Jump to content

Ready to start titration this week. Need a titration program!


[gu...]

Recommended Posts

I hope I am posting this info in the right place. I am swimming in fog here and other w/d symptoms and am new to this site. But am so thankful for it! I began on clonazepam in late January of 06. A 2 mg tablet. During the first few months I was probably on 6-8 mg per day spread throughout the day. I cannot remember when I pared it down to 3 mg, only at bedtime, but it must have been some time ago, as I can't remember the process. Beginning 9/9/09 I have been tapering by cutting my pills and got down to a .125 dose — not very accurately as the tablets are so crumbly. I stopped the benzo completely 11/11/09. Lasted for 5 days during which I found this site. W/d symptoms were so intrusive I could barely function. Sleep is also almost non-existent, but I hope that improves with getting off the benzo and with time.

 

This morning at 5:30 AM I took a 'short' .125 dose because the w/d were too much, pain and concentration-wise. I had bills to pay and bookkeeping to do and did not trust in my ability to carry the tasking through. I want to begin the titration procedure this Friday, 11/20/09. I have sent for the measuring cylinder and it will be here Thursday. Then I guess it will be off to the races for me!

 

So, the drug is clonazepam — tapered from 3 mg to .125 — now want to taper off that with a liquid titrate. I can't use milk but will water or rice milk work? The measuring cylinder is 100 ml with the increments marked at each 2 ml. — I have been taking my dose at bedtime only but do not sleep anyway and need to get more from my day even though I will be withdrawing. So would a morning dose be a good idea?

 

I need a titration schedule and any ideas on how to administer the benzo until it is gone, gone, gone! The w/d has become very difficult to manage at this point. Do you reach a place where you cannot function at all? Because that was how I was getting with a cold turkey withdrawal from .125. Thanks so much! I hope this is where I am supposed to post this!

 

Oh, one last thing... my doctor wants me to take a gaba supplement to 'fill in the holes' left by the benzo withdrawal. Has anyone else used this method? Where would I post that question?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[e1...]

gutsygal-

 

Here is the info Colin would require to form a titration plan for you:

 

Start date: when you would like your titration to start.

 

Dose: the dose you anticipate you be taking at the start date (in mgs).

 

Tablet dose: the dose of your individual tablets.

 

Number of tablets: the total number (and/or fractions) of tablets you take per day. Examples: 2 tabs; 2.5 tabs; 0.75 tabs. These are the number of tablets (not doses), and the tablets used must be of the same dosage (strength).

 

Taper rate: if you are unsure, ask for the input of others. The majority of people probably titrate at a rate of about 10% of their dose every 7-14 days. If you are unsure of where to start, and unless you have good reason to think you need a particularly slow taper, 1% per day is probably a good starting point. The taper plan can be altered later if need be.

 

Cylinder details: I will need to know the size of the cylinder you are using (100ml is recommended). I will also need to know that size of the marked increments. Just make sure that there enough increments for the given cylinder to ensure that the pill can be divided into small fractions (100ml cylinder with 1ml increments is always fine; 100ml with 2-5 increments is probably fine; 50ml with 5ml increments is not very useful). If you are using very large dose pills (for your given benzo), such as 10mg Valium or 2mg Xanax, you will absolutely need lots of increments. This usually means a 100ml cylinder with 1ml increments.

 

You can post the answers to what is required for a schedule here, in your personal titration thread :thumbsup:

 

edited to add titration information requirements

 

Just Breathe :smitten:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh my, I just can't get this stuff right can I? Too funny! So do I need to copy my little 'help me' epistle and open the new thread and paste the info there? I am quite confused.  :idiot:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi gutsygal,

 

You're in the right place, Just Breathe moved this thread to the titration board.  I know, very difficult to find your way around isn't it?

 

Just see if you can get the answers to the questions Colin will need and we'll get you fixed up.  :thumbsup:

 

As for your question about the supplements, how about asking it in the thread you've already created?  http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=15986.msg247368#msg247368

 

Pam :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[e1...]

Oh my, I just can't get this stuff right can I? Too funny! So do I need to copy my little 'help me' epistle and open the new thread and paste the info there? I am quite confused.  :idiot:

 

Sorry honey...not trying to confuse you...just putting the ? in the right area. I did PM you that it was moved with a link. No worries..okay...all is good :)

 

Just Breathe

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Start Date:       Hopefully 11/20/09

 

Dose:              .125 mg

 

Tablet Dose:     2 mg

 

# of Tablets:    Have pared the 2 mg down to approx. .125 each night. NOT CORRECT! I am somewhere less than .25 and more than .13!

