Micro Taper Method
Microtapering is a method by which you can reduce your current medication dose by tiny daily increments until you reach zero. Many people have been able to use this method as an alternative to a standard "detox" as a means to get off certain medications without experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms. Depending on your current dose, body chemistry, tolerance and other factors specific to you, will determine by how much you should reduce on a daily basis and subsequently how long that will take. The timetable can vary from weeks to months. The method described here is one of many methods and is strictly informational. **This is not medical advice, it is just describing a methodology. Any alteration and reduction of medication should be determined by your doctor and may require complimentary medication in unison.** Again, it is important to stress this is just describing a method once you have a plan in place.
The challenges with microtapering are many, but the main hurdle is to create a consistent volume of the dose that is easy to measure and divide as it is extremely difficult to shave tiny amounts off of a tablet and weigh on a jeweler's scale, and because the drug is mixed in with a compound it is not always homogeneous and uncertain that the parts of the shaved tablet will have the right proportion of the drug in it. A compounding pharmacy will also be able to prepare specific doses too and there are ways of getting prescription medication delivered in a liquid form which can make the tapering measurements easier, however the liquid may contain additional elements that may or may not agree with your specific sensitivity.
Finally, microtapering is a long term method, the principle of the technique is to reduce your dose by such tiny amounts over time so that your body isn't aware of the decrease and will minimize any feelings of withdrawal. Patience is a virtue as there is no quick way through this, while you may be keen to speed this process up, your body's physiology has to be respected and will need the right amount of time to adjust. Hurrying this process can backfire and set you back further, so be patient.
The challenges with microtapering are many, but the main hurdle is to create a consistent volume of the dose that is easy to measure and divide as it is extremely difficult to shave tiny amounts off of a tablet and weigh on a jeweler's scale, and because the drug is mixed in with a compound it is not always homogeneous and uncertain that the parts of the shaved tablet will have the right proportion of the drug in it. A compounding pharmacy will also be able to prepare specific doses too and there are ways of getting prescription medication delivered in a liquid form which can make the tapering measurements easier, however the liquid may contain additional elements that may or may not agree with your specific sensitivity.
Finally, microtapering is a long term method, the principle of the technique is to reduce your dose by such tiny amounts over time so that your body isn't aware of the decrease and will minimize any feelings of withdrawal. Patience is a virtue as there is no quick way through this, while you may be keen to speed this process up, your body's physiology has to be respected and will need the right amount of time to adjust. Hurrying this process can backfire and set you back further, so be patient.
As medication usually comes in tiny pill form, this is not easily divisible into the tiny amounts that we need to reduce the dose by each day so we need to create an easily measurable volume by which we can extract exact amounts on a consistent basis. No matter what your total dose is, it is best to get tablets in a form that can be easily broken down to get part of it as a 1mg amount. Some tablets may come (or can be compounded by a special pharmacy to 1mg) but typically you might be able to get a 2mg tablet that can be cut in half to get 1mg and this will be used for the tapering amount with the balance made up from other whole tablets in their tablet form.
For example: If you need to reduce from a total dose of 5mg, you would take 4mg in tablet form (2 x 2mg tablets) and then use 1mg (created from halving a 2mg tablet) as the tapering portion (as shown above). Eventually when you have reduced your dose to 4mg by using the 5th mg for the taper, you would then be taking 3mg in tablet form and using the 4th mg as the tapering portion.
For example: If you need to reduce from a total dose of 5mg, you would take 4mg in tablet form (2 x 2mg tablets) and then use 1mg (created from halving a 2mg tablet) as the tapering portion (as shown above). Eventually when you have reduced your dose to 4mg by using the 5th mg for the taper, you would then be taking 3mg in tablet form and using the 4th mg as the tapering portion.
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1) Here is a typical 2mg tablet with score mark.
2) Using pill splitter cut the 2mg tablet in two so you have 2 x 1mg pieces. Do not worry if it is not exact as the difference will be made up on next dose using the other half. Try to cut along the score mark for cleanest cut. |
3) place one half of split tablet (1mg)
into small glass jar like a baby food jar.
into small glass jar like a baby food jar.
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4) Using end of spoon with larger flat
surface, crush tablet. |
5) You can use a Mortar & Pestle to grind the tablet but that can leave residual amounts in the bowl. Grinding it this way ensures all of the tablet is in the same container you will drink from.
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6) Measure out 100ml of full fat milk. This can be done easily with a measuring beaker like this one.
This liquid could be anything else if milk is not right for you. But the higher the fat content of the liquid the better it will be able to hold the crushed tablet in an even suspension for the next step. Pour this 100ml of milk into the baby jar with the crushed tablet and gently stir and allow to dissolve. |
7) Let the solution stand for about 10 minutes to allow the tablet to fully dissolve. Lightly stirring or swishing the jar (with the lid on) will help ensure the tablet is fully dissolved in the liquid.
This step demonstrates how the 1mg tablet is converted into a 100ml solution which is then more easily and accurately portioned.
This step demonstrates how the 1mg tablet is converted into a 100ml solution which is then more easily and accurately portioned.
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8) Next you will extract the amount that you are reducing your dose by on your daily plan. In this example we are removing 2ml using a syringe leaving 98ml in the jar.
(This is a 10ml syringe. Note, I have scored the syringe at the 1ml marks with a serrated edge knife as the printed markings will wear off over time (saves buying lots of syringes)) This is where the recommendations in step 6 come into play, because if the tablet is not fully dissolved and not held in an even suspension throughout the liquid you may not be withdrawing an accurate sample. i.e. if the tablet is not evenly distributed in the liquid and settles on the bottom of the jar and you syringe from the bottom you will be removing much more of the potency and conversely if you syringe from the top of the same liquid you will be removing much less of potency when the idea is to be withdrawing an even sample (percentile) of the mix each time for greatest consistency. |
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9) Discard the extracted amount (in this example: 2mg) into the sink. (note: it is possible to save these extracted parts and use to create a dose further along in the following week but it is unknown if the diluted tablet loses any of its potency in this condition?)
