Need help tapering by percentage..

[[or...]]

and once again, I cannot figure this out on my own.  Anyone that's familiar with my "journey" I've gone buy weight of dose, not %, but now, I've been on my .5 mg TEVA C Tablet for 11 days and I am pretty sure I'm not even having any significant wd sxs, so I want to try tapering again now.  Not today, already took my .5 tablet. 

Biggest problem I can't seem to wrap my brain around is the my .5 mg tablets weigh the same as my 1 mg, average of .170 g on my jewelry scale.  So I don't like starting from .170 again because I'm nuts and feel like I'm just back to start so I want to show my percent of dose this time, and on through to the end

Feedback welcome, and hope again @[Fa...] is around because he makes the math simple for me, he's just my fave math teacher, is that ok, I hope so, don't want anyone's feelings hurt.  I do learn from others as well, and so appreciate having people show up to help and encourage me.  Please don't misunderstand ok, I want to hear from as many as possible, oregonlady

Here's just an example of how I'm trying to calculate it:  What is 3% of .5 mg.  I can get the answer which I get 0.015.  Then I get lost  So I think then about the tablet being .5 mg, but weighs .170, so now I'm lost again.  I am trying, but truly need help.  Maybe it's better to stick to weight of tablet, but if I can I'd like to show percent.  Again, feedback welcome.  I'm wondering what most people find easiest in micro-tapering, not liquids as I do dry cuts with scale and razor blade

[[Fa...]]

Hi, @[or...].  It sounds you are doing fairly well which is great news!

I would recommend keeping it simple and not overly worry yourself with the mg of active ingredient - and instead focus on dose weight and reduction percentage.

If you want to reduce your dose by 3%, multiply .170g (dose weight) by .97 (97% of your current dose - or 3% reduction) which equals a new dose weight of .165g.  FWIW - this would equate to you ingesting approximately .485mg active ingredient with each daily dose.

[[or...]]

Hi FHL and thank you for coming by to help me once again!

 I realized I took .090g/.170 = 53%.  So then I took .086g/.170 and got .50 or 50% so started my .5mg tabs.  The .086g was just a guess at how much would make the .5 mg of my original dose of 1mg tablet.  So I'm thinking to go down .004 g in weight since that reduction works pretty well, so far with holding 11 days at least, maybe even less.  I'm just showing you how I try to calculate and if I'm making mistakes in that, which I don't doubt

so my next taper would look like this in my calcs:

.082g / .170 = 48% !! How am I doing??

Edited May 12 by [or...]

[[Fa...]]

Hi again, @[or...].  You just want to shave off a little of your .5mg tablet so that it weighs .165g (vs. full weight of .170g) on your scale.

If you handle that 3% reduction in dose well, I would recommend dropping to a daily dose weight of .160g.  Again, this is just shaving a little more off your .5mg tablet so that it weighs .160g vs .165g.

[[or...]]

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

Hi again, @[or...].  You just want to shave off a little of your .5mg tablet so that it weighs .165g (vs. full weight of .170g) on your scale.

If you handle that 3% reduction in dose well, I would recommend dropping to a daily dose weight of .160g.  Again, this is just shaving a little more off your .5mg tablet so that it weighs .160g vs .165g.

Ok, I get it now, so sorry I didn't/couldn't figure how you got the .165, I honestly can't tell you how I had that so screwed up in my head, but this time I've got it.  Yes, I will just take off the 3% as you say which will weigh .165 g on my scale, sounds good, I'll start tomorrow Thanks so much for your patience with me FHL, you're such a help to so many here.  I hope things are going well for you OL

[[or...]]

I see this too, .170 X .97 (or 97 % which is 3 % less than 100%, or present dose %) then I get the .1649, or round to .165g as next taper   I'm so happy I can see it @[Fa...], yeehaw   You're a good teacher!!

So from the .165 I would multiply that by .94 and get new dose of .155, or rounded .160g weight!!

