minuk: I need help how to taper escitalopram

[minuk]

I dont know how to taper escitalopram.

Can i do a water taper like benzo? Does this dissolve in water?

Or do i have to do 'cut and weigh' taper? 

 

Then how can i measure exact same amount of the pill everyday  even if i have a scale?

 

[ChessieCat]

Hi minuk and welcome to SA,

 

Please create your drug signature and include ALL drugs and supplements that you are currently and have previously taken by following the instructions in this link. 

 

Instructions:  Withdrawal History Signature
Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

If you have taken or are still taking a benzo, please write in a post more information about it.  If you have been taking it this year we need to know the name of the benzo, the dose/s and the dates you have taken it.

 

If you have only recently stopped a benzo then it might be a good idea to wait for 2-3 months or more, depending on how stable you are, before starting to taper the escitalopram.

 

SA recommends tapering by no more than 10% of the current dose (not the original dose) with a hold for about 4 week to allow the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug. 

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Even though some members do reduce their drug daily, SA's method is to reduce once a month.  Some members are using this alternative method (which is gentler but takes longer) called the BrassMonkey slide.

 

Brass Monkey Slide

 

It's important to listen to your body/symptoms and hold for longer and/or reduce by less and keep withdrawal symptoms to a minimum.

 

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

This topic, especially Post #1, has information about how to get the dose need for escitalopram:

 

Tips for tapering off escitalopram (Lexapro)

 

We also strongly encourage members to learn and use Non-drug techniques to cope

 

This is your own Introduction topic which is the best place to ask questions about your own situation (moderators regularly check for new posts made by members in the Introduction forum) and where you can journal your progress.  Doing this will help to keep all your history in one place and means that you will not need to repeat your history whenever you post.  Also remember to update your drug signature so that it remains current and your drug history can be seen at a glance whenever you post.

 

 

[minuk]

Sorry i post again, but im not good at english.

So have to keep questioning.

Make the pill powdered, and then put it in water.

Shake. And then take some percent of them. Then drink. Is it right?

Im planning to taper escitalopram after my benzo taper.

Its gonna be a long journey.

And i wonder, like benzo is okay with water taper. But escitalopram? I dont know well. It makes me anxious

 

People say about suspension and solution, which i dont understand the meanings of them. What do they mean?

THANK YOU TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS 

 

 

[Altostrata]

minuk, please put all your questions in this topic.

 

Read Tips for tapering off escitalopram (Lexapro)

 

Does escitalopram come in a prescription liquid in your country?

 

Are you still having withdrawal symptoms from going off clonazepam?

[minuk]

2 hours ago, Altostrata said:

minuk, please put all your questions in this topic.

 

Read Tips for tapering off escitalopram (Lexapro)

 

Does escitalopram come in a prescription liquid in your country?

 

Are you still having withdrawal symptoms from going off clonazepam?

Im not going off clonazepam, im still on both of them, escitalopram and clonazepam.

Im gonna start my benzo taper at the end of this year. And i Still have some symptom after reinstatement 

[minuk]

Im back on clonazepam and escitalopram10mg 

[ChessieCat]

minuk's question:

 

Quote

so i cant go water taper ??? 

 

crush it and pour the powder in water and shake it, then take some percent of it and drink.?

 

From Post #1 of this topic:  tips-for-tapering-off-escitalopram-lexapro

 

This is how to make a liquid from Lexapro tablets:

 

 

On 5/27/2011 at 12:16 PM, Altostrata said:

 

Do-it-yourself liquid
People report that they can make their own liquid from Lexapro tablets and water.

It is sparingly soluble in water, see http://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB01175 -- stability (shelf-life of dilution) is unknown.

 

 Escitalopram oxalate occurs as a fine, white to slightly-yellow powder and is freely soluble in methanol and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), soluble in isotonic saline solution, sparingly soluble in water and ethanol, slightly soluble in ethyl acetate, and insoluble in heptane. According to RxList,com.

 

Your best bet would be to use a homemade isotonic saline solution (9% salt in water) which is made by dissolving 9 grams of table salt in 100mL of water. This mixture will last for a month or so in the refrigerator if you haven't added the drug to it.  Once the drug is added it will keep for about a week.

 

 

 

 

[minuk]

Do-it-yourself liquid
People report that they can make their own liquid from Lexapro tablets and water.

It is sparingly soluble in water, see http://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB01175 -- stability (shelf-life of dilution) is unknown.

 

 Escitalopram oxalate occurs as a fine, white to slightly-yellow powder and is freely soluble in methanol and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), soluble in isotonic saline solution, sparingly soluble in water and ethanol, slightly soluble in ethyl acetate, and insoluble in heptane. According to RxList,com.

 

Your best bet would be to use a homemade isotonic saline solution (9% salt in water) which is made by dissolving 9 grams of table salt in 100mL of water. This mixture will last for a month or so in the refrigerator if you haven't added the drug to it.  Once the drug is added it will keep for about a week.

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

i have read the tips, and now i dont know what this infom means, 

does it mean that i cant do water taper? 

 should i dissolve 9grams of salt in the water? to do water taper?

so i cant do just normal water taper?

