Best Safe Solvent for Lorazepam

Hi all,  After 50 years of Benzos, I'm hopefully & definitely in the last phase of tapering Lorazepam, now at 0.23mg ... and SO glad that I've found BenzoBuddies. 

 

I'm having real trouble measuring my bits of tablets accurately in what now appears to me to be the trickiest part of the process (in terms of my sensitivity to dose decreases). 

 

I joined BB recently and have read something about using Vodka to dissolve Lorazepam.  I'm sure that with all the knowledge and experience here someone can point me in the right direction.  My questions are:

 

1.  Is alcohol the only readily available safe solvent?

 

2.  I've read that 80% is needed.  Is that 80 proof or 80 % ABV?

 

3.  Must the alcohol be that strong?

 

Apologies if these are very basic questions, and thank you in advance for your help. 

 

William

 

 

 

 

 

Hi all,  After 50 years of Benzos, I'm hopefully & definitely in the last phase of tapering Lorazepam, now at 0.23mg ... and SO glad that I've found BenzoBuddies. 

 

I'm having real trouble measuring my bits of tablets accurately in what now appears to me to be the trickiest part of the process (in terms of my sensitivity to dose decreases). 

 

I joined BB recently and have read something about using Vodka to dissolve Lorazepam.  I'm sure that with all the knowledge and experience here someone can point me in the right direction.  My questions are:

1.  Is alcohol the only readily available safe solvent?

 

2.  I've read that 80% is needed.  Is that 80 proof or 80 % ABV?

 

3.  Must the alcohol be that strong?

 

Apologies if these are very basic questions, and thank you in advance for your help. 

 

William

 

No, alcohol is not the only liquid you can use for titrating.

 

Take a look at our FAQ document, it explains this in more detail:

 

Titration: FAQ's

 

Some people use whole homogenized milk. 

 

Once you read the document, let us know if you have questions.

 

pianogirl 

 

 

Hello, WilliamG.  First and foremost, congratulations on reducing your dose to 0.23mg of lorazepam after 50 years of benzodiazepine use.  That’s quite an accomplishment!

 

To answer your question about the safety of using alcohol as a solvent for lorazepam ...

 

Although I would be delighted to learn otherwise, my current understanding is that the liquid generated by dissolving a regular lorazepam tablet in beverage-grade alcohol (80 proof/40% alcohol) and then adding water has not been tested for physical and chemical stability or for safety and efficacy when ingested by humans.

 

For your information, below are the ingredients used in several prescription oral solutions of lorazepam.

 

In the US, several prescription 2mg/mL oral solutions of lorazepam are available.  The ingredients vary slightly by manufacturer, but all of them contain:

 

lorazepam (active drug substance only, no other excipients such as those found in regular tablets)

polyethylene glycol

propylene glycol

 

In the UK, a prescription 1mg/mL oral solution is available.  The ingredients are:

 

lorazepam (active drug substance only, no other excipients such as those found in regular tablets)

medium chain triglycerides*

ethanol (but only a small amount)

 

*According to one of our members (who is an analytical chemist with experience in the pharmaceutical industry), the medium chain triglycerides are the primary solvent, not the small amount of ethanol.

 

In The Netherlands, pharmacists* developed a 1mg/1mL oral solution suitable for pediatric patients using lorazepam. The formulation was tested and found to be physically and chemically stable. The ingredients in the final formulation were:

 

lorazepam (active drug substance only, no other excipients such as those found in regular tablets)

87% glycerol

10% polyethylene glycol 400

3% propylene glycol

 

* van der vossen et al. (2017).  Formulating a poorly water soluble drug into an oral solution suitable for paediatric patients; lorazepam as a model drug.  European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, v. 100,  pp.  205–210.  Accessed online 13Nov19 at:

 

[nobbc]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0928098717300490[/nobbc]

 

 

Thank you Libertas, for a really useful answer.  `

 

I'm going to try the vodka solution method, and if that works, I'll be on the home straight.

You’re most welcome, WilliamG! 

 

I have no experience with lorazepam, but according to the Jim Hawk taper tool, the quit dose is 0.05mg so you are getting very close!  (If you want to check this yourself, I’ve included instructions below my signature.)

 

Have you discovered the Tapering off Ativan Support Thread?  The members there are very kind and helpful.  Here is a link to the current last post in the thread (which at the time of this post is on Page 848):

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=44903.msg2986598#msg2986598

 

Libertas

 

How to Check Your Quit Dose with the Jim Hawk Taper Plan Tool

(The instructions blow are for an iPad running iOS and Safari.)

 

(1) Got to http://benzo.alwaysdata.net/

 

(2) Click the radio button for “Quit Dose.”  The “Benzodiazepine Quit Dose” page will appear.

 

(3) Click the text box for Benzodiazepine, a drop down menu will appear.

 

(4) Select your benzodiazepine (lorazepam) from menu.

 

(5) The Quit Dose will appear in the box on the right.

WiliamG ...

 

I had another thought for your taper in case the homemade liquid doesn’t work for you ...

 

Member Bob7 tapered successfully from 0.125mg of clonazepam to 0 by making his own micro dose capsules of powdered clonazepam tablets and microcrystalline cellulose (the microcellulose provides the extra “weight” needed to measure smaller doses).  He created and shared excellent documentation of his approach at:

 

Benzo Dry Taper Math

https://benzodrytapermath.com/

Thank you again, Veritas!  That's a very clever idea, and I guess you could use other substances than cellulose ... maybe flour.  I'm in no way certain, but sense that vodka and H2O might lead to a more homogenous product.