell it. They hold 5 ml with 1ml divisions.

 

Now, I got stuff from this site in a matter of days but I also had to wait more than a week. Don't worry! You will get it and start your titration.

 

When you get the cylinder and syringe, all you will need is a teaspoon and a cup. 

 

Let me know if you need any other info. When you get the stuff we'll get your schedule ready. 

 

Take care!

 

Tanya

 

 

Thanks Tanya, you are so awesome   I'll go get the one you had linked me to.  I will let you guys know when  I have the equipment and set to go.  Luv ya--Elizabeth

[[Ta...]]

[[br...]]

I finally got my 100 ml cylinder with 1 ml increments and ready for a titration schedule if you can help me with that Colin?

 

I have been dry cutting while waiting for my equipment and right now I'm taking klonopin 3 times a day at the following doses:

 

morning    .375 mg

afternoon .25 mg

evening:  .5mg

 

 

And I guess I would like to titrate at a 10% rate

 

My last dry cut was for the morning does last Sunday and I'm still having a difficult time with it but I want to try to stick with it for at least a week before moving forward.  Since I haven't been on klonopin for as long as most of the folks here (have been taking it twice a week for 4 months for insomnia but it caused withdrawls between the days I wasn't on it and had just been put on the daily dose of .5mg 3x a day for a month) I'm afraid of going really slow on the taper thinking I might get even more addicted.  However, I have numerous health problems and I'm very sensitive and have trouble handling 1/4 dry cuts.

 

I'm not sure the way to go on the tapering also because is is effecting my insomnia problem which is why I was on the klonopin in the first place.  So I'm not sure which med to start the titration with. Even cutting my morning dose has effected my sleep at night.  Before the klonopin I was getting 0-3 hours of sleep a night. Now I get like 4-6 with lot's of waking up in the middle of the night. Sigh. Sorry for rambling I'm not in a good state.  In your experience which does is best to start with for titration morning, or afternoon? I think I want to save the night dose for last when it comes to the taper. The sad part is I'm still going to have to deal with the insomnia either way

 

Thanks in advance for all your help,

Elizabeth

[[si...]]

hi elizabeth - someone who understands math should be by - glade to see you are got all your stuff to do it with.

[[el...]]

Brite, try not to talk yourself into the insomnia coming back. I was put on klonopin for insomnia as severe as yours, and even ended up in a psych ward. That's where I was put on klono, plus a very strong sleep med, seroquel. I am now off seroquel, and down to .125mg klono, and I'm sleeping. I was also only on it for 4 months before I started my taper. Sometimes it's just a matter of breaking the cycle of insomnia. You may have done this, but you won't know until you are off, or down, as klono can actually cause insomnia after the first few weeks of working.

So don't psych yourself out! 

I am not familiar with titration, so I"m not sure I'm answering your question correctly as far as what dose to titrate, but I would think the morning dose would be best. Klonopin is a somewhat long acting benzo. I only took it at night after the first two weeks. It's not really a med you have to take more than once a day normally. Maybe you could take more of your dose at night, skipping the afternoon dose. Then slowly taper off that. Just a suggestion. 

[[br...]]

Dear eljay. Thanks for the support I'm sorry to hear about what all that you been through but I'm glad you are doing better. I was also put on seroquel but it made me bedridden. I was on the lowest dosage but even antidepressants make me fatigue. My insomnia siutation is a bit different because I believe it is a physcial problem due to high cortisol levels (I had a saliva test) so I have a adrenal fatigue and I wouldn't be surprised if I also have a hormonal imbalance which I haven't had checked.  All this started a year ago when they placed me on steroids for 6 days for an ear problem. Even though it was only 6 days it messed me up so badly, I felt like Im hanging on to dear life and this feeling never went away. I wasn't on any other meds at the time.

 

Also my body reacted really badly when I was taking klonopin once a day at night. I would be knocked out for 4 hours and wake up with a major panic attack that lasted the whole day. When I asked the nurse practioner about this she said she never heard of someone have that kind of reaction. This only happens to me if I fall asleep with the klonopin. I think I have issues with processing Gaba or something in my stomach. I don't know. When I take

GABBA supplements it hurts my stomach and gives me anxiety and makes me nauseous. I just have a weird reaction to meds period.  I'm just a big mess. Doctors don't know what to do with me. Even naturopathic doctors dont know what to do with me.

 

 

[[el...]]

You have gaba receptors in you stomach too, so that is what may be causing the stomach issues.

I'm so sorry to here of your troubles. But the body has an amazing abilitly to heal. It's called homeostasis, and it's a built-in mechanism of rebalancing. Sometimes it takes a long time though. I think you will heal from the cortisone they gave you. Some people have terrible problems with it.

Not to compare you to my cat,  , but I started her on Prednisone a few weeks ago. A very tiny dose, but on day 3 she had a seizure!

Time heals, Brite. Hang in there. And just keep working on your taper.

I haven't read your whole thread, but have you tried some supplements for the insomnia? Melatonin, calms Forte, "insomnia" (by Hylands) or otc antihistamines?

You might want to give some of those a try if you haven't already. If they didn't work before, they still may work again now.

 

[[Co...]]

Hi Brite,

 

I'll work up a table for you tomorrow, with a start date for the 1st Feb.

 

You would like to cut by 10%, but over what period of time?

[[br...]]

Hi Brite,

 

I'll work up a table for you tomorrow, with a start date for the 1st Feb.

 

You would like to cut by 10%, but over what period of time?