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10) Drink the liquid that is left in the jar (in this case 98ml), After drinking it add some water to the jar
and drink that to make sure you have taken in any residue. Done! You have completed day one of your daily micro taper.
The following day you will repeat this process (1-8) but then take out 4ml and drink 96ml...........and so on. Each day you will be taking more and more out per your chart. and subsequently drinking less and less. Reducing your dose by these micro amounts each day is the principle of the daily microtaper.
and drink that to make sure you have taken in any residue. Done! You have completed day one of your daily micro taper.
The following day you will repeat this process (1-8) but then take out 4ml and drink 96ml...........and so on. Each day you will be taking more and more out per your chart. and subsequently drinking less and less. Reducing your dose by these micro amounts each day is the principle of the daily microtaper.
Example of a daily micro taper.
You and your medical practitioner will have to decide on the right taper for your particular condition and body chemistry. This document ONLY describes the physical procedure of a tapering method by example and is not meant as medical advice.
Example 1: 5mg taper to 0mg reducing by 0.01mg daily will take 500 days
Example 2: 5mg taper to 0mg reducing by 0.02mg daily will take 250 days
Procedure for example #2
Day 1 5.00 mg take 5 mg in tablet form
Day 2 4.98 mg reduced by .02 mg (take 2 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 3 4.96 mg reduced by .04 mg (take 4 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 4 4.94 mg reduced by .06 mg (take 6 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 5 4.92 mg reduced by .08 mg (take 8 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 6 4.90 mg reduced by .10 mg (take 10 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 7 4.88 mg reduced by .12 mg (take 12 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 8 4.86 mg reduced by .14 mg (take 14 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
etc.
etc.
Day 50 4.02 mg reduced by .98 mg (take 98 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 51 4mg take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 52 3.98 mg reduced by .02 mg (take 2 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 3 mg in tablet form
Day 53 3.96 mg reduced by .04 mg (take 4 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 3 mg in tablet form
Day 54 3.94 mg reduced by .06 mg (take 6 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 3 mg in tablet form
etc.
etc
As you can see from the above example, you are reducing your dose by .02 mg per day.
So you would be taking 4 mg in normal tablet form and the 5th mg of your daily dose is what you are using
to make the daily reduction. When you get down to 4 mg you would then be taking 3 mg in tablet form and
using the 4th mg of the dose to make the daily reductions by the same method.
Once you get the hang of this it is very straight forward, you can also make a log in a spreadsheet program
to simplify the math and have your days (calendar) in a column so that it is clear what your dose is each day
and how that can be achieved.
If your withdrawal symptoms become too much you can either hold on the dose you are at for a while, or going forward reduce by an even smaller amount each day, everybody is different.
I would caution against a "cold turkey" approach, or reverting to higher doses as this can invoke a condition known as "kindling" which can make future attempts at tapering much more challenging.
You and your medical practitioner will have to decide on the right taper for your particular condition and body chemistry. This document ONLY describes the physical procedure of a tapering method by example and is not meant as medical advice.
Example 1: 5mg taper to 0mg reducing by 0.01mg daily will take 500 days
Example 2: 5mg taper to 0mg reducing by 0.02mg daily will take 250 days
Procedure for example #2
Day 1 5.00 mg take 5 mg in tablet form
Day 2 4.98 mg reduced by .02 mg (take 2 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 3 4.96 mg reduced by .04 mg (take 4 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 4 4.94 mg reduced by .06 mg (take 6 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 5 4.92 mg reduced by .08 mg (take 8 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 6 4.90 mg reduced by .10 mg (take 10 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 7 4.88 mg reduced by .12 mg (take 12 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 8 4.86 mg reduced by .14 mg (take 14 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
etc.
etc.
Day 50 4.02 mg reduced by .98 mg (take 98 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 51 4mg take 4 mg in tablet form
Day 52 3.98 mg reduced by .02 mg (take 2 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 3 mg in tablet form
Day 53 3.96 mg reduced by .04 mg (take 4 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 3 mg in tablet form
Day 54 3.94 mg reduced by .06 mg (take 6 ml amount out of the 1mg tablet dissolved in 100ml liquid) take 3 mg in tablet form
etc.
etc
As you can see from the above example, you are reducing your dose by .02 mg per day.
So you would be taking 4 mg in normal tablet form and the 5th mg of your daily dose is what you are using
to make the daily reduction. When you get down to 4 mg you would then be taking 3 mg in tablet form and
using the 4th mg of the dose to make the daily reductions by the same method.
Once you get the hang of this it is very straight forward, you can also make a log in a spreadsheet program
to simplify the math and have your days (calendar) in a column so that it is clear what your dose is each day
and how that can be achieved.
If your withdrawal symptoms become too much you can either hold on the dose you are at for a while, or going forward reduce by an even smaller amount each day, everybody is different.
I would caution against a "cold turkey" approach, or reverting to higher doses as this can invoke a condition known as "kindling" which can make future attempts at tapering much more challenging.
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If you need a print out of the above info, here is a pdf you can download.
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Here is an excel worksheet to figure out dosing.
If your taper is longer than this form is built for you can use the same form again just by starting over with your new current daily dose and entering that at the beginning. Enter current dose in yellow box and amount to reduce by in orange box, the form should calculate the rest. | ||