1mg Lorazepam Taper Help- Doctor Switched me to 1mg Klon

[[Du...]]

Phew, it took 5 days of holding. But it feels like I am back to stable.

 

Will resume my taper shortly

[[Du...]]

Just a quick update… I know I should do a progress thread, but everything is here.

 

I’m currently dry DMT at 10% per week and am doing well. I have added in one supplement, but would like to vet and keep taking it before posting my results.

 

Phew, happy to be down to .6mg of K… so ready to be done, but will stay the pace I’m at!!

[[sl...]]

Are you using liquid now, Dukemonroe?

[[Du...]]

Not yet, I may just keep doing dry cuts until I get to a point where I can't shave anymore... we will see though. I will talk to my psychiatrist and see if I can get .5mg K and cut those down low.

[[sl...]]

Okay, I was just wondering. I'm really glad to hear your doing well at 10%!

 

You probably already know this but K comes in 0.25mg tablets and 0.125mg ODTs as well, so there's plenty of dry tapering that can be done if you're comfortable with your scale method.

 

You're making me jealous at 0.6mg... 

[[To...]]

Slownsteady I did not know that clonazepam came in lower doses than .5 mg in the USA.  Well I guess I did hear they came in .25 mg odt, but I heard that the dissolvable tablets can’t be crushed or cut, thus making them not suitable for dry tapering. I think I remember reading somewhere that the drug is  only in the middle part of the odt’s. I’m not sure if this is correct or my benzo brain is just playing tricks again. It would be great if they came in regular tablets like the .5mgs. That would make my dry taper much easier.

 

 

I recently viewed your YouTube video on how to cut pills/tablets............ bravo.

[[sl...]]

Slownsteady I did not know that clonazepam came in lower doses than .5 mg in the USA.  Well I guess I did hear they came in .25 mg odt, but I heard that the dissolvable tablets can’t be crushed or cut, thus making them not suitable for dry tapering. I think I remember reading somewhere that the drug is  only in the middle part of the odt’s. I’m not sure if this is correct or my benzo brain is just playing tricks again. It would be great if they came in regular tablets like the .5mgs. That would make my dry taper much easier.

 

I recently viewed your YouTube video on how to cut pills/tablets............ bravo.

 

I could be mistaken, but I swear Libertas or someone on here told me that K comes in 0.25mg ordinary tablets in the US. I know there are 0.25 and 0.125 ODT, but I don't know about splitting those, like you say. I highly doubt they'd go through the trouble of hiding the medicine in the middle of the ODTs when it's so much easier to just make a homogeneous batch of tablet binder and medicine and then press out a few million tablets. I'd be really curious to know more about if people can safely split the ODTs and how they're made.

 

This is where Libertas told me to look for these things... https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov

 

And thanks for feedback on my video; I'm more than a little embarrassed by my audio and film quality but... ah, it's for the greater good I guess. Thanks!

[[sl...]]

Oh, you know who told me about the 0.25mg K tablets; my pharmacist. He said every big chain pharmacy around carries them, but my little pharmacy doesn't. He said CVS, Walgreens, etc, all can get them. I couldn't find them on DailyMed, so he may be confused, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't talking about the ODTs.

 

And if it turns out only the ODTs are available...

https://walrus.com/questions/can-you-cut-klonopin-odt-in-half

[[Li...]]

Per DailyMed, in the US, the lowest dose of clonazepam available in regular tablets at this time is 0.5mg.  The lowest dose available in Orally Disintegrating Tablets is 0.125mg (a 0.25mg ODT is also available).

 

We have members who have used both “pill-splitting” and “shave and weigh” with ODTs.

 

TouchdownIrish: Based on what I’ve read about the manufacturing process for ODTs, I am skeptical of the claim that the active drug substance is limited to the middle part of the tablet.

 

slownsteady: The post you found is interesting.  The pharmacist’s recommendations make sense given that ODTs are hydrophilic: “Ideally, you should only split the tablets with a pill cutter and not your hands. Any moisture the tablet is exposed to will make it dissolve rapidly. If you so split Klonopin ODT, be sure to keep the unused half in a moisture resistant container and take it for your next dose.”

[[sl...]]

Per DailyMed, in the US, the lowest dose of clonazepam available in regular tablets at this time is 0.5mg.  The lowest dose available in Orally Disintegrating Tablets is 0.125mg (a 0.25mg ODT is also available).

 

We have members who have used both “pill-splitting” and “shave and weigh” with ODTs.

 

TouchdownIrish: Based on what I’ve read about the manufacturing process for ODTs, I am skeptical of the claim that the active drug substance is limited to the middle part of the tablet.

 

slownsteady: The post you found is interesting.  The pharmacist’s recommendations make sense given that ODTs are hydrophilic: “Ideally, you should only split the tablets with a pill cutter and not your hands. Any moisture the tablet is exposed to will make it dissolve rapidly. If you so split Klonopin ODT, be sure to keep the unused half in a moisture resistant container and take it for your next dose.”

 

Thanks so much for chiming in with your knowledge Libertas!

 

My pharmacist must have been mistaken or else talking about the ODTs. If people are doing "shave and weigh" with ODTs, then I suspect it's possible to cut quarters as well.

[[To...]]

Thank you both Libertas and Slownsteady for your input. It does make sense that the odt’s would be homogeneous. I don’t know where my brain came up with the center of tablet theory for the odt’s. I will have to check into them, but I doubt my small pharmacy carries them. I live in a small town where there is only one pharmacy and it is in the only grocery store, but as of a couple years ago we now have 2 stop lights instead of 1...lol

[[Li...]]

