Tried dry cutting but didn't go too well, please help with titration schedule :)

Hello ya'll,

I've been on .5mg/day (1mg pill cut in half manually by me) taken at night for about 2.5-3 years to help me sleep.  I just recently found out how bad this stuff can be for you and I think it is making me more groggy, foggy headed, etc. 

I tried the cut method starting with a 25% cut down to .375 on June 16 and started feeling very badly on June 19 in the evening.  It was too much for me...very sweaty, shaky, the foggy headediness, emotional, etc. so I 've decided look toward the titration route since it seems more precise and slower. 

I've ordered the 100ml tube, mortar/pestle and I have a 10ml syringe with no needle, so I think I will have all I need in a few days.

I will be trying to get a prescription from my doc for .5mg pills so I don't have to cut them anymore.  I'm thinking a 10% every 10 days (what do you guys think?)  Can somebody please provide a schedule with a start date of June 30-I have a trip tomorrow and would like to stabilize at my normal .5mg/day before starting.  Also, can somebody please provide instructions on how to do this, e.g. the procedure...the fogginess is killing me...

Thanks much in advance! 

No problem. We will work through when you get back from your trip then.

Your suggested 10% cut over 10 days sounds like a good starting point. Of course, your taper rate can be adjusted later of you need to slow down, or indeed fell that you would like to speed it up.

If I understand correctly, you will first stabilise your dose using the 0.5mg pills - this seems sensible to me.

Ok, just got back from my trip and I have a 100ml cylinder with 1ml marks, a mortar/pestle and a 1ml pippet.  I would like to go a bit slowly @ 10% every 12 days.  I'm currently taking .5mg once per day at night.  I've got about 7 or 8 pills left but I'm calling my doctor tomorrow to get a refill with .5mg pills.

Thanks Colin! 

I'm logging off for the evening, so will look at this tomorrow.

Nite.

hi Colin,

Appreciate your help.  I have all the necessary materials.  Just need you magic spreadsheet and basic instructions. 

BTW, I would like to go 10% every 14 days (instead of 12 days as first stated).  I have .5mg pills, my normal dose is 1 X .5mg pill taken only at night.  I have the 100ml cylinder with 1ml increments.  Let me know if there is any more info you need.

Thanks bud.

Hi,

Actually, at a low dose, a schedule might be overkill. Make up 100ml each day, grind up one pill, add this to the 100ml of milk. If you reduce the amount you drink by 1ml per day, you will reduce your dose by 14% every 14 days. If you reduce the amount you drink by 1ml for two days, and 0ml for one day (that is, 2ml every 3 days), you will be tapering off at 9.3% every 14 days. It really does not need to be any more complicated than this.

If you wish to taper off at exactly 10% over 14 days, then most days reduce your dose by 1ml, but on two separated days of the week, don't reduce your dose.

'If you wish to taper off at exactly 10% over 14 days, then most days reduce your dose by 1ml, but on two separated days of the week, don't reduce your dose.'

Does it matter which days you don't cut?  I assume you want them spread out so something like Monday and Thursday would be ok to not reduce, right?

Thanks.

Hi,

Yes, just spread them out as you suggest. I could provide a full schedule, but actually, tapering without a schedule provides flexibility.

I made my first attempt last night to cut 1ml.  My procedure:

-fill up 100ml cylinder with water

-crush pill with mortar/pestle

-add powered pill to a cup

-add water from 100ml cylinder to mortar/pestle and pour that into the cup to get any residue out

-pour remaining 100ml cylinder into cup

-use hand mixer to vigorously mix the solution

-removed 1ml using a syringe

-drink the remainder of the liquid

-add more water from faucet to cup to get any residue and drink that.

This an ok method, right?  Some observations I made just prior to doing my initial round of 1ml:

-I first tried with whole milk but noticed it gets really foamy and made it difficult to measure out so I went with water.

-I did a test where I got 100ml of water from my cylinder, added it to the cup, mixed it with my hand mixer, then added it back to the 100ml cylinder and it looks like there was .5ml-1ml less which is from the water left behind in the cup or "lost in translation"  I'm thinking this loss isn't a big deal but what are you thoughts?

This morning I feel more groggy than I normally do and a bit gassy.  Actually, I feel noticeably different (for the worse). Is that normal after just a 1 ml cut?  Did I do something wrong?

Hi,

I don't think you did anything wrong. As for the 1ml cut - there is no chance that this single tiny would effect you affect you.

Your problems with milk stem from the mixer you use. It is better to make sure you grind up the powder into a fine powder, then just give it a good stir - the electric mixer is overkill. Might be worth trying it out again, as milk should give you a better distribution of benzo in the liquid. But at the end of the day, so long as you are careful (your use of the electric mixer might help if using water), and you don't allow the benzo powder to settle, you should be fine.