 

Taper Rate:     I have no clue but the video on titrating sounded pretty doable. (haha listen to me!)  :D

                    2 ml per day reduction every 1 day for the first 33 ml

                    1 ml per day reduction every 2 days for the next 33 ml

                    1 ml reduction every two days for the final 33 ml

 

Cylinder:        100 ml with the increments marked at every 2 ml

 

Question:       Would it be better to take my dose in the AM in order to have a more productive and safer (driving, working on financials, etc.) daytime

                   rather than continue taking the dose at bedtime since I am not sleeping anyway. Input is more than welcome on this!

 

I just checked and I have an unused bottle of these little suckers — 2 mg clonazepam each. No prior cutting to contend with!

Hope this more concise list is helpful. Sorry for the wandering litany above.  :o

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope I am posting this info in the right place. I am swimming in fog here and other w/d symptoms and am new to this site. But am so thankful for it! I began on clonazepam in late January of 06. A 2 mg tablet. During the first few months I was probably on 6-8 mg per day spread throughout the day. I cannot remember when I pared it down to 3 mg, only at bedtime, but it must have been some time ago, as I can't remember the process. Beginning 9/9/09 I have been tapering by cutting my pills and got down to a .125 dose — not very accurately as the tablets are so crumbly. I stopped the benzo completely 11/11/09. Lasted for 5 days during which I found this site. W/d symptoms were so intrusive I could barely function. Sleep is also almost non-existent, but I hope that improves with getting off the benzo and with time.

 

This morning at 5:30 AM I took a 'short' .125 dose because the w/d were too much, pain and concentration-wise. I had bills to pay and bookkeeping to do and did not trust in my ability to carry the tasking through. I want to begin the titration procedure this Friday, 11/20/09. I have sent for the measuring cylinder and it will be here Thursday. Then I guess it will be off to the races for me!

 

So, the drug is clonazepam — tapered from 3 mg to .125 — now want to taper off that with a liquid titrate. I can't use milk but will water or rice milk work? The measuring cylinder is 100 ml with the increments marked at each 2 ml. — I have been taking my dose at bedtime only but do not sleep anyway and need to get more from my day even though I will be withdrawing. So would a morning dose be a good idea?

 

I need a titration schedule and any ideas on how to administer the benzo until it is gone, gone, gone! The w/d has become very difficult to manage at this point. Do you reach a place where you cannot function at all? Because that was how I was getting with a cold turkey withdrawal from .125. Thanks so much! I hope this is where I am supposed to post this!

 

Oh, one last thing... my doctor wants me to take a gaba supplement to 'fill in the holes' left by the benzo withdrawal. Has anyone else used this method? Where would I post that question?

 

 

This comes up a lot, gutsy.  I did a forum search and came up with a lot of prior threads you might want to check out:

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?action=search2

 

There is an Alternative Therapies and Supplements board where you can start your own thread on this subject if you want.

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?board=110.0

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, moderators and anyone else. I have been at a bit less than .125 since I reinstated on 11/16. Even with reinstating I am trying to reduce the dose just a bit by continuing to pill shave. I am waiting on my titrating equipment to arrive to begin a final titration program. I had decided that the titrate method would allow me to stay more functional while I got off the benzo. After doing more reading on here tonight I now question whether I am at a high enough current dose to warrant that gradual a reduction.

 

However, the w/d symptoms from 'jumping off' at .125 were severe enough that the w/d was pretty much all I could handle. I couldn't get anything else done in my life. And even now I have lots of w/d symptoms, so I figure I am still making progress toward my goal.... or not? I don't have enough information to judge this.

 

If I got the first-of-the month bills paid and banking done, and some food cooked and put away for myself (am on a very restricted and specific diet) I am thinking maybe I should just take a week (or two?) and get the worst of it over with. Except I will miss the regular activities I am involved with during that time plus I have two 'absolutely cannot cancel' events the weekend of Dec. 4 & 5. After that the calendar could be cleared for a full-out frontal assault on the benzo.

 

So I cannot do a jump off before I have financial matters taken care of - I MUST be 'bright-eyed and bushy tailed' for the weekend of Dec. 4-5 - after that I could clear the calendar and just wait it out. Or.... do the titration. Any thoughts?

 

Am I just expressing false benzo bravado here?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do apologize. I was thinking after I turned in last night about the amount of benzo I am currently on. I couldn't get the number I had given Colin for a titration table to work out. This morning I checked it out on my calculator (why I didn't do this from the first is beyond me) and my current dose is somewhere less than .25 and probably closer to .13.

 

I know this makes all the difference in a titration table. Sigh.......

 

Anyway, I went to bed and felt pretty good about my last post, as though I was fairly on top of things. That I could exercise some control over the withdrawal and make it fit into my plans.