You are most welcome, TouchdownIrish.  Your small town pharmacy might surprise you.  My experience with pharmacists is they are quite helpful  —  especially those who work in smaller or independently owned pharmacies. Although your pharmacy may not keep the ODTs in stock, the pharmacist may be willing to order them for you from the distributor/supplier.  Or, the pharmacist may be able to direct you to a not-too-distant pharmacy that does stock them.

[[Du...]]

Just an update post:

 

I reached a milestone in my taper: .5mg K. I didn't think I would make it here feeling this "stable" based on my previous history with tapering Lorazepam... thank God.

 

I will continue trudging along; when I look back at my daily log entries per cut, I try to see what switch was flipped or what happened this time around to make this taper smoother. So far, I have only added 1 natural supplement, and the jury is still out whether this supplement has been helping or not. I will update as I get lower on dose... I am guessing it will be harder, so I will update then if the supplement is helping.

[[sl...]]

I reached a milestone in my taper: .5mg K. I didn't think I would make it here feeling this "stable" based on my previous history with tapering Lorazepam... thank God.

 

Congratulations Duke! I'm a month or so away from my half-way milestone.

Keep up the great work! 

[[Du...]]

Thanks Slow! Hope you’re well.

 

Unfortunately, I hit another giant wall, and am stuck at .44mg. I started my hold yesterday, and am hopeful this wave/withdrawal will not last long. Last time it took around 5-6 days to return to baseline. Hopefully this will be the same. For now I am experience extreme fatigue, tremors/shakes, body anxiety, and horrible tinnitus.

 

Wish me luck. Thanks!

[[sl...]]

Thanks Slow! Hope you’re well.

 

Unfortunately, I hit another giant wall, and am stuck at .44mg. I started my hold yesterday, and am hopeful this wave/withdrawal will not last long. Last time it took around 5-6 days to return to baseline. Hopefully this will be the same. For now I am experience extreme fatigue, tremors/shakes, body anxiety, and horrible tinnitus.

 

Wish me luck. Thanks!

 

I'm sorry to hear how much you're suffering right now!

 

Have you calculated your actual taper rate, with all the holds and such? You might be surprised, as I was. I found that even though I was cutting 7-9%/14 days, I had to hold so much it ended up as 5-6%/14 days overall. Now that I cut 6% my taper has been very steady, and when it's not, I have consistently found the culprit was other sources of stress (supplements, PTSD triggers, therapy, excess screen-usage, excess exercise, etc).

 

I am wishing you luck!

[[sl...]]

What do you think slow based on my cuts so far?

 

I took a look, and I think you're crazy! Just kidding; but you're obviously more resilient neurologically than I am at this time. And maybe more willing to suffer. I've been in a mental health crisis for almost exactly a year now, and I don't care for any more suffering than is absolutely necessary at this point. I suggest slowing down, because that seems the obvious next step if your symptoms are overwhelming. How much to slow down, I can't say.

 

I hope you feel better soon; your body is probably just asking for something a little different; it may not even be your taper rate, but I'd start there given how rapidly you've been cutting.

 

Keep up the great work! 

[[Du...]]

Thanks slow, yeah, I will be holding for the remainder of this week. Thanks

[[Go...]]

Hi there...in answer to your question about a slow taper..yes it is possible to do a slow taper with minimal withdrawal. I understand though that many people would not want to go as slow as I have. I wouldn't be afraid of a slow taper.

[[Du...]]

The main drawback I have with an extremely slow taper is the possibility of hitting tolerance… I am all for minimizing w/d but want to find that pace where I can get off and have tolerable w/d.

 

Anyone have anything to help with extreme fatigue? I can’t do caffeine so am stuck just riding it out.

[[Du...]]

Progress update:

 

Still holding, my symptoms wax and wane but I can tell are lessening as time goes on. Hard to stay focused and positive when these hit like a earthquake and tornado leaving me almost non-functional.

 

Praying for stability soon, so I can continue this journey.

[[Du...]]

Had to use 1/4 unisom to sleep, but it was a good decision. I slept 7 hours and woke up not feeling the heavy fatigue I have had. Thankful for that. I will hold one more night and if my symptoms are to a point I can continue cutting I will. Phew, thankful for the stability returning. Hope everyone has a good day.

 

Slow, if you see this, I hope you’ve had some good rest. Update here again soon

[[Du...]]

Just wanted to come back here and provide an update. I moved over to the rapid withdrawal board as I am trying to taper faster than the 10% as my body and symptoms allow. It’s been tough, but I’ve held when sxs get too hard to move forward when they improve.  So far I am stable at .25 k and may hold here for a bit to let my micro cuts catch up… another part of me wants to continue as my sxs are mainly GI related and are tolerable.

 

I am still doing a dry micro taper, has been easier to manage and consistent with the same brand/mg of pills.

 

 

[[sl...]]

Just wanted to come back here and provide an update. I moved over to the rapid withdrawal board as I am trying to taper faster than the 10% as my body and symptoms allow. It’s been tough, but I’ve held when sxs get too hard to move forward when they improve.  So far I am stable at .25 k and may hold here for a bit to let my micro cuts catch up… another part of me wants to continue as my sxs are mainly GI related and are tolerable.

 

I am still doing a dry micro taper, has been easier to manage and consistent with the same brand/mg of pills.

 

Thanks for the update. I'm so glad you're tolerating your symptoms and making progress. I support you in taking your time to let your cuts catch up; I think the desire to rush the tapering process is an often unrecognized withdrawal symptom!

 

I hope you keep adapting to find whatever pace works best for your body. 

[[Du...]]

Thanks Slow! I kept at my same pace, GI symptoms stayed the same and may have improved a little. (Really think the Thymoquinone supplement is helping!!) Down to .2mg, stable!! Feeling good about this… don’t want to jynx it. Listening to my body and taking it day by day.

 

Hope you’re well.