Marta withdrawal nightmare

[Yesyes123]

Hey @marta92,

 

Your average weight is actually 0.138

 

You need to add all those values and then divide the product by 10

 

I will help you to get the right dosage

[marta92]

2 minutes ago, Yesyes123 said:

Hey @marta92,

 

Your average weight is actually 0.138

 

You need to add all those values and then divide the product by 10

 

I will help you to get the right dosage

So the dose should be' 0.007 as brassmonkey said

[Yesyes123]

Hey @marta92 sorry for the delay, I'll be back here to help you with the dosage soon I'm a bit busy. So are you planning to reinstate today? How have you been, any difference?

[Yesyes123]

You're right, the powder should weight 0.007g on the scale.

[Yesyes123]

Here is an explanation sent to me by one of the mods:

 

"Escitalopram is not time-release and can be safely crushed to powder.  I used two spoons and crushed the tablet very fine between them.  Give the powder a good stir to make sure the active ingredient is well mixed with the filler.  I used a powder measuring spoon for this (Google "powder measuring spoon").  Weigh the powder, adding or subtracting powder with the spoon (or you can use tweezers) until you get the weight you want.  Pour the powder into a size 0 gelatin capsule.  You can do this with a bent post-it.  I used 3" square LabExact weighing paper.  Save leftover powder in a capsule for future use."

[brassmonkey]

It looks like you only got nine of the numbers added together and then didn't do the final division by 10.

 

I got 1.379 for the total addition and .138 for the average weight. This corresponds with with the calculations we did earlier so your target dose is still 0.007g  on the readout of the scales.

[marta92]

2 hours ago, brassmonkey said:

It looks like you only got nine of the numbers added together and then didn't do the final division by 10.

 

I got 1.379 for the total addition and .138 for the average weight. This corresponds with with the calculations we did earlier so your target dose is still 0.007g  on the readout of the scales.

I managed to make 4 capsules.

Honestly the scale was really sensitive and I pray for it to be correct.

Also, I've wasted some powder on the table. I don't know if that is a problem.

I don't have any other better way to do it.

[Yesyes123]

How are you feeling now? Any different?

[marta92]

Just now, Yesyes123 said:

How are you feeling now? Any different?

I'm feeling extremely bad.

[Yesyes123]

Did you take one of the pills you made already?

 

Did you crush the pills with the spoon?

[marta92]

Just now, Yesyes123 said:

Did you take one of the pills you made already?

 

Did you crush the pills with the spoon?

I haven't taken a pill yet. I will tomorrow morning. But I think the scale is not extremely accurate.

[Yesyes123]

56 minutes ago, marta92 said:

I haven't taken a pill yet. I will tomorrow morning. But I think the scale is not extremely accurate.

 Why do you think that? There might be very small variations in values but it shouldn't be enough to make a difference.

[Yesyes123]

17 hours ago, marta92 said:

I've wasted some powder on the table.

 

That is not a problem at all. The important thing is that you take the right dosage.

 

If there are very small variations as you say, that is not a problem either. If the variations are after the third decimal that we can't see on the scale (like 0.0071, 0.0075, etc...) that's ok. Right, @brassmonkey?

[brassmonkey]

In calculations that is where rounding would play a part. Anything after the third decimal place would be rounded up. @Yesyes123 do a site search on AIC for more explanations you might find interesting, let's  not hijack this thread but can discuss it more on your intro thread.

 

The bigger concern is usually with the inconsistent readouts of the scales. Even with the same pile of powder on the same slip pf paper the readings on the scale will vary by just a little bit.  Especially at the very low doses like the one we are working with. One way around this is to put some extra weigh on the scale and TARE it out before making the measurements. Usually we use the calibration weights that came with the scale but the 50g weight may be too much. Using a midsize coin should work well in its place. Put the coin on the scale, turn it on and it should automatically TARE it out and set to 0.000. Then make your measurements as usual. Adding the coin will throw the scale into the middle of it's range where it is the most accurate.

