Ready to make first cut

[[Jo...]]

HI BBs,

 

I'm going to my doctor tomorrow to get .5 ativan in order to start my taper. I'm at 1 mg/24 hours and want to try to cut .125. Does that sound like too much? The pills are so freaking small that it makes it harder to gauge and I don't think he'll switch me over to valium, I don't really want to anyway. Just want to get this over with. Any advice would be welcome. I bought a pill cutter at Walgreen's (ripoff) and it works OK but not great.

 

Thanks,

 

Joy

[[sh...]]

First off, I feel your frustration about the pill cutter. They DO NOT cut the pills strictly down the middle every single time. When I was tapering, I had to throw away certain pills because they broke or weren't even enough.

 

You may want to talk to your doctor about switching over. I did a straight taper from Xanax, which has a longer half life than Ativan, but it's still pretty short compared to others like Valium or Klonopin. I understand the need to want to get the process going so you'll be free, but if there's an option that might give you results with less intensity, I'd go for it. This experience is about giving ourselves all the time we need to make it through without being completely derailed.

 

My brain doesn't want to work tonight, so I can't give you any advice on your dosage cut, although you can ask that question in the taper forum. Someone might be available to answer your question quicker.

 

Anyway, hope this helps. Good luck!

[[mr...]]

Here is a simple way to dissolve your dose so u can make more accurate cuts.

 

Lee's Simple Water Titration:

This Is Lee's explanation of her method

"Get one or two plain glass medicine bottles with dropper tops.  You can buy these at any drugstore.  Sometimes you have to ask the pharmacist for them; they keep them behind the counter.

If you are taking a pill, this will probably work great (depending upon the dissolvability of the pill).  If you are taking a capsule, ask your pharmacist if it is OK to open the capsule and swallow part of the contents: sometimes meds are encapsulated because they can irritate the mouth and throat.  Check with your pharmacist.

Put the pill in the glass bottle.  Add 10 droppers of hot water.  Let stand for 15 minutes, then shake it up.  Shake it up every time you take some.  With this ratio, 10 droppers = 100% of your dose, 9 droppers = 90% etc.

For instance:  I was taking half of a .25 mg. Xanax twice a day.  I managed to cut the halves into quarters, but that was as far as I could chop them up.  So I put 1/2 of a .25 mg. (.125mg) Xanax into the bottle and added 8 droppers of hot water.  With this ratio, 2 droppers = .03125mg of Xanax.  1 dropper = .015625mg of Xanax, or an equivalent of .3125 mg. Valium. So I was able to take quite small doses.

I used this 3 years ago to do a long, hard taper off Baclofen and Ativan.  It works great.  When I got down to the end, I just added another 10 droppers of water to the bottle (no pill) and kept taking that for a couple of weeks.  In reality, I was getting plain water, but going thru the motions of taking it was a comforting placebo."

Notes: 

CAUTION: A person should always consult with their doctor before making any changes to their medication.

1. If you add 10 droppers of water to your pill and then drink all 10 drops, you will have taken your full dose.

If you add 10 droppers of water to your pill and then drink 9 droppers, you will have made a 10% cut in your dose. You might drink 9 droppers a day for two weeks or until you feel stable and then you might cut to taking 8 droppers a day for 2 weeks or until you feel stable.

2. If you add 8 droppers of water to your pill and then drink all 8 drops, you will have taken your full dose.

If you add 8 droppers of water to your pill and then drink 7 droppers, you will have made a 12.5% cut in your dose.

3. If you think that making a 10% or a 12.5% cut is too large then you might consider using more water with your pill. For instance if you add 20 droppers of water to your pill and then drink 19 droppers you will have made a 5% cut.

4. You don't have to use droppers, you just need to have a way to consistently measure the same amount of water each day. You could use a medicine measuring syringe from the pharmacy and measure out 10mls of water each day and makes cuts of 1ml each two weeks to get a 10% cut. Alternatively you might use a teaspoon.

5. If the pharmacist says to use cold water, you can smash you pill into powder in a bowl, using the back of a spoon.  Then put the powder on a small piece of paper, curl in up and carefully pour into bottle.

http://www.benzosupport.org/lee%27s_simple_water_titraion.htm