Snow's Titration

[[...]]

Hi  Colin -

 

Help.  Info below for titration schedule.

 

I started  with 2 mg lorazepam for sleep, prescribed 31 October, 2008.

Used a combination of 1.0 and .05 mg tabs for a while,

currently using .05 tabs exclusively. 

 

current total daily dose: 1.125mg, 1 ¼ tabs as follows:

a.m.  3/8 tab  (.1875 mg)

p.m. 1-7/8 tab  (.9375 mg)

 

direct taper hx as follows:

 

31 December 1.75 mg

11 January    1.5 mg

21 January      1.25 mg

24 January      1.375 mg (upped)

5  February 1.25 mg

24 February 1.125 mg

adjusted to BID:

28 February   .125 mg  am  -      1.0 mg hs 

5 March 5        .1875 mg am  -      .9375 mg hs 

 

I am crushing and mixing to get the 3/8 tab morning dose

and using one .5mg dry tab plus 7/8 mixed tab at bedtime.

 

Is this making sense?

 

Might as well start at 10% every 10 days, and would like to begin asap – don’t know when you will get this post.  It has been 11 days since my last cut, which went pretty well. 

 

I have a 100ml cylinder marked in 1ml increments, lowest mark at 10ml

and I have 10cc and 3cc syringes.

 

I’m thinking to decrease the hs dose but not the morning dose

until they are more equal.  I moved to BID because of dramatic crashes every morning after breakfast, which seem to have evened out better with my current dosing. 

 

Sound ok?

 

Snow

 

[[Co...]]

Hi  Colin -

 

Help.  Info below for titration schedule.

 

I started  with 2 mg lorazepam for sleep, prescribed 31 October, 2008.

Used a combination of 1.0 and .05 mg tabs for a while,

currently using .05 tabs exclusively.

 

Hi Snow,

 

Sorry, I've been busy.

 

I assume you mean 0.5mg tablets, not .05mg!

 

current total daily dose: 1.125mg, 1 ¼ tabs as follows:

a.m.  3/8 tab  (.1875 mg)

p.m. 1-7/8 tab  (.9375 mg)

 

Please clarify this for me: 1¹/₄ 0.5mg tablets = 0.625mg. Do you mean 2¹/₄ tablets?

 

³/₈ 0.5mg = 0.1875mg. Agreed.

 

1⁷/₈ 0.5mg = 0.9375mg. Agreed.

 

direct taper hx as follows:

 

31 December 1.75 mg

11 January    1.5 mg

21 January      1.25 mg

24 January      1.375 mg (upped)

5  February 1.25 mg

24 February 1.125 mg

adjusted to BID:

28 February   .125 mg  am  -      1.0 mg hs 

5 March 5        .1875 mg am  -      .9375 mg hs 

 

I am crushing and mixing to get the 3/8 tab morning dose

and using one .5mg dry tab plus 7/8 mixed tab at bedtime.

 

Is this making sense?

 

Might as well start at 10% every 10 days, and would like to begin asap – don’t know when you will get this post.  It has been 11 days since my last cut, which went pretty well. 

 

I have a 100ml cylinder marked in 1ml increments, lowest mark at 10ml

and I have 10cc and 3cc syringes.

 

I’m thinking to decrease the hs dose but not the morning dose

until they are more equal.  I moved to BID because of dramatic crashes every morning after breakfast, which seem to have evened out better with my current dosing. 

 

Sound ok?

 

Snow

 

 

Please confirm the 2¹/₄ 0.5mg tablets daily, and I'll draw up a schedule.

[[...]]

Yes, indeed I do mean .5 mg tabs and NOT .05!!

And lord, yes again - 2.5 tabs = 1.125 mg.

 

Tell me it makes sense now! 

 

Snow

[[Co...]]

Hi,

 

Still not clear! It seems that you take two-and-a-quarter tablets per day, but in your above post you state two-an-a-half tablets. I just need to be certain of the number of tablets you take for me to draw up the schedule.

 

I'll look at this tomorrow.

 

Thanks.

[[...]]

You're right - Thanks for your patience and insistence on clarity!

It's late, I'm on benzo's, what can I say. (I crush/mix part and use dry tabs for part, throwing out 1/4 tab so I "forget" I'm USING 2.5 tabs, but only TAKING 2.25 tabs). 

 

I take 2.25 TABS total daily, which equals 1.125 MG.  I hope.  Keep at me if it still isn[t making sense. 

 

am: .1875 mg (3/8th's tab)

pm: .9375 mg  (1 and 7/8th's tab)

 

Snow

[[Co...]]

Hi Snow,

 

We are all straight now. I will look at this tomorrow.

[[...]]

GREAT!  Thanks, Colin.

