Xanax pill weights

[[Fr...]]

 

I have been tapering off xanax by micro tapering  for the past month. Ive gone from .75 to .54. Ive had a constant headache and up and down depression. My question is specifically with pill weight. My new script varies from .1144 grams to .1245 grams. These are for .25mg pills.

When im tapering im going by weight so im confused as to what im supposed to do when I get down to .50 in my taper schedule which will be in the next week. Would a single .25 pill that weighs .1245 have more medicine in it then a pill that weighs .1144? Im reducing by .003 per day or roughly 10% every 10 days. Any help appreciated!!!

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by [Fr...]
Wrong wording

[[El...]]

I am by no means an expert in this.  But it my understanding is that the amount of drug is pretty uniform in each pill.  The weight variance is due to the amount of filler.  I think this is particularly true if your pills are scored.  Are your pills scored?  Because of the variations in weight, I switched from tapering from "by weight of the pill" to "weight of the benzo in the pill".  I weigh each pill separately and use the site, www.benzo.alwaysdata.net, to figure out the weight of the actual benzo in the pill.  This can get awfully tedious, but I am so sensitive to the smallest variations, I have found this is the only way I can be consistent.

Good luck!  And welcome to BenzoBuddies.

Edited September 17, 2023 by [El...]
Fix on site address

[[Fr...]]

14 minutes ago, [[E...] said:

I am by no means an expert in this.  But it my understanding is that the amount of drug is pretty uniform in each pill.  The weight variance is due to the amount of filler.  I think this is particularly true if your pills are scored.  Are your pills scored?  Because of the variations in weight, I switched from tapering from "by weight of the pill" to "weight of the benzo in the pill".  I weigh each pill separately and use the site, www.benzo.alwaysdata.net, to figure out the weight of the actual benzo in the pill.  This can get awfully tedious, but I am so sensitive to the smallest variations, I have found this is the only way I can be consistent.

Good luck!  And welcome to BenzoBuddies.

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking the same thing. I will most likely do the same as you once i get down to the .50 daily (.25 twice daily). Hopefully someone who knows for sure can chime in!!

[[je...]]

Hi @[Fr...], most people will weigh 10 tablets and then take the average weight to make their deductions.

Your pills consist of pill weight (grams) and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) weight (mg). The API refers to the amount of Xanax in your pill. To the best of my knowledge different countries have different regulating bodies that prescribe how much the API is allowed to vary between pills. So yes, there will be slight variances in API in your pills, but from what I've seen on the tapering boards, the majority of people do okay with this, even those who are sensitive, especially if they take the average weight of the pills. 

@[El...], thanks so much for participating in the discussion! 

[[Fr...]]

I get the “averaging” weights. Just trying to figure out how to get past this next couple weeks. The difference between .1245 and .1145 is over a week worth of daily micro taper reductions. Any insight?

[[je...]]

On your previous script, did all the pills weigh exactly the same?

[[Fr...]]

7 minutes ago, [[j...] said:

On your previous script, did all the pills weigh exactly the same?

No but the variance was MUCH smaller. .1200-.1180. Also was at a higher dose. Just trying to figure out how to get to the .25 mg. As of now ive just been ignoring the full pill (.25mg)and just tapering the smaller piece (.02mg). But once I get rid of the smaller piece and start weighing it not sure what to do. So if I average them out its roughly .1188. So my taper plan says it should weigh. 1188, the next day .1168 then .1148 etc etc. if the whole .25 pill weighs .1244 do I shave it down to .1188 like the tapering plan says?

Edited September 18, 2023 by [Fr...]

[[je...]]

What is the current weight of your pill in grams your scale is registering and you are using now to make your reductions?

[[El...]]

Withdrew post.

Edited September 20, 2023 by [El...]
Post withdrawn

[[Fr...]]

5 minutes ago, [[j...] said:

What is the current weight of your pill in grams your scale is registering and you are using now to make your reductions?

Well, they range from .1245-.1145. Hence the problem. Ive been using the last of my pills that are in the .1190 range. I have a couple left. After that most are either .1220 or .1160 on average. Ive been averaging .1190 daily for the past week.

