Hello, [...].
I do not have personal experience with titration using a digital scale and tablets so hope other members who do will stop by to provide input on that aspect of your taper plan. (What technique are you using — pill-shaving/weighing?) However, what I can offer is that the math in the above plan appears to be correct. I can also share the following:
(1) The above plan uses a fixed amount reduction in dose (i.e., 0.5mg per month). One of the disadvantages of this approach is that your taper rate will increase over time. For example, in Month 1, you will be reducing your total daily dose from 14mg to 13.5mg — a 3.57% reduction. in Month 4, you will be reducing your dose from 12.5mg to 12mg — a 4% reduction.
(2) The only way to learn if the above plan will work for you is to try it. There are no ‘one size fits all’ tapering plans or techniques. Instead, each of us has to discover through self-experimentation what works for us. Moreover, what works during one phase of our taper, may not work in another. Consequently, we have to be prepared to make adjustments in our taper plans as needed.
Given that we are both the scientist and the guinea pig in our unique tapering experiments, we strongly encourage members to keep a daily taper log. This log will give you data to evaluate how you are responding and, if needed, make adjustments in your taper plan (e.g. rate, interval, technique, dosage form). Examples of key data to record and review on a regular basis include:
- The date
- Time(s) and amounts(s) of drug ingested
- Daily global rating of your withdrawal symptoms (e.g., 0 = no symptoms; 10 = intolerable symptoms)
- Daily global rating of your functionality (e.g., 0 = able to perform all essential daily tasks; 10 = unable to perform any essential daily tasks)
- A brief note about anything that might have had an impact on your taper that day (e.g. stressful event; health issue; change in medications or supplements; starting a new batch of your medication)