Edit: oops, I think that last part is wrong because .165 X .94= .1551 so wouldn't dose be .155 that's a lot, so it looks wrong to me.  What did I do wrong here   Oh I see it, it's always got to be .97 because that is 3% of each dose, I get it

So, .165 new weight dose X .97 = .160

.160 X .97 = .155 etc.!! now Yeehaw!!

Edited May 12 by [or...]

[[Fa...]]

No worries, @[or...].  You’ve got it now.  As long as you are handling 3% reductions well, and wish to continue at this pace, you will just multiply your total daily dose weight by .97 (97%) at each reduction stage for the foreseeable future.

You can always adjust your rate of reduction as you see fit.  Obviously at some point you will have to abandon the percentage reductions and taper linearly, but we will cross that bridge when we get there.  Wish you the best!

[[or...]]

Sounds good FHL, I thought linear just meant in a steady, declining line, but I'm for waiting on figuring that out until the time come to change to change to it, thank you again for all your help.  I was so worn out from doing laundry, and keeping up with my new puppy I had to take a nap   She's been an important addition to my life though, talk about distractions OL

[[Ma...]]

I’m switching over to the TEVA .5 mg tablets myself this week.  I know it’s the same brand but changes always make me nervous.  Let me know how it goes @[or...]

[[or...]]

It went really good this morning Matt but I'll give you an update as well here on this thread after another 5 days but I think fhl gives the very best way for me to keep track of doing any percentage which I'm just doing the 3% did you understand what he was showing me if you have any questions at all you go right ahead and ask him or anyone on this thread that you want to I was really baffled I don't know you know my brain just felt scrambled but fhl really straightened it out for me it took a few of his post but as you can see I finally got it I was stuck on where he got the 97 the point 97 and that was from 100% of the dose and each new dose would be considered 100% dose so you would just subtract 97 because that's 3% less than 100 I hope that makes sense I'm dictating on my phone Oregonlady 😉

Edited May 13 by [or...]

[[or...]]

14 hours ago, [[M...] said:

I’m switching over to the TEVA .5 mg tablets myself this week.  I know it’s the same brand but changes always make me nervous.  Let me know how it goes @[or...]

I'm grateful for being on the TEVA C tabs all along because they have a long half-life and it would have been so hard for me to take something 3 times a day or so.  Keeping track of numbers, and especially figuring them out causing me more anxiety.  I'll have to look and see what you have been taking, but remember every one adjusts differently, so you can adjust well to the change.

I'm so surprised I am doing so good with larger "weight" doses, which I was stumbling along with just ridiculously low tapers.  But I think there was good reason to that and that was to get used to wd sxs I was getting, and be able to still keep my quality of life.  Certainly not perfect, but coping way better most of the time Oregonlady

[[Ma...]]

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

I'm so surprised I am doing so good with larger "weight" doses, which I was stumbling along with just ridiculously low tapers. 

So glad you are doing well.  Yeah, I have been on the 1 mg TEVA tablets but switching over to the .5’s since I’m getting low on my taper.  I think when people have had more difficulties changing its when the brand name is changed.  But I’m always cautious about any change to my routine.  Only time will tell I suppose.  Hoping to use these for the rest of my taper. 

[[or...]]

49 minutes ago, [[M...] said:

So glad you are doing well.  Yeah, I have been on the 1 mg TEVA tablets but switching over to the .5’s since I’m getting low on my taper.  I think when people have had more difficulties changing its when the brand name is changed.  But I’m always cautious about any change to my routine.  Only time will tell I suppose.  Hoping to use these for the rest of my taper. 

Yes, same brand for me on both tabs, thank goodness.  I would have been very nervous if they changed that on me.  I don't see any major differences so far Matt, I'm 13 or is it 14 days into the .5 tabs   You'll be fine I expect and wow, loved the time I just took the .5 tab dose, now I'm just trimming a teenie bit off, but it was a nice break in the routine of having to "shave" every morning tablet that is OL

[[or...]]

well this was upsetting this a.m.  Thought my scale was off but I believe it is fine after testing it a little further.  I did not weigh my next batch of .5 mg TEVA Tablets.  I just forgot to do that.  Now I did an average weight of 10 again and I can't believe it says .176 g.  Is this truly possible for a "batch" to be so much different?