[ChessieCat]

What do you mean by "normal water taper"?

[minuk]

so what i have to do is, like.

 

crush the pill, make it powder, put it in 100ml water(which is dissolved 9grams of salt), shake it, drink it?

[minuk]

2 minutes ago, ChessieCat said:

What do you mean by "normal water taper"?

uh the taper using water.

 

mixing the powdered pill with water

[ChessieCat]

You would measure out 100mL of water and add 9 grams of salt.  DO NOT add the tablet.  This will keep in the fridge for 1 month.

 

Measure out SOME of the water and add the tablet to it.  Once the tablet is added you can keep the mixture (tablet in water) in the refrigerator for 1 week.

 

On the second week do the same thing to make the tablet in water mixture.

 

You will be able to do that 4 times using the water you made with the salt (without the tablet).

 

After 4 weeks throw away any salt water that remains.  You will then make a new salt water to use for 4 weeks like you did the first time.

[ChessieCat]

Quote

Measure 100 mL of water and add 9 g of salt. Do not add tablets. Store in the refrigerator for 1 month.

 

Measure a portion of the water and add tablets to it. When tablets are added, the mixture (tablets in water) can be stored in the refrigerator for a week.

 

Do the same thing for the second week to make tablets from the water mixture.

 

You can do 4 times with salted water (without tablets).

 

Discard the remaining salt water after 4 weeks. Then make a fresh brine that you will use for 4 weeks, just like you did the first time.

 

Does this make it easier for you?

 

물 100mL를 측정하고 소금 9g을 추가합니다. 정제를 추가하지 마십시오. 냉장고에 1 개월 보관하세요.



물의 일부를 측정하고 그것에 정제를 추가하십시오. 정제를 추가하면 혼합물 (물에 담긴 정제)을 냉장고에 일주일 동안 보관할 수 있습니다.



두 번째 주에도 물 혼합물로 정제를 만드십시오.



소금물로 4 회 할 수 있습니다 (정제없이).



4 주 후에 남은 소금물을 버립니다. 그런 다음 처음했던 것처럼 4 주 동안 사용할 신선한 소금물을 만드십시오.

mul 100mLleul cheugjeonghago sogeum 9geul chugahabnida. jeongjeleul chugahaji masibsio. naengjang-go-e 1 gaewol bogwanhaseyo. mul-ui ilbuleul cheugjeonghago geugeos-e jeongjeleul chugahasibsio. jeongjeleul chugahamyeon honhabmul (mul-e damgin jeongje)eul naengjang-go-e ilju-il dong-an bogwanhal su issseubnida. du beonjjae juedo mul honhabmullo jeongjeleul mandeusibsio. sogeummullo 4 hoe hal su issseubnida (jeongjeeobs-i). 4 ju hue nam-eun sogeummul-eul beolibnida. geuleon da-eum cheoeumhaessdeon geoscheoleom 4 ju dong-an sayonghal sinseonhan sogeummul-eul mandeusibsio.

[minuk]

i think i misunderstand many things....

why shouldi keep water in refrigerator for 1 month?

then i cant drink it?

 

i thought i could do water taper right away since i dissolve some salts in water ?

[minuk]

measure some of the water? i completely dont understand what you saying......

100ml water which has 9 grams of salt......and i put the powdered pill in that water.....shake and take some percent of them out. and drink it.

something wrong with this taper?

 

[minuk]

or can i do just normal water taper?

crush the pill, making it powder, put that in the 'just normal' water, shake that, and take 10ml out of it, then drink it.

is this okay?

 

[ChessieCat]

24 minutes ago, minuk said:

100ml water which has 9 grams of salt......and i put the powdered pill in that water.....shake and take some percent of them out. and drink it.

something wrong with this taper?

 

The salt in the water helps the tablet to dissolve.

 

Yes you can do it this way.

 

Once the tablet is put into the salt water (brine) it will last for 1 week.  If there is any left over after 1 week you will need to throw it away.

 

The next week you will need to make new salt water (brine).

[minuk]

3 minutes ago, ChessieCat said:

 

The salt in the water helps the tablet to dissolve.

 

Yes you can do it this way.

 

Once the tablet is put into the salt water (brine) it will last for 1 week.  If there is any left over after 1 week you will need to throw it away.

 

The next week you will need to make new salt water (brine).

why for 1 week? i use that water right away, so no need to keep it for 1week?

and how about normal water taper i described before ?

[minuk]

i dissolve the 9 grams salt in water 100ml, and put the pill in that water, then shake it, and take 10ml out of the mixture. then drink that, doing this every day for first month like this.

 

then i dissolve 9grams salt in water 100ml, put the pill in that water, shake it, and take 20ml out of the mixture, then drink that. doing this  every day for second month.

 

like this? is this plan okay? i dont know why you said keeping mixture for one week or month. and why you said i use the mixture for one month(how can i use that for one month), and make another mixture next month. anyway this plan okay?

[minuk]

or can i do taper with normal water to make a suspension?

i dont know what is suspension and solution meaning actually.

solution is like pill dissolves completely

and suspension is like pill is dispersed 

so i wonder if i can do just normal water taper.....sorry im repeating same things.....cause i wanna know and understand.........thank you

[Kostas]

According to ChessieCat,the brine water helps the pill to be dissolved better than the tap water. 

