DLMT vs. Dry cut daily microtaper

Hey everyone just wondering the pros and cons of each method. I was doing a cut and hold but symptoms became too much. I’ve been holding for almost 5 trying to stabilize and just kept on getting worse so also added Remeron to the mix to help me stabilize. Now I’m ready to resume tapering.

I am just telling you my personal story. I have tried a dlmt twice. My body just wouldn’t accept it. It is far easier to do it this way. Now I am doing a dry daily microtaper. So far, so good. It is a lot more work with the scale, but for me, it is doable.

I’ve heard that one problem with daily dry microtaper is that medication is not distributed evenly throughout the tablet.

If it’s scored then it is distributed evenly. I prefer the dry taper. Liquid and I weren’t friends. Liquid is the easiest to do the micro cuts though.

I’m having problems calibrating that damn scale. I end up calibrating and then it’s off by .002.

I did dry DMT and it was easy, I thought.

I don’t see any difference b/w dry and liquid- seem more or less the same to me- to me, dry seemed much more accurate and easier than liquid. So comes down to personal preference maybe. I didn’t see any advantage to introducing a new variable of liquid. But my benzo was not a tablet/ it was a capsule full of homogenous powder- so maybe that’s why the dry MT made sense for me and was more accurate and easy. I think some ppl with tablets may crush the tablet into a homogenous powder but idk if that changes anything. Bob7 has a video of this.

The last digit on any scale will fluctuate a bit. Depending how much you’re reducing by on the scale, it may be negligible. Remember the tablets vary by up to 10% anyway and your scale is not fluctuating 10%.

If you have more decimal places, the scale will have less fluctuation, but they are costly and most ppl on here seem ok with a scale to 0.001g.

That’s the problem with Klonopin. Because it is a more potent pill I need the third decimal place to be accurate.

If it’s scored then it is distributed evenly. I prefer the dry taper. Liquid and I weren’t friends. Liquid is the easiest to do the micro cuts though.

 

Not correct.

That’s the problem with Klonopin. Because it is a more potent pill I need the third decimal place to be accurate.

If you want the third decimal place to be accurate, then you need a scale with 4 decimal places. Look around at prices. I used a scale with 4 decimal places and it was 100% worth it for me.

 

Agree that a score on a tablet doesn’t mean anything abt the contents being evenly distributed.

If it’s scored then it is distributed evenly. I prefer the dry taper. Liquid and I weren’t friends. Liquid is the easiest to do the micro cuts though.

 

Not correct.

 

If it's scored so that the tablet can be broken easily then each half of the tablet is supposed to contain half the drug of the total tablet. I can find the reference in the US Pharmacopeia tomorrow when I'm at work.

That’s the problem with Klonopin. Because it is a more potent pill I need the third decimal place to be accurate.

If you want the third decimal place to be accurate, then you need a scale with 4 decimal places. Look around at prices. I used a scale with 4 decimal places and it was 100% worth it for me.

 

Agree that a score on a tablet doesn’t mean anything abt the contents being evenly distributed.

 

Can you tell me the name of the scale you’re using? Thanks

I find the liquid to be very easy and simple if you do it correctly.  It is also extremely accurate and you can easily reduce by very small amounts.  The switch from dry to liquid can feel like a small cut, probably related to how you metabolize it, but once you stabilize from that things are very smooth for me.

 

Dry can also work, but it seems harder to do and harder to make consistent small cuts.

 

Good luck with your choice, my vote is for liquid

That’s the problem with Klonopin. Because it is a more potent pill I need the third decimal place to be accurate.

If you want the third decimal place to be accurate, then you need a scale with 4 decimal places. Look around at prices. I used a scale with 4 decimal places and it was 100% worth it for me.

 

Agree that a score on a tablet doesn’t mean anything abt the contents being evenly distributed.

 

Can you tell me the name of the scale you’re using? Thanks

Sartorius Entris - it is several yrs old now. They may have newer models.  Basically, it reads to 0.0001g.  At the end, I was reducing by 0.0003g on my scale per day, so that accuracy was necessary for me.  I found it to be extremely reliable and accurate and didn't fluctuate.  Again, I was not splitting tablets though - librium is a capsule filled with fine powder....and I found that super easy to weigh.  A tablet may not be uniform in distribution of active ingredient, even if each of the two halves are similar to each other.  That is why Bob7 crushed a bunch of pills and made a powder to weigh....again, Idk if crushing tablets affects it in some way.  I did not crush b/c Librium is already a powder - I filled new gelatin capsules.  You will find a method that works.