Edited September 18, 2023 by [Fr...]

[[je...]]

Just now, [[F...] said:

Well, they range from .1245-.1145. Hence the problem. Ive been using the last of my pills that are in the .1190 range. I have a couple left. After that most are either .1220 or .1160 on average.

Sorry, I'm not expressing myself clearly. What is your current dose in grams, i.e what are you taking today? You've said the plan says it "has to be", but I want to know what you are actually taking, not what the plan says you should be taking. 

[[Fr...]]

6 minutes ago, [[j...] said:

Sorry, I'm not expressing myself clearly. What is your current dose in grams, i.e what are you taking today? You've said the plan says it "has to be", but I want to know what you are actually taking, not what the plan says you should be taking. 

Sorry about that. Im currently taking .1308 g in the am and .1338 g at night. Ive been cutting .0025-.003 per day.Plan on holding for 4-5 days when I get to .25 twice daily.

Edited September 18, 2023 by [Fr...]

[[je...]]

3 minutes ago, [[F...] said:

Sorry about that. Im currently taking .1308 g in the am and .1338 g at night. Ive been cutting .0025-.003 per day.Plan on holding for 4-5 days at .25 twice daily.

Does 0.1308g am and 0.1338g pm combined equal 0.5mg according to your calculations?

[[je...]]

I apologise for all the questions, I just want to make sure we're talking about the same thing and we're on the same page. 

[[Fr...]]

1 minute ago, [[j...] said:

Does 0.1308g am and 0.1338g pm combined equal 0.5mg according to your calculations?

No, im still tapering towards .50. Im about a week out. Im at about .54mg at those weights. I added my taper schedule in a earlier response and it shows the grams. 

[[je...]]

2 hours ago, [[F...] said:

No, im still tapering towards .50. Im about a week out. Im at about .54mg at those weights. I added my taper schedule in a earlier response and it shows the grams. 

Thanks, I get it now. It seems for both the old and the new pills the average weight is around 0.119g. I think what I would do is just assume the average weight. So yes, if your assumed starting weight at 0.25mg is 0.119g, and the pill weighs 0.122g, then I'll file it down. But I'm going to see if I can get someone else to comment on this thread who has a lot more experience with this than me. I don't have a lot of experience with weighing and shaving, so I prefer someone else confirming this approach for you.

Here's a thread that might interest you. 

[Guest [...]]

Hi @[Fr...]

I remember having conversations about this in the past, and it basically came down to whether the tablets are made individually or made in a batch from a kind of slurry. If they are made from a thoroughly mixed slurry and then pressed, then the amount of API in each tablet would be determined by the overall weight of the API and Filler combined, as you can’t adjust the API in a tablet once mixed in a slurry. I could be completely wrong here, but I can’t imagine tablets being mixed and pressed one by one, so I have always assumed (in my own taper) that if one tablet weighs more than the next, then it has to have more API. I figure that that fluctuation in weight is the reason why the governing body allows a small variance in the amount of API from one tablet to the next. 

Again… I have no proof one way or the other, so I’m absolutely willing to stand corrected if there is anyone out there who has direct insight of the process. This is something we really should know. 

As @[je...] mentioned, some members weigh 10 tablets and divide the total weight by 10 to get the average weight to somewhat mitigate any fluctuations in API. I have talked to members who calculate that average weight and use the tablets closest to that average weight to taper first, then shaving the top end weighted tablets to the desired next lower weight, and then the lower end weighted tablets once the desired dose has reached that lower weight. Obviously what we’re talking about here is more of an issue if one is (1) tapering a very potent benzodiazepine (like Xanax) and (2) microtapering as the daily reductions are so much smaller than with the cut and hold method. 

That being said, at some point, whatever the fluctuation in API from one tablet to the next, we have to trust that it isn’t going to cause too much of an issue in our taper, or it can overcomplicate things in our head, increasing worry and stress, and that alone will increase symptoms. We can really only do what we can do to mitigate these potential fluctuations, and beyond that, we really have to just LET GO.