 

Snow

[[Co...]]

Hi Snow,

 

Here's the schedule based upon the numbers you supplied: http://www.benzobuddies.org/spreadsheets/tt-snow-2009-03-14.html

 

Please add the following code to your signature line (through your profile).

 

[url=http://www.benzobuddies.org/spreadsheets/tt-snow-2009-03-14.html][u]My Titration Schedule[/u][/url].

 

You will use one WHOLE tablet to titrate, make up a volume of 100ml, but drink just the amount indicated by the schedule (23 ml on the first day). You will take two additional tablets over the day (as indicated by the 'tabs' column in the table). The table also indicates when your untitrated tablets 1 and 0.

 

If you have any questions, please post them here. I will be unavailable until about next Tuesday, but others will help you.

 

Good luck.

[[...]]

I need help understanding.

 

I noted in my original post requesting a titration schedule that I wanted to keep my morning dose of .19 mg stable at .19 mg until the bedtime dose had been titrated down closer to the morning dose.  Is this schedule based on titration of both doses?  (only take two doses per day, need the larger dose at bedtime).

 

I don't understand how I can separate out the morning dose from this. 

 

Snow

[[an...]]

The schedule is based on using 2 1/4 pills as your starting daily dose.

 

You can continue to take the 3/8 dry pill in the morning and take the remaining 1 5/8 dry pill Colin planned with the liquid dose at night. 

 

I believe some people have been able to save the solution overnight in the fridge.

 

If you want to take the morning dose in liquid form you could drink 37 - 38 ml of the solution and then figure out how much titrated solution you need to have available to have the correct total daily dose at night.  This could be complicated. 

 

If you have other questions let me know. 

 

 

[[...]]

thanks, Annie.

 

I can't cut my .5 dry tab into 1/8ths.

 

I'll see if I can figure something else out in the morning, but right now it doesn't look like this schedule is going to work.

 

Snow

 

[[an...]]

the schedule starts on Saturday - do you want to start it tomorrow instead and just shift it all one day? 

 

Day # 1 Make up one cylinder of solution in the morning

 

drink out 38 ml but save the rest

 

you will have to make up a second cylinder for night

 

night you will drink the rest of the first cylinder, drink 23 ml out of the second cylinder and take one pill

 

 

[[...]]

Well, that looks doable.  Actually I have been doing something like that on my own - Colin has been away and not able to get back to me with the schedule -- so I figured something out that I have been using for 5 days now.  I'll be down to 1 mg on the 17th if all continues to go well.  After that, using your logic here, I bet I can pick up Colin's schedule where it changes to 2 tabs.

  I'll play with it when my brain's a little more nimble than it is right now, and get back to you if I have more questions.

  Thanks very much!

Snow

 

 

[[an...]]

He will be away for a few more days too. 

 

I have access to the spread sheet he used to generate the schedule, but I don't have the ability to post one myself. 

 

If you will be down to 1 mg or 2 tablets on the 17th you will be way ahead of this plan - you can start up with the schedule for the March 25th then just keep track that the days are off. 

[[...]]

Well, I hope I didn't botch things up too badly.

 

I shifted my BID dose from where I was in my titration (.2/.85) to .25/.79, and am holding at that until I stabilize.  This is day 2 at the new BID dose and I feel awful.  If it doesn't get better can I go back to .2/.85, or would it be best to hold here even if it never, ever, gets any better?

 

I know I'm whining.  When I feel this bad I think its going to be forever, I know it will change, but I don't believe it.

 

Snow

[[Th...]]

Well, I hope I didn't botch things up too badly.

 

I shifted my BID dose from where I was in my titration (.2/.85) to .25/.79, and am holding at that until I stabilize.  This is day 2 at the new BID dose and I feel awful.  If it doesn't get better can I go back to .2/.85, or would it be best to hold here even if it never, ever, gets any better?

 

I know I'm whining.  When I feel this bad I think its going to be forever, I know it will change, but I don't believe it.

 

Snow

 

Hi Snow,

 

You could go back to the other dosing if things don't get any better but I would hold there for a few more days to see if things settle. That is such a small shift, I am somewhat surprised you are feeling bad. Hope things even out for you.

 

T2

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Hi Theresa -

I know that is sensible advice.  Needed to hear it, sometimes I don't trust myself at all.  I don't know why I feel so bad - have had more trouble sleeping the past two nights, so that doesn't help.  Plus I had such a long string of good days and even sleeping well...  I thought maybe it would might continue that way since I'd started titrating. 

I hate this.

 

Snow

[[Co...]]

Hi Snow,

 

Let me know if you need a new schedule. Just include the starting dose and date.

[[...]]

Thanks, Colin -  Holding good so far, but I'll holler if I need some help.

 

Snow