 

Small inconsistencies in the dose weight from day to day will not make any real difference. What we need is a dose that is nearly the same day in and day out. You could look at it as the dose being wood that you add to a fire. You add wood and the fire burns a bit stronger for a short while and then settles into a steady glow before slowly starting to die out, at which point you add some more wood to maintain the steady glow. This is similar to how the blood serum concentration of the drug works. That is the steady state amount of drug in the blood at any one time. That steady state is what we are aiming for, we want to keep it as "steady" as possible, but there will be some small fluctuations over time. There are a lot of different factors involved in this with the dose weight being a rather small one.

 

So the important thing is to keep the doses as consistent as possible without making yourself crazy trying to be exact. If the scale says the dose weight is 0.007 when you make it up that is close enough. If you try to reweigh it the position on the scale, vibration from the table, a slight breeze, any number of things could make the weight seem to be just a little different. But over time all the different doses that you measure at 0.007 will average out to 0.007 and the blood serum level will stay constant.

[Yesyes123]

Thank you @brassmonkey I have so much respect for you and all you do for us...

 

@marta92 hope you do great with reinstatement. I'm anxious to hear how it goes. Wish you peace and healing.

[marta92]

On 2/21/2021 at 10:17 PM, brassmonkey said:

In calculations that is where rounding would play a part. Anything after the third decimal place would be rounded up. @Yesyes123 do a site search on AIC for more explanations you might find interesting, let's  not hijack this thread but can discuss it more on your intro thread.

 

The bigger concern is usually with the inconsistent readouts of the scales. Even with the same pile of powder on the same slip pf paper the readings on the scale will vary by just a little bit.  Especially at the very low doses like the one we are working with. One way around this is to put some extra weigh on the scale and TARE it out before making the measurements. Usually we use the calibration weights that came with the scale but the 50g weight may be too much. Using a midsize coin should work well in its place. Put the coin on the scale, turn it on and it should automatically TARE it out and set to 0.000. Then make your measurements as usual. Adding the coin will throw the scale into the middle of it's range where it is the most accurate.

 

Small inconsistencies in the dose weight from day to day will not make any real difference. What we need is a dose that is nearly the same day in and day out. You could look at it as the dose being wood that you add to a fire. You add wood and the fire burns a bit stronger for a short while and then settles into a steady glow before slowly starting to die out, at which point you add some more wood to maintain the steady glow. This is similar to how the blood serum concentration of the drug works. That is the steady state amount of drug in the blood at any one time. That steady state is what we are aiming for, we want to keep it as "steady" as possible, but there will be some small fluctuations over time. There are a lot of different factors involved in this with the dose weight being a rather small one.

 

So the important thing is to keep the doses as consistent as possible without making yourself crazy trying to be exact. If the scale says the dose weight is 0.007 when you make it up that is close enough. If you try to reweigh it the position on the scale, vibration from the table, a slight breeze, any number of things could make the weight seem to be just a little different. But over time all the different doses that you measure at 0.007 will average out to 0.007 and the blood serum level will stay constant.

Thank you. 

I am worried because if i weigh some powder it can be 0.007 one second and 0.008 after three seconds.

So it's not a big deal?

I haven't reinstated yet, I'm scared.

[Yesyes123]

As brassmonkey said, if you keep taking it daily with a very small variation, the levels in your blood will remain constant. Its not a big deal. Let us know how reinstatement goes! I have a feeling you'll be just fine in no time.

[brassmonkey]

No, it's not a big deal. Switching to a homemade liquid could be a little more accurate but it won't buy you much. You would need a whole different set of equipment and, in my mind, it's much more of a bother to work with. For right now just do the best you can and try not to over think things.  There will always be another "variable" to worry about, but in the end they all make very little difference.

[Yesyes123]

Hi @marta92how are you