This post is the follow along for the video I posted about liquid titration.
Please keep in mind that I am not a medical professional. Nor am I an expert when it comes to benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine withdrawal. I can only speak about my experience and the knowledge I’ve gained about liquid titration because it is the method I used to successfully withdrawal from Klonopin/clonazepam. Remember to do your own research and be your own health advocate.
Micro-tapering
Liquid titrating is a method for micro-tapering benzodiazepines by dissolving the pill in your chosen liquid and drawing out your cuts and doses by syringe. Micro-tapering is making very tiny, accurate cuts to your doses so that the brain is better able to adjust. The other method of micro-tapering is to use a jeweler’s scale and weigh out the bits and pieces of your pill at each dose to ensure accuracy of your cuts.
The purpose of doing micro-tapering with benzodiazepines is to minimize the severity of withdrawal symptoms. Many people think they are somehow doing it wrong when they are still experiencing symptoms while micro-tapering. But the point is simply to reduce the severity. In my non-medical professional opinion, I don’t think there is a way to come off benzodiazepines without any withdrawal symptoms if you are prone to having a sensitive nervous system.
Solution Vs. Suspension
With liquid titration, the first thing to understand is the difference between a liquid solution and a liquid suspension. A solution is when your pill is fully dissolved in a liquid and there’s no separating the two. A suspension is when your pill is only partially dissolved in a liquid and the two can still be separated.
Choosing a Liquid
Eighty proof or higher Vodka is the only liquid that will give you a true solution. There are plenty of people who have used this method and done fine. Other people, myself included, were way too sensitive to alcohol and its effects on the GABA receptors to use this method.
Whole cow’s milk will get you something between a solution and suspension. Benzodiazepines are fat soluble which makes this a good option. There won’t always be any visible particles in the milk, like in the reference picture, but it still won’t be a true solution. It still needs to be shaken well before drawing out your needed cut or dose. This is the liquid I used almost the whole way through my taper, like many others, and I did fine.
Ora Plus is a liquid that can be purchased online. It is a liquid that pharmacists use to dissolve medications for people who have trouble swallowing. Many people have used this method and did well. This is the same as with whole cow’s milk, you will get something between a solution and suspension. There won’t always be any visible particles in the liquid, but once your pill is dissolved in the liquid, it will still need to be shaken well before drawing out your cut or dose.
Water is another option and it will give you a true suspension. Once the pill is dissolved in the water, particles will be visible. This method requires vigorous shaking immediately followed by drawing out your cut or dose, before the particles have a chance to settle. Many people use this method and it can work well if you are diligent. I switched to water towards the end of my taper because I had trouble with the whole milk going sour, and I had no issues.
Dilution
There’s no right or wrong way to do liquid titration. With micro-tapering, the point is to find a method and speed that your body can handle. Like I mentioned before, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be symptom free. You may still be uncomfortable during this process. This experience is very subjective and one person’s method will not work for the next.
When choosing the amount of liquid you use to dissolve your pill in, it’s important to remember that the more liquid you use, the more diluted the pill will become. More liquid equals less concentration.
Whatever amount of liquid you use will always equal 100 percent of the pill. For example, if you use 200 ml of liquid to dissolve a 1 mg tablet, then once dissolved, the entire 200 ml will equal 1 mg. So by drawing out 100 ml, you would be taking out .5 mg of the pill. By drawing out 150 ml, you would be taking out .75 mg of the pill. And the math goes from there.
What You Will Need
To follow the liquid titration method, you will need a few supplies.
+ A small jar that can be well-sealed
+ Several 5 or 10 ml syringe (or another way of measuring mls)
+ Several tiny, 1 ml syringes (because they tend to get stuck with daily, repeated use)
+ The liquid of your choosing
+ Your pill
How to Make Cuts
Every liquid will probably vary on how long it takes to dissolve the pill. With the whole cow’s milk method, it took almost a full 24 hours to dissolve. Just be sure you’re prepared and have doses ready when you need them.
There’s no right and wrong way to make your cuts. You just want to be sure that you’re tapering at a speed you can tolerate. According to the Ashton Method, no more than 10 percent of your current dose should be cut at a time. Some people are able to handle more than 10 percent cuts, while others can only tolerate much smaller percentages.
Many people use the 100- 200 day method. This is the method of using 100 mls of your chosen liquid for your pill and then cutting down by 1 ml a day for a total of 100 days to finish the taper.
Or 200 mls of your chosen liquid for your pill and then cutting down by 1 ml a day for a total of 200 days to finish the taper.
These are methods that have worked for others. Some people begin and find they must go slower. That is completely fine. If you need to slow down, you can cut every other day or lower the amount you cut daily to .5 ml a day. Or slow down how you feel is best. (With the tiny 1 ml syringe, you can cut by .1, .2, .3, .4, .5, .6, .7, .8, and .9 ml.)
My Exact Method
The math I used and the method I followed was the exact method another woman had used to successfully taper off of Klonopin. I decided to follow her exact method because I had become such a mess in acute withdrawal from rapid tapering. With the liquid titration, I did much better after my rapid dry-cutting but I never stabilized, but I was able to function better. But I say function better very loosely. Remember benzodiazepine withdrawal is very subjective. And what one person can handle is not the same across the board.
I dissolved a 1 mg pill of Klonopin/clonazepam in 40 ml of whole cow’s milk. Once a week, I lowered my dose by .2 ml. Because I dosed twice a day, I subtracted .1 ml from each dose to equal .2 ml.
During bad menstrual cycles, moves, and deaths in the family, I held or skipped cuts. Don’t feel the need to push yourself beyond your limits. Respect yourself during this time. But don’t give up.
My taper from start to finish took 25 months, starting at 4 mg of Klonopin a day. But that incudes roughly 6 months of rapid dry- cutting. At 6 months in, I switched to liquid titration at .75 mg. And so from there it took another 19 months using the liquid titration method.
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