Water, milk, baby food or ice cream (!) for titrating

[[Buddie]]

Baby food should work well (as will anything with high viscosity). Ice cream will be either too stiff, and maybe a little too runny (when melted) to be ideal, but I'm sure it would work better than water (and perhaps milk). Though, it is full of sugar too, so this is not a great solution.

I'll be back soon.

Edit: typos.

What a higher fat milk product like whole milk, half and half or cream, like ice cream without the sugar, if benzo a binds better to fat?  I can see that because its closer to a petrochemical I think so not water soluable..that's what I think.  I think most drugs are a derivative of petro chemicals, the petroleum industry started the pharmacy industry I think is the history. 

[[Buddie]]

Just FYI and for another point of view, I've been successfully using plain water for two years now titrating four different meds, and it's been working just fine.  I don't grind or blend, I just allow the pill to dissolve in the water, and then stir it up well.  I keep stirring it as I measure it out so that it stays in suspension. 

Since I dose multiple times per day and have to carry the meds around with me in little bottles, water is ideal--no worries about refrigeration.

Personally I would not want to use something besides water because I wouldn't be able to tell by looking at it whether or not it was evenly suspended when I was measuring it out.

As [...] points out, the important thing is that the drug is suspended--it's not going to truly dissolve in anything you can safely drink.  But I find that the pills themselves (the binders and fillers) dissolve quite nicely in water if you just let them sit for five or ten minutes. 

Personally I think the less you manipulate the pill and the fewer surfaces you expose it to, the more consistent your measurements are going to be from one day to the next, because microscopic amounts of the drug are going to stick to any surface it's exposed to.  That's why I avoid the whole grinding and blending business.   

So, just for another POV, this is what has been working for me.

[[Buddie]]

I'm not sure about that method. The benzo powder would settle while jello (jelly, to us Brits*) while it sets. It would not be distributed evenly through the jello. Maybe if it was stirred up every so often while setting, it would be OK.

I agree with this and was thinking the same.  I think it would work fine if you stirred it continuously until it started to set up.  How long that would take though?  and I just have to use this emoticon:    but not regarding the jello.  I just want to see it in my post!

[[Buddie]]

I'm not sure about that method. The benzo powder would settle while jello (jelly, to us Brits*) while it sets. It would not be distributed evenly through the jello. Maybe if it was stirred up every so often while setting, it would be OK.

I agree with this and was thinking the same.  I think it would work fine if you stirred it continuously until it started to set up.  How long that would take though?  and I just have to use this emoticon:    but not regarding the jello.  I just want to see it in my post!

You might refrigerate the jello so that it is chilled (but not set), and then set up a  double-chill bowl (like a double-boil arrangement), with ice between the two bowls and stir until it starts to set. Then transfer back to the fridge. I'm sure there will be a number of ways of doing this. Maybe removing it from the fridge every 10 minutes for a stir is all that is required.

[[Buddie]]

I titrated years ago with water but I didn't throw the medicine I didn't use away.  I think I kept it but I don't remember how now.  I might have marked the quantity and combined it somehow.  It made it harder I remember.  If you are using 'half' of a solution.  Couldn't you keep the other half for the next day? I would think one day wouldn't be too much to hold on to it. 

[[Buddie]]

Thank you, [...], for your excellent review of suspensions.  This is my first post, and already some of my questions are answered!  (By the way, I took quite a bit of chemistry in college and I can't "call you out."  Good job!)

[[Buddie]]

I don't know if this is the right thread to post this on--I'm new here.  Anyway, I'm starting my titration tomorrow, and today I experimented with various ways of crushing pills.  The pill crusher I got at the pharmacy was far too large for my 0.5 mg lorazepam.  I also tried crushing in a small plastic bag with a meat hammer (smooth side) but that wouldn't have been very accurate, either.  I finally made my own mortar and pestle out of a 30-ml dosing glass (made of glass) and the bottom end of a screwdriver.  This crushed the test pill to a very fine powder, and both the glass and the end of the screwdriver can be rinsed with milk, and then I will top this up to 100 ml. (I had a regular mortar and pestle but again, it was too big for the job.)

[[Buddie]]

Thank you, [...], for your excellent review of suspensions.  This is my first post, and already some of my questions are answered!  (By the way, I took quite a bit of chemistry in college and I can't "call you out."  Good job!)

I might write up a new sticky about suspension mediums based on the various post regarding this topic. I'd welcome more input!

I don't know if this is the right thread to post this on--I'm new here.  Anyway, I'm starting my titration tomorrow, and today I experimented with various ways of crushing pills.  The pill crusher I got at the pharmacy was far too large for my 0.5 mg lorazepam.  I also tried crushing in a small plastic bag with a meat hammer (smooth side) but that wouldn't have been very accurate, either.  I finally made my own mortar and pestle out of a 30-ml dosing glass (made of glass) and the bottom end of a screwdriver.  This crushed the test pill to a very fine powder, and both the glass and the end of the screwdriver can be rinsed with milk, and then I will top this up to 100 ml. (I had a regular mortar and pestle but again, it was too big for the job.)

I have seen tiny mortar and pestles for grinding pills. Might be worth a look.

[[Buddie]]

Hey [...]...seems like you've been around the block a few times...I don't mean to corrupt this thread, but hey--can you tell me where to find a thread or blog for people just starting out?  There is so much info here (that's wonderful) that I don't know where to look.

Thanks in advance,  [...]

[[Buddie]]

I might write up a new sticky about suspension mediums based on the various post regarding this topic. I'd welcome more input!

Not many people use this method, but I've found Ora-plus a very good suspension liquid for tapering.