Dry Tapering Valium

Hi, I'd like help with the process of dry tapering 15mg of Valium using a gram scale. This will be my 3rd attemp. Last time I used a titration method. Thank you for your help!

 

Can you describe your previous method, did you use liquid titration and if so at what rate? 

I used a liquid tapering process from Jim Hawk who was very kind and helpful, called http://benzo.alwaysdata.net/titration/titrationHelp.htm?help=Readme+First, http://benzo.alwaysdata.net/.

My first taper was with Klonopin which I began in 2016. I was uneducated without any medical help other than to "go slow" from the prescribing Dr and I failed miserably. In December of 2019 I began working with a medication specialist who switched my klonopin dose equivalent to 5mg of valium. With the specialists advice, I began using Jim's recommendation of tapering at 5% every 10-14 days. Sometimes I'd go up to 7% or 10% of my total dose and would experience severe withdrawals. I finished the protocol in January 2021 and jumped at .95 ml. I became very ill, bedridden with full body spasms and TIA's. After being off for 59 days I reinstated. It took 15mgs of valium for me to stabilize. I feel ready to begin tapering again and would love advice on the most successful protocol to use. Ive read about dry tapering with a gram scale but need guidance concerning the process. The liquid titration was very tedious but I will use it again if it is safe for me to try it again. ☺️

 

I tapered from 15 mgs of valium, using Professor Ashton's slow reduction schedule. Itworked well for me. Have you thought about that? It's here. Just slot your 15 mgs into the schedule.

 

https://www.benzoinfo.com/ashtonmanual/chapter2b/#schedule2

 

Just a suggestion.

 

Katz

 

 

What is DMLT?😊

I believe its daily micro liquid taper.  I can ask someone to drop by who has experience with using scales to taper. 

Thank you!😊

Hi Lanuaria,

 

Pamster suggested I stop by.

 

I can help you with scales.

 

But be warned, no method is symptom free.  Dry or liquid, we all have to pay to get off the drug.

 

If you want help with using a scale, the first step is to buy one.

 

Many have been successful with this one.

https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Weigh-Precision-Milligram-Calibration/dp/B011J88S8M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541012152&sr=8-1&keywords=Smart+Weigh+Premium+High+Precision+Digital+Milligram+Scale+with+Case%2C+Tweezers%2C+Calibration+Weights+and+Three+Weighing+Pans%2C+50+x+0.001g

 

However, before using the scale, most people get down to 1/2 or 1/4 of a total pill.

 

How many pills do you take per day?

I take 5 mg of valium am, midday, & evening.

So since you are taking 3 pills a day, you do not really need to mess with liquids or a scale (unless you want to do those time consuming tasks).  This is just my opinion and it worked very well for me.

 

I didn't start worrying about scales until my pills were too small to cut with a pill splitter.  Remember, these scales are not very accurate at light weights so they are not much better than a pill splitter.

 

Consider this.

Buy a pill splitter from walmart or amazon.  Get a good one.

Learn to cut you pills in 1/8 pieces.

 

Then, reduce by 1/8 of a pill.  If your troubles are sleep, I would start by reducing the morning pill so your benzo can help you sleep.

 

After each 1/8 of a pill reduction, hold for 2 weeks or until you feel stable enough to continue, whichever is longer.

Journal each day your dose and your symptoms.  We will use this journal to give hope and to help control your taper.

 

When you get real low in dose (less than 1/2 a pill total for the day), we can talk about doing liquids or a scale.

 

All that said, if you still want to do a scale when using 3 pills, just say so.  But I hope you will try the pill splitter first.

 

Bob

Just chiming in here since I have been dry tapering all the way down from 4mg. (I'm at about 1.25 now). It's taken me about 9 months so far.

 

At the higher doses, you may be able to avoid the scale. But it was an absolute necessity for me from the beginning (I was never on a high dose.) The thing is that the pills do not split evenly, no matter how hard I have tried to eyeball them, and I have small, steady hands. The scales aren't perfect, but they've been good enough. I tapered in .10 increments for a bit and then hit a wall, and started doing a DMT. It has made a huge difference.

 

Many folks say that with diazepam, b/c it has a long half life, you shouldn't need to a DMT. I found that, in my case, to be untrue. The DMT has been the only way for me to stay functional through this process and live my life. A lot of folks have benefitted from the water taper, but I have preferred dealing will pills b/c I like to see exactly what I'm taking.

 

I use a good pill cutter + a metal nail file to get precise numbers. Also, when you get lower down, you may want to also start weighing your pills. I don't think it makes much difference at the higher doses. But when I got down to 2mg or so, the difference in pill weights could be felt. It's a bit laborious, but I weigh all the pills in my prescription, then divide them into groups by appx. pill weights, then taper one group at a time. I have to redo the math a little each time I change the group, but so be it.

 

Just some thoughts to chew on. We each have to do what we can manage, and we can always change methods as we go! As everyone says: YMMV (your miles may vary).

 

Good luck!

Openroad

 

 

 

 

 

A little confused, according to the Ashton method it appears with Valium you can make 1 mg cuts every two weeks? Why are so many people making such small cuts like 5% ? I thought Ashton manual was reliable. Thanks.

Hilly -

 

Most folks on this site are here because they were fairly damaged by the drug and have had to go a lot slower than what Ashton recommeded because their symptoms were just too intense. Ashton gave us a good plan and good information, but it's too fast for those of us who suffered a real injury from a benzo.

 

It's better to go slower and then speed up if you're feeling ok, than to go faster and have to slow down because you are terribly ill.

 

I hope this helps!

I followed the Ashton Manual and made 1 mg cuts when I was at a relatively high dose i.e. 15 mgs. They didn't seem to bother me. But at the lower doses, i.e. 5mgs, I had to make .5 mg cuts. Really, it's all about the percentages, no? 1 mg from 15 mgs is a much smaller percentage than 1 mg cut from 5 mgs. Alas, you have to do a little math. If you're sensitive to cuts, 5% every 2 weeks is okay.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Katz