This is so frustrating! Do I need a scale now? I can’t just make direct cuts until I get to the lower doses? I see why people just say screw it and either rapid taper by the way doctors usually recommended or just end up staying on these freaking drugs! This whole thing is absolutely stressful and complicated and I don’t know what the hell to do.
Hi!
I just started direct cut tapering from 1mg ClonazePam (once daily) in Dec. 22. I was/am as lost as you. The math seems overwhelming, but once you get it it makes sense. Having the basic tools helped me immensely:
Gemini 20 scale (Amazon) You must calibrate each time you use. Scales are very, very, very sensitive. Get new batteries. You don’t know how old the ones in scale are. I tried the Smart Weigh Scale first, but it was a dud. Read the instructions and calibrate. Get used to it.
Weekly pill organizer box
Single edged razor blades (pill cutters aren’t great for me and I have scored pills)
Metal nail file (for shaving)
Calculator
Notebook for recording dose and tracking symptoms
Most importantly, have a plan, but let your body guide you. How I am doing my taper follows, but it might be different than how you want to approach this. I have 0.5 scored ClonazePam (orange pills. used to take yellow unscored, but insurance changed.) which each weigh approx 165g, but they differ A LOT. I take only one dose a day. It’ll be harder to cut as I get to a smaller dose so I may have to switch to water taper or find a compounding RX, as [...] suggested.
Cut and hold: Subtract 5%-10% from current dose per month seems common, but symptoms will guide you. Holds are normal. Do not updose. You can ride it through. Calculate: 5% reduction is dose weight in grams x 0.95, 10% reduction is x 0.9. You make every cut from current dose, not starting dose.
I cut and weigh a weeks worth every Sunday. It’s easier and you only have to calibrate the scale for that day. Always recalibrate weekly or when starting new cut.
You can also try micro-tapering, which is filing off a minuscule amount every 1-2 days. You can always hold if symptoms are unbearable. I have not tried this, so I don’t know dosing schedule, but it’s probably like the liquid water taper. These are both covered in the Titration section.
[...] helped me, along with many others. He makes a point that at your current dose, being off by a few grams is probably not going to cause issues. If you’re going to do dry cut and hold or dry microtaper, you will need a scale and the few other things I mentioned.
I noticed that, for me, the symptoms hit hardest about 5 days after a 5% cut and it’s usually just one or two really uncomfortable nights. My first cut was eyeballed and may have been 12% or more. I felt it around day 8-9. We are all different.
I hope I didn’t make things more complicated for you. I’d trust the people here who have been going through this for awhile. I’ve been told: Go as slowly as comfortable. Be your own guide, but don’t hold too too long unless you’re going through an additional stressful event. Ask questions. Don’t read horror stories. Be mindful of your health/stress levels. Avoid major changes if possible. Know you will heal. Be patient. The latter is the hardest for me.
Also, I hope you checked the link to
https://benzodrytapermath.com/. The one from bob7. I need to and my words may be redundant. I truly know how you are feeling. It has to be worth the effort though. It is for me and I have many shitty days and many fairly okay days, but my life situation isn’t great right now. That matters. I know you can do it. Apologies if I’ve said things you already know.
❤️
C
