cutting Klonopin by .125

[[ho...]]

It begins Wednesday night.  I've only been on 1 mg for a few weeks, but got switched over because after 6 months Serax was no longer effective.  I'm looking to reduce every 7-10 days.  I'm taking supplements available from a non-profit (not the "road-back") which are designed to promote brain healing, as well as adjusting my diet to promote my intestinal GABA recovery.  I miss my Taco Bell  :'(

 

 

[[su...]]

Hello houstontexan,

 

 

I see you are interested in doing a slow taper. I have been dry-cutting from Klonopin and put together my taper plan for you along with an example of a dose reduction from 1mg. With Klonopin I hold no shorter than 2 weeks due to the half-life. More info is in my taper plan.

 

 

 

You get the % by taking the dose reduction and dividing it by the dose you are currently at. For example; a 0.03125mg dose reduction from 0.5mg is a 6.25% dose reduction.  0.03125 divided by 0.5 = 6.25% reduction.

 

I have been dry-cutting. I have learned some important things about this process for me:

 

 

 

1) I have found that I need to hold for no shorter than 2 weeks. . That is because Klonopin has a half-life of 30 to 40 hours and the generic clonazepam has a half-life of 18 to 50 hours. It takes five half-lives to get a dose reduction out of our system.

2) I listen to my body and hold until it feels like it has adjusted to the new lower dose. I usually get a few lower symptom days before I do another dose reduction.

3) My average holds have been 2 to 4 weeks

4) In order to keep the symptoms at a tolerable level, I keep my cuts around 10% or lower.

5) I have been able to keep my cuts below 10% by going to .03125mg when I hit .5mg of Klonopin.

 

 

 

In case you are interested in how I am able to dry cut the lower doses:

 

Cutting 0.25mg:

 

Here is how I am able to get the .25mg pieces. I break the .5mg tablet in half.  The brand Klonopin is scored and breaks in half easily.

 

 

Cutting 0.125mg

 

Take the .25mg and cut that in half. That is a .125mg piece. . I use an angle razor like a box cutter. And cut on hard surface like glass or a mirror.

 

Cutting 0.0625mg

 

I have the 0.5mg Klonopin.

 

I break the 0.5mg tablet in half then, I cut 1/4th off of that. I use an angle razor like a box cutter. I have found that the razor is thinner and sharper than the pill splitters I have worked with. Yet, I have read that some have no problem using pill splitters.

 

I cut the 1/4 off of the tablet on a glass surface. I have found the glass surface to be hard enough to get a clean cut. I press down firm and fairly fast. The 1/4 breaks away (from the .25mg). Now I have 0.0625mg.

 

NOTE: If you are unable to get a chip that is .0625 mg then you could crush it into powder. That would work as well. You would take a .25 mg piece and separate it into 4 piles.

 

Cutting 0.03125mg (Powder)

 

The way I get the .03125mg is I crush a .25mg piece and separate the powder into 8 piles. I happen to have a window scraper so that is what I use or you could use a razor. I crush the .25mg on a dinner plate with the top part of a pill crusher. Then use the window scraper or razor to separate the pile into 8. Each pile is .03125mg.

 

Note: (What I do is crush the portion of the tablet. Then I put it in one pile. I do my best with the razor to separate the pile into two. Then I take the two piles and separate them into two. That makes four piles. Then I take those and separate them into two more piles. That makes eight.)

 

Cutting 0.0156mg (Powder)

 

The way I would get a .0156mg cut is by crushing .125mg piece (to get the .125mg, cut the .25mg in half). Then crush the .125mg on a dinner plate, into powder with the top of a pill crusher. I happen to have a window scraper so that is what I use or you could use a razor. Then separate the piles into 8. Each pile is .0156mg.

 

Cutting 0.0078mg (Powder)

 

Crush a 0.625mg into powder and separate into 8 piles.

 

NOTE: With the powder, here is how I take it. I lick my finger, press it on the powder, then I put the powder in my mouth. Then I drink some water after.

 

 

Here is what a dose reduction from 1 mg by 0.0625mg would look like:

0.5mg

0.25mg

0.125mg

0.0625mg (Chip or Powder)

----------------

0.9375mg Total

That would be a 6.25% dose reduction

 

 

 

I hope this is helpful,

Summer

[[ho...]]

Hi Summer, seen a bunch of your posts.  I'm slightly confused by your .0625 cut description.  Are you splitting the .5 (leaving .25) and then doing a 3/4 cut from the .25 half leaving you with .0625 and .1875?

 

I've been told Almond oil makes for a great suspension liquid.  It would be even more ideal to whip up a batch and draw through a syringe.  But I couldn't find any good info on how to ensure you get a homogeneous blend.

[[su...]]

Hi Summer, seen a bunch of your posts.  I'm slightly confused by your .0625 cut description. Are you splitting the .5 (leaving .25) and then doing a 3/4 cut from the .25 half leaving you with .0625 and .1875?

 

I've been told Almond oil makes for a great suspension liquid.  It would be even more ideal to whip up a batch and draw through a syringe.  But I couldn't find any good info on how to ensure you get a homogeneous blend.

 

Hello houstontexan,

 

Yes, I am smiling. You can not see it, yet I am smiling. I am using .1875mg chips right now in my most recent dose reduction. I also have a Pill Organizer for the different sizes of chips and for making my 2 week supply. I usually don't mention the .1875mg chips because it is challenging enough to grasp  the other sizes.

 

I thought this might be helpful:

 

PILL ORGANIZERS:

 

I would get some pill organizers. You can get them at the drug store. I would get the ones that have 4 compartments. They come in one week's supply, one sleeve per day. I would get two weeks supply of these. I put together two weeks supply of my dose reductions together at one time. I take one sleeve out in the morning and put it on my table and take my daily doses from there. That way it is all organized and planned ahead.

 

It may be worth even getting more than that so that you can use one of the sleeves to collect all the different sizes of Klonopin. For instance; one container for the .25 mg, then one for the .125, then one for the .0625. Over time they will become useful and help reduce the time it takes to prepare for the next dose reduction.

 

 

I am sending you my love,

Summer

 

 

[[fi...]]

What supplements are you taking, houston?

 

fg

[[ho...]]

Omega-3 Fish Oil with a higher grade of DHA than normally found at your typical health food store,  This helps support brain function and reduce the "fog".  There's also a protien/vitamin/mineral blend that's designed to help the body produce ample amounts of Glutathione which is supposed to help eliminate all the garbage in the cells.  Another protein supplement helps the body to relax, calms the nerves etc.  It's not an anti-anxiety drug replacement, it just helps provide some balance.  When I wake up in the middle of the night, I take one of those and I soon drift back off.  And finally there's montmorency tart cherries.  This brand is flash-pasteurized to retain more of the nutrional elements as opposed to standard pasteurized tart cherries that you'd find in a store.    It's all part of an integrated program.  Do a search for benzo w/d programs and I'm certain you'll come across the program (look for real nice website with lots of testimonials). 

 

The program recommends a 5% weekly w/d, but that means getting a doc onboard with compund Rx.  I haven't found a doc who will comply.  So I'm cutting by .125;  The prog dir told me to go for it and see how I do.  If I have difficulties, she'll have one of their medical advisors (licensed doc) contact me and write out an Rx.

[[fi...]]

I hope your taper works well, Houston.

 

fg

[[ho...]]

1st cut last night.  We'll see how it goes in a few days.