Hope someone sees this, hate to bother @[Fa...] and love every time, but I will because I've tapered down twice now thinking these weighed the same .170 g pillweight average   My brain may be disfunctioning again, what's new though

[[or...]]

Ok, I think what I need to do, and I am so hoping it isn't my scale.  I still have some 1 mg Tevas so 10 of those weighed are just 1718 so average is .171 g, so I was wrong about the .170 g average.  I can't assume anything I'm realizing with these damn tablet weights Someone mentioned someone here was struggling and I have to say this, who the hell isn't struggling

Ok, I have to hold it together here so I can get on the right track.  So I have to change this equation FHL gave me, and I cannot thank him enough, that's for sure! 

.170 X .97 (or 97 % which is 3 % less than 100%, or present dose %) then I get the .1649, or round to .165g as next taper

so it reads .176 X .97 (or 97% which is 3 % less than 100%, or present dose %) then I get .1707.  So now I get I need to be taking .171 g doses, but I've gone down to .165??  I'm so confused,  I'm so very sorry, just hoping someone comes by, OL~Denise

Edited May 22 by [or...]

[[Ct...]]

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

well this was upsetting this a.m.  Thought my scale was off but I believe it is fine after testing it a little further.  I did not weigh my next batch of .5 mg TEVA Tablets.  I just forgot to do that.  Now I did an average weight of 10 again and I can't believe it says .176 g.  Is this truly possible for a "batch" to be so much different?

Hope someone sees this, hate to bother @[Fa...] and love every time, but I will because I've tapered down twice now thinking these weighed the same .170 g pillweight average   My brain may be disfunctioning again, what's new though

One batch of my Teva 1 mg weighed an average of .174 g. My next batch weighed an average of .171 g.

[[or...]]

8 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

One batch of my Teva 1 mg weighed an average of .174 g. My next batch weighed an average of .171 g.

I have no idea why I didn't remember to do an average, my whole taper could be off, so off and this is just too overwhelming right now.  Thank you Ctlady, for letting me know the dif. in your batches, hugs, Denise PS I see one bright-spot in this and that is it may help someone else not to make the same mistake   and there is one other, I shan't make the same mistake again

Edited May 22 by [or...]

[[or...]]

Oh wow, I think I am not off that much, I am praying!

I just figured 2 of the 3% cuts would bring me from .176 g of weight dose, down to .166 g weight dose.  I'm not so bad off as I thought, omg, this is so hard.  I hope I don't confuse anyone but myself   I've been at .165 so I can go on from there, I hope I'm right in this last figuring, OL, Denise

[[Fa...]]

Hi, @[or...].  I wouldn't overly worry yourself.  If you have been at .165g dose weight for almost 2 weeks now, and are doing ok, I would just stay there instead of going back up in dose weight.  

Again, when you feel ready to make another reduction in dose (and still wish to reduce by 3%) - just multiply .165 by .97.  You can then take a dose weight of .160g for a period until you feel ready to proceed with another reduction.

[[or...]]

Yes, I'm back on track FHL!!  Thanks so much for confirming it, and no, I did not go up in dose weight Today I will just do the .165g as you are totally right, I've done ok on this dose weight with those same tablets that are an average of .176g (what a rude awakening) I've learned an important lesson, and my next batch will be given to me tomorrow, and you can be sure I'll get the average weight of tab Thanks much, Oregonlady~Denise

PS my sxs have ramped up a lot this time but it's more the choices I've made like a puppy, and a big move back to my home-State on the 20th of June   I also am getting insomnia again, plus weird dreams that don't make any sense at all.  Sxs do come back on some of us, learning that can be expected as well, and not be unrealistic about my healing.

Edited May 23 by [or...]