 

Hi Colin. Thank you for your help:)  I guess over 2 weeks the standard period.  Which dose do you recommend I start tapering since I have the insomnia issues?

[[Co...]]

A 10% cut is very reasonable starting point. The taper rate can always be adjusted later if you would like to speed it up, or even slow it down. The chances are that you will be able to taper at that rate with few problems.

[[br...]]

Hi Colin. I meant which dose morning or noon should i  start with the titration?

[[br...]]

Hi Eljay. Awww I'm sorry about your kitty. Is that a pic of her?  Yeah I tried all the stuff you had mentioned. Calms forte does nothing for me do does benadryl or vistaril and melatonin sometimes sort of works.  But I appreciate the suggestions.

[[el...]]

Yes, that's my little Annie.

She's fine now, thank you.

Well, I wish for you a good nights sleep, and more to come in the future.

[[Co...]]

Edit: Corrected table posted further on in the thread.

 

Hi Brite,

 

Here's your taper schedule, due to start tomorrow.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/spreadsheets/tt-brite7-2008-02-01.html

 

You can add it to your signature with the following (I highly recommend that you do so):

 

[url=http://www.benzobuddies.org/spreadsheets/tt-brite7-2008-02-01.html][b]My Titration Schedule.[/b][/url]

 

It will look like this:

 

My Titration Schedule.

[[Co...]]

Just to check, you do take one-and-a-quarter 0.5mg tablets per day, don't you? This is from what I've worked up your table.

[[Co...]]

Brite,

 

You asked about which dose to cut: it is up to you. You will titrate one whole tablet, making up a liquid of 100ml, but you consume just 24ml on the first day. This equates to the quarter tablet you now take (minus your first tiny reduction); you will take an additional whole tablet per day. How you split up all this is up to you. You can take the 24ml in one go, or split it into two or doses. Likewise with the 0.5mg tablet. Even though you are still splitting a table, you can split into any awkward amount you wish, and so long as you keep all the parts, you can ensure that your total for the day is tightly controlled. However, it still helps to keep things as regular as possible. Let us know if you have any further questions.

[[Co...]]

Hi Brite,

 

I made a mistake. I created a table for 1.25 tablets, and you take 2.25 tablets. Thanks for the heads-up Tanya.

 

Here's the corrected table. It doesn't matter that first day is not the same on this table - just follow on from day 2, using the figures indicated by the table.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/spreadsheets/tt-brite7-2008-02-01-v2.html

 

use the following in your signature:

 

[url=http://www.benzobuddies.org/spreadsheets/tt-brite7-2008-02-01-v2.html][b]My Titration Schedule[/b][/url]

 

It will display like this:

 

My Titration Schedule

[[br...]]

HI Colin. I apologize for the delayed response. I have been going through a lot of stress the past couple of days that prevented me from replying. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown due to my stressful environment.  I couldn't even start the taper on Friday   I feel bad about it because all your work you put into the spreadsheet. So don't worry about edting the dates. I can see the pattern and make the changes myself. I might have to wait till next week to start tapering due to what's happening to me right now.

 

First, I would like to thank you for all your help and generousity 

 

To answer your question I'm actually taking less than 1.25 mg of klonopin a day. I'm at 1.125 mg per day. Before I recevied my cylinder I was dry cutting so that I was taking the following dosage I mentioned it in a previous post but I was rambling on about other stuff so that's probably why you might have missed it:

 

.375 mg morning

.25 mg  afternoon

.5 mg evening

 

I dont' want you to have to edit my chart again and do extra work because of my delayed response   If you just tell me what changes I need to make in my tapering I'll make a note of it.  I'm just guessing when it comes to tapering the .375 I'll start at 37.5 ml in they cylinder instead of at 99. Am I correct?

 

Thanks for your help Colin and Tanya.

 

[[Ta...]]

Hi brite,

 

Sorry about the stress around you. I feel the same. last week was awful for me, too. I often wonder how I survive at all with nerves so fried.

 

You start your taper when you feel little better, don't rush and don't feel any pressure that you have to do it since Colin made you a chart. If you don't decrease for awhile, the chart will be exactly the same when you start, except for the dates.

I think Colin knows that you are at 1.125 mg. That represents 2 and a quarter (2.25) tablets. You are titrating 1 tablet at a time, that's why you start with 23ml (or 24, can't remember) - that's the 1st out of 3 that you will be titrating (and you are already on 1/4 of it).

 

I hope this week is better for you.

 

tanya

[[Co...]]

Hi Brite,

 

Yes, I use 'no. of tablets' because that saves a further calculation for the person following the titration schedule. Of course, the tablets must be the same dosage. If they are a mixture of dosages, then a table using mgs instead of the number of tablets needs to be produced, but not applicable in your case.

 

Don't worry about me needing to rework the table - I have it fairly well automated now. Usually takes me about 10 minutes or so.

[[br...]]

Hi Tanya. Sorry it took for so long for me to respond. Thanks for your caring support and I hope you feel better too 

 

Hi brite,

 

Sorry about the stress around you. I feel the same. last week was awful for me, too. I often wonder how I survive at all with nerves so fried.

 

You start your taper when you feel little better, don't rush and don't feel any pressure that you have to do it since Colin made you a chart. If you don't decrease for awhile, the chart will be exactly the same when you start, except for the dates.

I think Colin knows that you are at 1.125 mg. That represents 2 and a quarter (2.25) tablets. You are titrating 1 tablet at a time, that's why you start with 23ml (or 24, can't remember) - that's the 1st out of 3 that you will be titrating (and you are already on 1/4 of it).

 

I hope this week is better for you.

 

tanya