Help with diazepam liquid solution

[[Buddie]]

Hi BB friends,

I was able to get a prescription for the Roxanne diazepam solution. I'm hoping this will help to do DLMT more precisely.

I would like to use this for tapering off only .5mg right now. (Taking the rest in tablets.)

I was thinking of a 25-day taper for the .5mg (adjusting as need be as I go along.) In my understanding, this means a daily reduction of .02mg.

So, on day one, it would be .5.
On day two it would be .48

and so on. Is that correct?

If so, do I just draw out .5ml the first day, then .48ml the second day, etc.?

Thanks for any help from folks with proficient math skills and/or who have used concentrated solutions like this one! So grateful!

Edit: Just learned this is a 1:1 solution, not 5:1. Would still appreciate someone checking my math

[[Buddie]]

Hey [...]
I never used the 5/1 solution mine was already 1mg/1ml
The directions should tell you how to delute to 1mg /1ml which would be to add 4ml water to 1ml of solution

1 mL x 5 mg/1 mL = 5 mg
4 mL water + 1 mL liquid diazepam = 5 mL
Result = 5 mg/5 mL = 1 mg/1 mL

You can then use a 1 ml syringe which has graduations of .1. .2 etc
With in between graduations of .01 .02 etc
You can find on Amazon

You can search on old posts on the diazepam support group and find a lot of useful info relating to this

Hope this helps
[...]

[[Buddie]]

Thanks, [...] - I actually just got word from my doctor that they have a 1:1 solution. So that should help some.

[[Buddie]]

Your welcome OR that will be way easier
Be sure and ask the pharmacy for a bottle adapter and syringes that fit the adapter plug.
This fits snugly in the bottle opening and has a small hole to insert the oral syringe. They typically give thes out for free but if not you can order on Amazon
Gotta make sure you get the correct size
Hoeb

[[Buddie]]

Hello, [...].

Thank you for letting us know you will be able to obtain the 5mg/5mL (i.e. 1mg/1mL) oral solution of diazepam.  That’s much less complicated to work with than the concentrate.

Am I understanding correctly that your current dose is 3.5mg of diazepam?  How many times a day do you dose?  Once?  Do you still wish to begin by tapering 0.5mg using the liquid and taking the remainder of your dose in tablet form?  Do you wish to dilute the oral solution or use it ‘as supplied’?  What taper rate do you wish to try?

I agree with [...] it would be helpful if your pharmacist would dispense the oral solution in a bottle with an adapter cap plus provide you with oral syringes.

[[Buddie]]

If you elect to use the 1mg/mL oral solution as is, a 1mL oral syringe with graduations every 0.01mL would be a good choice.

Also, in case you aren’t familiar with adapter caps and/or using syringes:

Using an Adapter Cap | The Withdrawal Project
https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/taper/using-adapter-cap

Using Syringes | The Withdrawal Project
https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/taper/using-syringes

[[Buddie]]

[...],

Thanks for checking in! Yes, I am still at 3.5, but taking 3mg in pills. Here is what I wrote in my opening post (at top):
http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/Themes/default/images/bbc/bold.gif

I would like to use this for tapering off only .5mg right now. (Taking the rest in tablets.)

I was thinking of a 25-day taper for the .5mg (adjusting as need be as I go along.) In my understanding, this means a daily reduction of .02mg.

So, on day one, it would be .5.
On day two it would be .48

and so on.

Is that correct?


If so, do I just draw out .5ml the first day, then .48ml the second day, etc.? Or is there a different way to do this?



And thank you [...] for the intel on the syringe - I ordered 1 ml syringes from Amazon. Will those not necessarily work?

[[Buddie]]

Rest assured, I read your opening post, [...].  I wanted to confirm how you wished to proceed given the change from the concentrated to the more dilute liquid.  I also wanted to confirm your current dose, daily dosing schedule, and obtain your desired taper rate.

Yes, your 0.02mg per day number is correct. And, yes you would begin by measuring 0.5mL of the oral solution and ingesting it.

What you’ve proposed would result in a taper rate of 14.29% over 25 days. Has this rate been tolerable for you in the past? 

Just in case you haven’t come across this in your research ... might I encourage you to switch to the liquid and hold at 0.5mg for however many days it typically takes you to ‘register’ a change in your taper? Doing this will allow you to get a clear read on your reaction to the dosage form change (from regular tablets to liquid).

[[Buddie]]

Thanks for adding that info [...] it is very important as you said to trial the liquid. I’m glad I did because I didn’t adjust very well to it-made me nauseas and was getting burning in my face. I only gave it a week but like u said before 2 weeks is probably a better trial. I think you said also (pls correct me if I’m wrong) other bbs had to do a slight updose since the liquid sometimes is not as strong as the tablets
[...]

[[Buddie]]

Thanks for adding that info [...] it is very important as you said to trial the liquid. I’m glad I did because I didn’t adjust very well to it-made me nauseas and was getting burning in my face. I only gave it a week but like u said before 2 weeks is probably a better trial. I think you said also (pls correct me if I’m wrong) other bbs had to do a slight updose since the liquid sometimes is not as strong as the tablets
[...]

I believe you may be confusing me with another member, [...] — quite easy to do on a forum with as many members as this one.

Assuming the manufacturer follows Good Manufacturing Practices for both production and quality control, the strength (potency) of the oral solution should be the same as that of regular tablets (e.g., 1mL of the liquid will contain 1mg of drug, just as a 1mg tablet contains 1mg of drug). However, the pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and bioavailability of the liquid may indeed be slightly different compared to the solid dosage form.

Although some members do routinely recommend an updose when switching from tablets to liquid, my personal preference is to conduct a ‘mini-experiment’ to determine if one is needed.