Cool thanks!

If it’s scored then it is distributed evenly. I prefer the dry taper. Liquid and I weren’t friends. Liquid is the easiest to do the micro cuts though.

 

Not correct.

 

If it's scored so that the tablet can be broken easily then each half of the tablet is supposed to contain half the drug of the total tablet. I can find the reference in the US Pharmacopeia tomorrow when I'm at work.

 

Hello, HopeToDoThis.  As always, it’s good to “see” you on the boards.  Thank you so much for offering to find the reference in the US Pharmacopeia.  Libertas

Thank you so much for offering to find the reference in the US Pharmacopeia.  Libertas

 

Still waiting for it. 

Oh my gosh I forgot! It actually requires that split portions be plus or minus 25% of the expected amount. There is also a dissolution requirement, as there is for all tablets, but I didn't copy that portion. The USP is copyrighted material and requires a subscription, so no link.

 

USP chapter <705> "QUALITY ATTRIBUTES OF TABLETS LABELED AS HAVING A FUNCTIONAL SCORE"

 

"PURPOSE

This chapter provides quality attributes for products with approved labeling indicating that the tablets can be split to produce multiple portions that have an accurate fractional dose (labeled as functionally scored). The label claim of the split portions should be a simple fractional part of the claim for the intact tablet based on the number of scores and the size of the split portion (e.g., one-half, one-third, or one-quarter). At the time of splitting, the intact tablets should conform to the monograph specification. With the exception of dose, each split portion from tablets labeled as having a functional score are expected to conform to the quality attributes of the whole tablets. The split portions resulting from subdividing a functionally scored tablet should conform to the tests for Splitting Tablets with Functional Scoring and Dissolution or Disintegration given in this chapter.

 

SPLITTING TABLETS WITH FUNCTIONAL SCORING

Test Procedure

Take a random sample of 30 intact tablets, and proceed as follows.

Accurately weigh each tablet, and record its weight.

For each intact tablet, determine the expected weight of the split portions by dividing the whole-tablet weight by the designated number of split portions indicated on the labeling.

Split each tablet by hand (without mechanical assistance) into the designed number of split portions, and weigh each split portion.

For each tablet, determine the percent of the expected weight in each split portion.

An acceptable tablet breaks into the designed number of segments, and each split portion has not less than 75% and not more than 125% of the expected weight of the split tablet portion.

Thank you so much for sharing this information, HopeToDoThis!

Wow- 25% is a big difference for sensitive people splitting pills. Even more than the 10% from pill to pill. Good to know thanks! 

I’ve heard that one problem with daily dry microtaper is that medication is not distributed evenly throughout the tablet.

 

I've heard that too. It's like chocolate chip cookies. Every cookie has 20 chips (the active ingredient) but the chips are always in different spots, so you don't know if you're getting filler or active ingredient with dry taper. I tried dry cutting with a $400 scale and it still varied so much, and then you don't know if the crumbs you measured have a lot of active ingredient or a little bit. Dry cutting variance got me so sick. I use liquid taper with vodka/water solution. It's an extremely accurate way to taper because all the active ingredient evenly distributes in the water. It's consistent every time. I'm sensitive and the tiniest variance throws me off. I would not have been able to taper this far without this method. Everybody is different, but this method is research backed and has worked well for me. Many others can't adjust to liquid and have to dry cut. Liquid is WAY more convenient because you don't have to spend all that time at a scale. You just mix a batch like once a week (no refrigeration required) and then you just draw up daily doses. Very easy method. 😉👍🏻

and each split portion has not less than 75% and not more than 125% of the expected weight of the split tablet portion.

 

...an allowable 50% variation! 

 

Again. scored tablets do NOT assure uniform distribution.

 

 

Wow- 25% is a big difference for sensitive people splitting pills. Even more than the 10% from pill to pill. Good to know thanks!

I think that related to how evenly a tablet splits by hand... -Using a scale would make the “25%” a moot point...

 

-I think..??

and each split portion has not less than 75% and not more than 125% of the expected weight of the split tablet portion.

 

...an allowable 50% variation! 

 

Again. scored tablets do NOT assure uniform distribution.

As above... -Apples n Oranges...

Arent we talking hand split tablet weight, not med distribution within said tablet..??

 

 

Either way DLMT is convenient when using whole tablets but in my case right now I need to first get rid of this left over crumb from .125 mg k and half a .5 mg which I cut down the middle. I guess when I get both those 2 variables out of the picture I can resume with a DLMT for my final .5 tablet. Does that sound like a good plan? Any other suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.