 

Also accordingly, it seems that keeping the solution more than one week in the fridge, the dissolved chemical substance, lose a lot from its original potency. 

So, prepare a smaller amount of the right concentration solution, and consume it within one week, discarding any left over, and then prepare a new one. 

 

Hope I have advised correctly! 

[minuk]

cant understand either .....maybe i should go 'cut and weigh' taper.....

[Altostrata]

The suggestion is:

 

1) Make a big batch of salt water, such as 100mL with 9mg salt. You can keep this big batch in the refrigerator for a month.

 

2) Take a small amount of salt water out, such as 10mL, dissolve a 10mg escilatopram tablet in it.

 

3) If you want to take 9mg escilatopram, remove 9mL from the small batch, swallow it. Throw the rest away.

 

 

If you put 7 tablets of 10mg escitalopram in 70mL salted water, you will have 7 doses of 9mg per dose, but you can keep the liquid for only a week, then you will need to discard it as the drug might deteriorate.

[minuk]

Question 1

So if i reduce 10%, i remove 1ml of 10ml. Then drink it? Is this right?

 

Question  2

But why cant i go this plan

 

Everyday for first month,

dissolve the pill in salt water 100ml(9grams salt), then take 10ml out of the water. Then drink it.

everyday for second month,

Dissolve the pill in salt water 100ml (9grams salt), then take 20ml out of the water, then drink it.

(I make 100ml salt water(9grams salt) everyday)

 

or Is this plan basically same?

[ChessieCat]

The first month is correct.

 

If the starting dose is 10mg and you want to reduce by 10% (10mg x 0.9 = 9mg).  The dose you need to take is 9mg.

 

The second month is not correct.  The calculation needs to be made on the new dose, 9mg.  9mg x 0.9 = 8.1mg.  Do not take 8mg because that will be a 11.1111% decrease which is too much.

 

Example:  If you decided to take 8.5mg instead of 8.1mg you would calculate the next reduction on the dose you took:  8.5mg x 0.9 = 7.65mg.

 

Reducing by the same amount each time is called a linear taper.  The better way to taper is to do a hyperbolic taper.  At the bottom of this post there are two graphs which show the difference.

 

why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage

 

And this topic explains why a hyperbolic taper is better:

 

Why taper paper: dose-occupancy curves

 

And it's important to listen to your body / symptoms and stay at the same dose for longer if you have withdrawal symptoms.

 

WDnormal

 

[minuk]

first month is 90ml, not 9ml.

I throw away 10ml then drink 90ml

 

So the plan i said except the calculation, is it right?

Then 

First month, everyday

I dissolve 9grams salt in water 100ml, put the pill in that water 100ml, then throw away 10ml.

And Drink 90ml.( i make 100ml salt water everyday in this plan)

 

For Second month everyday

I dissolve 9grams salt in water 100ml, put the pill in salt water 100ml, then throw away 19ml.

Then drink 81ml.  (i make 100ml salt water everyday, dont keep it in fridge)

 

Is this correct?

[minuk]

4 hours ago, Altostrata said:

The suggestion is:

 

1) Make a big batch of salt water, such as 100mL with 9mg salt. You can keep this big batch in the refrigerator for a month.

 

2) Take a small amount of salt water out, such as 10mL, dissolve a 10mg escilatopram tablet in it.

 

3) If you want to take 9mg escilatopram, remove 9mL from the small batch, swallow it. Throw the rest away.

 

 

If you put 7 tablets of 10mg escitalopram in 70mL salted water, you will have 7 doses of 9mg per dose, but you can keep the liquid for only a week, then you will need to discard it as the drug might deteriorate.

3) If i want to take 9mg, remove 9ml from the 10ml??? Then its 1ml that i drink

Something wrong. Poor english.......

[ChessieCat]

46 minutes ago, minuk said:

first month is 90ml, not 9ml.

I throw away 10ml then drink 90ml

 

So the plan i said except the calculation, is it right?

Then 

First month, everyday

I dissolve 9grams salt in water 100ml, put the pill in that water 100ml, then throw away 10ml.

And Drink 90ml.( i make 100ml salt water everyday in this plan)

 

For Second month everyday

I dissolve 9grams salt in water 100ml, put the pill in salt water 100ml, then throw away 19ml.

Then drink 81ml.  (i make 100ml salt water everyday, dont keep it in fridge)

 

Is this correct?

 

Yes this is correct.  Thank you for writing it all out so that we know that you understand it.

[ChessieCat]

37 minutes ago, minuk said:

3) If i want to take 9mg, remove 9ml from the 10ml??? Then its 1ml that i drink

Something wrong. Poor english.......

 

If you put a 10mg tablet into 10mL of water each 1mL of liquid would equal 1mg dose.

 

To take 9mg dose you would take out 1mL of liquid and drink 9mL of liquid.

 

But this is better:  using 100mL of water with 9mgs salt and adding 10mg tablet (escitalopram) would be easiest.

[minuk]

and can i make the pill powder before put that in salt water?