New Here- need HELP taper

[[Re...]]

Hi,

I have used this somewhat complex method to dry taper and explain it in this thread. It was on the old forum and I have requested it to be moved to this new forum just today so it should be here in a short time.

This will take some work to set up initially, but it works and gives you the knowledge that you are taking very accurate doses which helps mentally and physically especially when the doses are very low. 

I am now almost done my taper of over 2 years will be done in June. Once you have done the setup for this, it is very easy to make all the doses you need until you end the taper.  

 

Good luck !

 

Edited February 24 by [Re...]

[[Co...]]

@[Re...]

As requested, I've just moved your old thread from the archive to Chewing the Fat. The URL is unaffected.

[[Li...]]

23 minutes ago, [[o...] said:

PS not sure right now how my TEVA brand comes in .5, scored or not yet. I so hope I don't get changed on brand for any reason, probably get paranoid it that happened.

@[or...]

 

Per the current official FDA Drug Label for clonazepam tablets manufactured by Teva (link below):

Clonazepam tablets USP, 0.5 mg are available as yellow, round, flat beveled, tablets. Scored and debossed with "832" above the score on one side, debossed with "TEVA" on the other side. Packaged in bottles of 100 (NDC 0093-0832-01) with a child-resistant closure, in bottles of 500 (NDC 0093-0832-05).

Re: your concern about a manufacturer change (see note) …

Actions you can take to decrease the likelihood of this happening:

(1) Ask your prescriber if they would be willing to add a “Dispense As Written” note to your prescription. Depending on the rules and regs in your state, the note would be something along the lines of: 

DAW 1:  Teva, USP 0.5mg, NDC 0093-0832

(2) Ask your pharmacist if they would be willing to purchase the larger (500 count) bottle of the 0.5mg clonazepam tablets (NCD 0093-0832-05) and fill your prescriptions from that bottle.  The Big Chain pharmacies typically will not do this but some of the smaller, independently owned pharmacies will.

Note:  There is only one branded clonazepam - Klonopin, currently being manufactured by H-2 Pharma in the US (the original patent-holder and manufacturer was Roche).  Other clonazepam tablets are generic drugs produced by multiple different manufacturers including Teva, Solco, Accord, Sun, and Advagen.

DailyMed - CLONAZEPAM tablet
https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=8069b1a0-7c06-4252-b44e-e2eef065d9b8

 

 

 

[[or...]]

Ok, that's good information, thank you, oregonlady

[[Pa...]]

1 hour ago, [[C...] said:

That's my take on it. As I understand it, there is no guarantee that the active ingredient is evenly distributed throughout the pill, except where it crosses score lines. Further, I expect the coating will have some effect too. It might well be minor, but I cannot say this for certain.

There is no way for us to know for certain. It must be possible (given the lack of guarantee about even distribution of the active ingredient) that the active ingredient is in higher proportion in the middle of the pill. So, reductions in this area might have a greater affect upon the dose. Others here disagree with me, but for reasons of uncertainty, I generally recommend crushing and grinding the pill into a fine powder.

On the other hand, it could be that your overall taper rate is too high and the accumulated reductions are catching up with you. You might try crushing and grinding your pill and see if this improves the situation for you. Or, you might have hit a tougher patch for some other indeterminate reason.

Again, there is no way for us to know for certain. You might instead crush your pill; if there is improvement, then this is suggestive of variability in distribution of the active ingredient. Or, again, you just hit a rough patch for some more random reason.

Possibly. And I cannot even speculate without trying look into how pregabalin might affect benzodiazepine metabolisation.

I would suggest crushing one pill at a time. Although there is some utility in crushing up batches (this would average out variability of dose between pills, and saves some time), we cannot know for certain what effects this might have on the active ingredients (exposure to air, moisture, contaminants, etc.). Further, if you experience a mishap, this could result in you losing a large proportion of your pills. I strongly recommend crushing a single pill at a time. And if you take multiple doses across the day, only crush only as many pills as you need to achieve your individual doses. You can mix and match powder and whole pills.

Thanks for your feedback, Colin. I’m wondering if I could take half the pill scored; then crush the other half, mix and weigh it? Good idea to just try one at a time, I can’t afford to lose any pills. 
Do you have any idea if crushing changes metabolism of K? 
 

[[Co...]]

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

Thanks for your feedback, Colin. I’m wondering if I could take half the pill scored; then crush the other half, mix and weigh it? Good idea to just try one at a time, I can’t afford to lose any pills. 
Do you have any idea if crushing changes metabolism of K? 
 

Metabolism, no. But it will affect absorption to some degree. It probably will result in an earlier and higher peak, and a slightly lower trough before your next dose.

[[An...]]

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

I had to find what worked for me.  I chose shaving off a tablet simply because it seemed easiest, and my little scale works very well for me.  It's really what works for you.  I started, before BB, just breaking the tablets, and that, I found out here, was not accurate in the least.  I'm OCD enough that I couldn't go on like that.  I'm almost a year into a DMT, slow, dry micro taper and doing so well after using a 1 mg a day Clonazepam tablet for 35 years.

But again, everyone, that is lucky enough to still have a 'script needs to read, try, and decide on their way.  I read a long time ago even pharmacist-grade scales can't be totally accurate, so I stopped worrying if I was a small percentage off, and can't get "perfect" reading on my scale.  It's never that I recall, been more than .001 g of weight off my dose weight I need it to be.  I get tired of trying though, and will just take the .094 g instead of my .095 g which is what I really want.

My way won't fly with some, but I'm doing so well limiting wd sxs that I don't care what anyone thinks, it's working for me oregonlady

I agree, pill shaving is a lot easier but I do worry about the API distribution in the excipient. Even with pill-crushing and weighing, you still can't be 100% sure how much of the API you are actually getting. 

@[ur...] How bad was your anxiety disorder prior to your short-term Ativan use? I do agree tolerance is slowly starting to creep in. That is why the .25 mgs will not give you 2 days of adequate relief anymore from the Ativan. You have got to be prepared to deal with your underlying problem non-pharmacologically after benzo detox. Have you given this much consideration?

[[cc...]]

22 hours ago, [[C...] said:

Do whatever works best for you. There is no perfect method - anyone who suggests they have the answer, does not appreciate the extent of the unknowns and uncertainties.

@[Co...] I like this statement best. It’s so natural though to want to believe there is the perfect solution because of the amount of suffering present people go through with “whatever method” they try.

pepto bismol (for example), tablet or liquid, is more of a preference than efficacy issue. With so many other meds, it also works this way. You can reduce the intake either by smaller pills or less liquid. With benzos, it’s absolutely chaotic.

Question: With powder, I assume that mixing the powder thoroughly is a good idea to, since you want even distribution. But something that makes me nervous or scared is the loss of powder on the walls or plastic of the holder for the tablet. If I crush a tablet in a mortar and pestle bowl, lots of it gets lost in the walls!

[[Co...]]

38 minutes ago, [[c...] said:

Question: With powder, I assume that mixing the powder thoroughly is a good idea to, since you want even distribution. But something that makes me nervous or scared is the loss of powder on the walls or plastic of the holder for the tablet. If I crush a tablet in a mortar and pestle bowl, lots of it gets lost in the walls!

There are tiny pestle and mortars designed for crushing pills. And a small brush could be used to remove what clings to the walls. These two things, I think, will much reduce wastage.