 

Well at 2 AM it was...... hello! This is your w/d talking! And there came all the c/t symptoms even though I have still been on a small amount of this stuff. I did an inventory and the numbness had greatly increased (nose to toes), muscles are cramping, stomach is on a roll, slight headache, sparking from the auto accident site, slight chills followed by heat..... that is a partial list.

 

It kind of seems to me that my body is saying that I may have plans to drag this out but that IT wants to get this over with. I am not alarmed, even though I did just reinstate before on the 16th, one week ago. Instead I am a bit amused that my 'careful planning' to 'control' this w/d process may not be in line with what my body is (is not?) ready to do.

 

Is it advisable to go cold turkey again? I haven't taken any benzo yet today, so I know the symptoms will begin ramping up. I will get some bills out and make it to the bank and maybe make it to the grocery. Then I guess I could settle in for the duration, whatever that is.

 

Feedback is welcomed!

 

P.S. I do not have the titration table that I know of. Now I need to change the posting on that for Colin. Will try to do that after I post this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just read Pamster2's reply to Roxiesmom and it seems that I should maybe be a bit more careful than going cold turkey. I am finding this last bit more confusing AND challenging than the whole first two months. I will wait to hear from you guys. 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey gutsygal,

 

I'm sorry you're faced with this indecision, that's got to be adding to your stress.  You know, I've seen people jump off at .125 and do just fine.  It's all about what you're feeling and your life situation.  If you feel you can do this, and not titrate you probably should get down to at least .125 for a week or two then jump from there.

 

If your past experience though tells you that the symptoms will be too much then you should titrate.  But consider this, some folks start to heal at an accelerated rate once they're off.  Some experience symptoms for the first 4 weeks but start to get noticeably better after that.

 

I wish we could give you a definitive answer, but we can't.  Whatever you decide, we're here for you.  :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi again,

 

I read your story a little closer, you might want to give your body time to adjust, it's only been a couple of days since you reinstated.  :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Pamster2.

 

Just typing up this stuff is helpful in sorting things out. Seeing it in black and white is different than going around and around in your mind. It is easier to settle on a point and examine it. I took a tad of Clonazepoohy (probably about .125) this morning. Fell quite decent — yes I have noticeable w/d symptoms but they are not as bad as when I went c/t. Decided I have too much on the calendar to be potentially physically incapacitated. I will just keep working my way down and jump off after that big weekend. You know..... right when I need to be wrapping and shipping Christmas gifts! Hoo boy!

 

From my reading on here, it looks like the physical problems may abate and the emotional ones could grow. I will hope that that is not the case for me, but it seems pretty common. This place is a mine of information based on personal experience. So helpful and thought provoking.

 

It seems people stay on here for months after they get off the benzos. Part of that whole first year of healing I guess. Good to know to really watch myself and my thoughts during this and that time. I am noticing an attempt of my mind to return to old issues and negativity patterns. Am working on that as best I can.

 

If the jump is horrid when I do it I will consider reinstating and doing the titrate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi gutsygal,

 

Since you have managed to taper down to 0.125mg, a formal titration schedule is probably overkill. Usually, we provide these for people who are taking higher doses, but find it very difficult to make even the most modest of cuts by pill-splitting.

 

What you might try instead (and many people have used this successfully when enquiring about titration) is to grind up your 0.125mg into a fine powder, add this to a glass of milk or water, and drink just three-quarters of the contents. Doing this chip a quarter off your present dose. After a few days (and probably no more than a week), you will drink just half of the contents from glass. Then after a few more days (or a week), drink just a quarter of the content (and do this for a few days or a week).

 

What do you think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think this is a very clever solution. It totally makes sense to me.

 

I am also thinking I may be done sooner than later and that I have made huge headway since I reinstated.

 

You are considered Benzo free how long after your last dose?

 

Thank you so much for the reply, for this site, for your bio.  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think this is a very clever solution. It totally makes sense to me.

 

Honestly, I would be surprised if you required anything more complicated. ;)

 

I am also thinking I may be done sooner than later and that I have made huge headway since I reinstated.

 

usually, people simply drop to zero from 0.125mg, so I agree that you should not draw out this taper for too long. There is probably little to be gained by drawing out this for more than a couple of weeks, and you might choose to finish this final part of taper even sooner.

 

You are considered Benzo free how long after your last dose?

 

Well, to me, it means that when you are due your next dose, you don't take it, nor any more doses. When you might feel 'recovered' is another issue. Those that follow a sensible taper plan usually feel a lot better within weeks, or a few months, and there are usually improvements along the way too.

 

Thank you so much for the reply, for this site, for your bio.  :)

 

No problem - glad you are here and that we can help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I 'woke up' this morning (that assumes I was sleeping) and began an inventory of body parts. I got started on this rabbit trail because my right calf felt 'odd' so I reached down and the entire calf and foot was in deep muscle spasm. Very weird to have what would normally be excruciatingly painful but not have that message reaching my brain. I continued with my inventory and over the course of this morning have come up with a few things I want to remember and look back on and add to during this tapering and w/d process.

