Dry cut taper

[[Buddie]]

Hi,  I’ve been dry tapering from 0.25 mg Klonopin. I’m down to 0.20mg. I’m having small waves, insomnia, benzo belly, jittery. All mild. I hold for two weeks then increase the cut. It this doable til the end?  I don’t want to have severe withdrawal like I did at the beginning. ( I had no knowledge and went too fast!). The jewelry scale does not seem to get me low enough and the compound pharm is too expensive.

[[Buddie]]

If you experienced uncomfortable symptoms at the beginning of your taper then I’d recommend slowing it down towards the end, many members report it getting tougher the lower in dose they get.  Using your symptoms to guide your taper will hopefully keep you from facing severe ones.  While keeping to a schedule when taking your doses is a good idea, adhering to a strict schedule when thinking about your next reduction can work against you.

I’m going to ask another member to drop by who has experience weighing their doses on a scale or we could talk about using liquid titration.  I know it looks complicated, at least it does to me since I didn’t taper but I’ve heard members say once they get the hang of it, it’s easy to do.

[[Buddie]]

Hi,  I’ve been dry tapering from 0.25 mg Klonopin. I’m down to 0.20mg. I’m having small waves, insomnia, benzo belly, jittery. All mild. I hold for two weeks then increase the cut. It this doable til the end?  I don’t want to have severe withdrawal like I did at the beginning. ( I had no knowledge and went too fast!). The jewelry scale does not seem to get me low enough and the compound pharm is too expensive.

Alyce,

[...] suggested I chime in.

You are much like me.  I was on Klonopin for 13 year (about 0.25 to 0.5mg) per day.

My taper was tough but as I got lower in does (less than 0.125 mg per day), I had to stop using a scale because they do not work so well at low weights.

So I started mixes my dose with a filler to get the scale to work better.  I could explain it to you, but it very complicated and a bit worrisome to do.

If I had to do it again, I would try this method first:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whpciMUXHfY&list=PLq27kC29XVsNRJ38NeslvT14h2j0UQjEf&index=2&t=103s

Bob

[[Buddie]]

Hi [...].  We have at least two members who are currently dry tapering clonazepam. I’ve sent them a PM asking if they would feel comfortable sharing their approaches with you.

[[Buddie]]

Hi,
  I've been shaving my tablets with a metal nail file and weighing on a .001 g GEM20 jeweler's scale.  Pretty soon I may use the 7/3 DMT method, where I reduce the clonazepam weight by .001 mg for 7 days and then hold the daily dosage for 3 days before resuming my taper.  My approach is more tedious than the DLMT method (using liquid titration), but I feel most comfortable with a dry taper and have become adept at shaving tablets.  If you have more questions, pls let me know..

[[Buddie]]

I’m dry tapering, but not weighing because I can’t figure out the scale. I’m an RN and I still can’t get the pill to weigh. Go figure. So the dry taper is my guess work. I’m afraid I’m heading to trouble. I need someone to spell out how in the heck to get this tiny pill to show a weight on the scale.

[[Buddie]]

I’m dry tapering, but not weighing because I can’t figure out the scale. I’m an RN and I still can’t get the pill to weigh. Go figure. So the dry taper is my guess work. I’m afraid I’m heading to trouble. I need someone to spell out how in the heck to get this tiny pill to show a weight on the scale.

There are many different jeweler's scales out there, so it's a little tricky spelling out the steps to take.

On my GEM20 scale, I have a Mode button that I press down until the readout shows a "g" for grams.  There are other settings, like one for ounces, but you want grams for the tablets. 

Another jeweler's scale that I have has the Mode button simply marked with an "M".

Before I weigh my tablets, I press the Tare button (sometimes simply marked with a "T").  This sets the readout to all zeroes.

I then weigh the tablets or pieces of tablets.

I don't know what model of scale you have, but you want one that measures to the .001 g.

[[Buddie]]

Hello, [...].

What is the model and manufacturer of the scale you are using?  Have you tried searching YouTube for videos on how to use it?

Also, can you tell us more about the tablets you are using? What is the manufacturer? What is the strength? Are these regular tablets or orally disintegrating tablets? 

[[Buddie]]

Hello, [...].

What is the model and manufacturer of the scale you are using?  Have you tried searching YouTube for videos on how to use it?

Also, can you tell us more about the tablets you are using? What is the manufacturer? What is the strength? Are these regular tablets or orally disintegrating tablets?

They are regular yellow scored tablets. Clonazapam 0.5mg. I’ll keep working at the scale.

[[Buddie]]

What is the manufacturer?  Teva?

(The manufacturer should appear on the label of your pill bottle.  If it does not, let us know the imprint on the actual pill itself. Or you can call your pharmacy to ask.)