order of titration, thank you

i will be ready to taper my 10mg valium in about 10 days. i plan to start using 2mg in 100ml milk and start with 1ml (2ml if 1mg) hold for 14 days, then go up to 1.25 (2.5) hold for 14 days and then go up to 1.5(3ml) and stay there because eventually i get to 1mg maybe a little over a month and that is fine for me. I was very sick on 1mg ativan that i was on for 2 1/2 months.

my problem is everyone has an opinion. i am dosing 5x a day 2mg because my doc wanted me to eliminate 2mg a month, but everyone here said no, to titrate so i learned how. that is not the problem the problem is everyone has their own opionion.

1. get rid of the extra 5th dose and then just choose another dose, titrate that, keep going, it doesn't matter due to v. long half life.

2. combine doses to get lower doses.

3. titrate each dose the same amount at the same time

i appreciate any and all comments.

 

my problem is everyone has an opinion.

...and no-one knows what will work best for you.  The reason you get so many different suggestions is most folks (including me) are giving advice based on their own experience, and  almost everyone's experience is different.

You need to choose a path that you think will work for you!  If the method you choose works-great...and if it doesn't then make changes. 

I would guess almost no-one here has used a consistant method from beginning to end...almost all of have tried to refine and improve our taper as we went along. 

I have already told you I started with a cut-and-hold method.  When that didn't work anymore, I tried water titration.  That failed (3 times) so I went to daily tapering using tablets and Rx grade liquid v.

I have changed my daily cut rate 5 times (.025, .02, .015, .0125, and currently at .01)  I have used both 20% solutions and 10% solutions.  I went from 2 doses a day to a single daily dose.  I have switched from tablets + liquid to all liquid.

Start with a plan that you think will work, and if necessary, make adjustments.  The only "right" method is the one that works for you.

Builder is exactly right, and that's what I've been trying to tell you. No one can give you any definite answers, because there aren't any. We can only suggest things based on our own experiences. You too will end up having knowledge based on your own experiences, and those experiences could be totally different to anyone else's. In time you too will be in a position to pass on those experiences to other people. Maybe they'll help and maybe they won't.

Like builder I constantly changed the amount I was cutting throughout my taper, and I changed the method of my taper 3 times (from milk, to liquid valium and finally to vodka). I never needed to dose more than once a day, while other people need to dose more times than that. We all have to be flexible in how we approach tapering, and mostly it's a "suck it and see" kind of thing because mostly things are unpredictable.

My post isn't meant to scare you. It's just to prepare you for the realities of tapering which you will cope with because we all do. For now all you have to do is start your taper when you are ready. You've already decided on a method, and that's good. By the time you finish tapering that first 2mg you are going to be a lot more knowledgeable about tapering and how your own body is reacting. You will be in a very good position to be able to your own decisions about things without worrying about what other people's opinions are. You just need to take one step at a time, and try not to worry about things that will happen in the future. They will look after themselves when the time comes.

i appreciate what you are saying and i appreciate it.

it is just very scary for me because i have been very very sick since april. i still haven't built up my weight loss from ativan where i dropped 25lbs, i have asthma issues which are sensitive to v. and wound up in a psychiatric ward. so any move is frightening. i plan to get rid of the first 2mg first and to take it slow. i have no problems with titration anymore as i plan to use milk and go very slow, but it has been the order of deletion.

i was just under the impression that with v. long half life that order of depletion wasn't the issue, it was speed of titration.

Well, SG is my mentor now and doesn't mind my endless pms so i'll stick with him. thanks again for your comments.