 

NOTES TO SELF

 

• You do not have a mind/body connection right now.

SELF: That muscle spasm happened while your brain was off line. What a blessing you didn't have to feel the pain!

SELF: Pay attention. No pain at this point means it would be really easy to over stress a joint or over stress a muscle.

SELF: Use your ergonomic habits and watch your posture. Just cause you can't feel it doesn't mean you can't do some damage. The benzo is enough to deal with right now!

SELF: Look both ways, all ways, up, and down (3x at least!) when driving. A vehicle is a deadly weapon. Be extra, extra, extra careful.

SELF: Watch where you are putting your feet. They need a little extra help right now, and you've never had a problem tripping over flat surfaces.

SELF: Watch what you put ON your feet. Forget the heels for now. Even the kitten ones. Stick with flat soles.

SELF: Yes, the house needs a good cleaning. But dust is more attractive than broken display items. Wait. It's only dust.

 

• You can't smell right now.

SELF: Be considerate. Shower anyway.

SELF: Might be a good day to clean up the dog run.

SELF: Better be careful about food prep. You can't tell if something is nearly ready to blossom into a new life form in the frig. Cut up that chicken and freeze it for soup. TODAY!

SELF: Better check the batteries in the smoke detectors.

 

• You can't taste food. You do not have appetite.

SELF: Eat anyway. WEIGH yourself. Use the scale as a tool to monitor your body's needs since your senses have gone on a hiatus.

SELF: Make that nutritious casserole again that worked so well. So what if it is the same thing all the time. You can pretend it is anything you want.

SELF: EAT

 

• You aren't able to judge heat/cold correctly.

SELF: Watch yourself around the stove. It's a pretty good bet that if you just used that burner it is still hot. Especially when the dishrag is smoking.

SELF: Set the shower control where you always have. You didn't have a steam shower before, and the plumber hasn't been here recently.

SELF: If you are quivering, maybe you need to put on another layer. Cold muscles are tight muscles and make for tight joints.

 

• Your eyesight is totally blurry.

SELF: Yes. But your feet need your eyes anyway. Help each other out.

SELF: Blurry doesn't mean you can't see. If the laundry basket looks full, it probably isn't a hallucination. Do a couple of loads.

SELF: Put off your eye doctor appointment for now. The eye doctor isn't a Benzo Buddie.

SELF: Take some computer breaks. Your eyes need a respite.

 

• You are totally into your BenzoBuddies site.

SELF: That's good. You have made some friends and learned a WHOLE lot! What a great site!

SELF: Don't abandon your Facebook friends. Your nieces and nephews need to hear from you as usual.

SELF: Go to your Farmville app everyday and keep the crops harvested, the fruit picked, and the animals cared for. Your niece will worry if you don't.

SELF: Take some computer breaks.

SELF: Call your sister who is caregiving your mom. Reach out. It always comes back around.

 

 

           

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please do. I quote you to myself all the time. I will add to this list as 'things' come up. Helps me out to look back as I go forward. That's why I don't delete my posts or messages.  :balloon:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

NOT such a great attitude today! But I have picked up toward the end of it. I can't feel my body right now, but I did 1&1/2 hours of Tai Chi on Thursday after a 2-week break (because I was so uncertain of my balance). Think I paid for it today with my downer attitude. Always goes along with physical tiredness for me. Hard to put all the circles in the circle holes and squares in the square holes right now. BUT.... how far I have come in less than a week! I have two threads on here and one blog. I can't keep track of myself! Actually, I am doing better at that as well! I'm within spittin distance of being off this stuff! Going to bed now.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

NOT such a great attitude today! But I have picked up toward the end of it. I can't feel my body right now, but I did 1&1/2 hours of Tai Chi on Thursday after a 2-week break (because I was so uncertain of my balance). Think I paid for it today with my downer attitude. Always goes along with physical tiredness for me. Hard to put all the circles in the circle holes and squares in the square holes right now. BUT.... how far I have come in less than a week! I have two threads on here and one blog. I can't keep track of myself! Actually, I am doing better at that as well! I'm within spittin distance of being off this stuff! Going to bed now.

 

I saw your shout out about the humor links.  I'm so glad you had a good laugh.  Just wanted to say that Tai Chi really helped me get over a lot of the inner trembling feeling and helped my balance.  And I no anxiety at all while going through the moves (except for the learning of new ones.  ::)  Of  course, we are all different and you need to do what works best for you.    You are doing a great job, both with your taper and getting around the forum.  You haven't been a member long but are already posting to others.  You're a good Buddie, gutsy!  :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...