liquid taper

I am dissolving .5mg lorazepam in water, then taking half each night.(Note that my starting dose was 1.5 mg, and I'm still taking the 1mg each night)

My question is whether the unused liquid has to be refrigerated?

As far as we know there has never been a study done on home brews to determine how long they remain viable so most members will make a fresh batch daily just to be on the safe side. 

Hello, Cata.

 

Pamster is correct. To our knowledge, do-it-yourself (DIY) liquids such as the one you are making have not been professionally analyzed so we do not know their properties (e.g. how long they remain ‘shelf-stable’; whether or not they should be refrigerated).

 

What we do know is:

 

(1) Lorazepam is insoluble in water.  When you add water to your regular lorazepam tablet, the lorazepam in the tablet does not dissolve.  Instead, it disintegrates into particles (hopefully small, evenly sized ones) which are then dispersed in the water.

 

(2) Water is a poor suspending vehicle due to its low viscosity.  So, it’s important to (a) shake your DIY liquid well before using it to disperse the lorazepam particles (as well as particles of other water-insoluble excipients in the tablet) as homogeneously as possible throughout the liquid and (b) measure your dose or reduction amount as quickly as possible before the drug/excipient particles settle out of suspension.

 

(3) Lorazepam is subject to photodegradation.  So, it’s probably a good idea to protect your DIY liquid from light.

Thanks for the reply. Obviously, the liquid taper isn't as simple as YouTube videos may imply. Can you recommend any instructional videos?

You’re welcome.  The only video I know about is the one you’ve probably already viewed (by Benzo Brains).  There’s nothing wrong with the video, it just doesn’t address all of the points individuals need to consider when making and using a do-it-yourself (DIY) liquid.