8 hours ago, scj1236 said:

reducing by the smallest amount that I can manage to cut is causing my some withdrawal symptoms. it is typically lightheadedness. no idea you can remove such infinitessimal amounts. just removing 0.006 grams (super tiny) is a dose change of around 1 mg. maybe i should try my pill crusher? to get it into powder form.

and if you do have symptoms, do you just add enough to go back the last dose where you didn't?

Ok so to confirm you did a reduction from 20mg to 19mg? That is a 5% reduction.

How would you rate your symptoms before the cut out of 10 and now? That would be my starting point? 10 being very bad and 1 being mild.

maybve a 3-4. I added in the tiny amount to get back to what I had yesterday and felt better. Again I don't necessarily want to cut that much, but I just can't cut into smaller amounts.

1 hour ago, scj1236 said:

maybve a 3-4

3-4/10 Is this before the cut or after?

1 hour ago, scj1236 said:

I added in the tiny amount to get back to what I had yesterday and felt better.

That’s good. what dose did you go to? Can you put dates and doses and weights in your signature?

1 hour ago, scj1236 said:

Again I don't necessarily want to cut that much, but I just can't cut into smaller amounts.

You should be able to reduce 0.001gpw (pw means pill weight) using a sharp blade or a small file. Thats the smallest change you can make. So if your original pill is 0.128mgpw and your went to 0.127mgpw for example that would be a 0.78% reduction. It’s not so much about cutting the pill, more shaving it very carefully.

One trick is to put your calibration weight on the scale to ‘load’ it at the same time as weighing your pill. This helps make the scale operate better by being more within its operation range. You would zero the scale or deduct the weight of the weight from the measurement obviously…

Also you don’t need to have one whole peice of pill. You can have a couple of bits to make the dose if required.

this is after. and thanks I will try to update it as much as I can. I did use the calibration weight to calibrate when I got the scale, but yes that is a good idea. Given the scale precision is +/- 0.001, i don't think I could add that value while being certain it was accurate.

has anyone else experienced this sort of light-headedness as a withdrawal syndrome when decreasing the dose too much? it's a very odd, uncomfortable feeling. as i said adding the tiny amount to get back to where I was helped.

1 minute ago, scj1236 said:

this is after.

Ok well that’s actually ok. Often we have symptoms after a reduction. Generally you would just hold until things settle to a baseline level of symptoms. This base line is individual. It’s often described as symptoms around 1-3/10. tapers are rarely symptom free.

3 minutes ago, scj1236 said:

Given the scale precision is +/- 0.001, i don't think I could add that value while being certain it was accurate.

It’s tricky but doable. Gotta keep the scale away from fans and windows, there is a degree of judgement I found when reading to this level of precision. You can only be so precise with these things.

yep, got that covered, it's in my bathroom which has no windows. trying to be precise, but not so precise I go insane. No idea how I will kee pdoing this at lower doses when the drop is even tinier though. At what dose level do you usually suggested switching to liquids? and why do you suggest mixing it with water? to avoid parts of it getting stuck to your cup?

1 minute ago, scj1236 said:

yep, got that covered, it's in my bathroom which has no windows. trying to be precise, but not so precise I go insane. No idea how I will kee pdoing this at lower doses when the drop is even tinier though.

Good. When the reductions become impossible you’d switch to liquid. You can switch before if you choose but you should perform a crossover taper as per our diy liquid guide.

1 minute ago, scj1236 said:

and why do you suggest mixing it with water?

I’m confused. Adding water is what makes it a liquid.

I’ve just seen your footer thanks for updating. Looks like you have tried a few different doses. It’s not a good idea. You ended up at 7% cut at one point and now you are at 5% I think from what I can see. Just hold the dose where you are now and leave it steady for 30 days. The brain likes stability.

Can you include the actual dose amount too with % reductions. Mark pw for pw and ai for dose weight (active ingredient)

So

Date - 20mgai (0.128mgpw) 0% reduction

ok i will try that. again it's not as if i WANT to do that, i just can't cut it that precisely.

1 minute ago, scj1236 said:

ok i will try that. again it's not as if i WANT to do that, i just can't cut it that precisely.

I understand but it’s important your dose is consistent. Just be careful take your time and if needs be add in several bits to make the dose. It does not need to be a complete pill you take. You can grind the pill and weigh the powder if that’s easier. You can even buy empty capsules to put the dose into. You would need to zero the scales with the capsule on it too or delete from the reading like I suggested with the calibration weight.

yeah, I do have a crusher but I think it might be easier to miss some of the dose with the powder, even the tiniest amount could slip out or whatever. I did just check the calibration weight and the scale is still accurate to three digits. thanks again.

2 minutes ago, scj1236 said:

I do have a crusher but I think it might be easier to miss some of the dose with the powder, even the tiniest amount could slip out or whatever.

You can crush say 20 pills all at once and store the powder in a suitable small pot. Then use tiny spoons to fill the capsule and weigh the powder in the capsule so it doesn’t spill anywhere.

Other ways to crush pills is a pestle and mortar or between two spoons.

5 minutes ago, scj1236 said:

did just check the calibration weight and the scale is still accurate to three digits.

That’s good. As I said before try weighing the dose next time with the calibration weight still on the scales. I’ve found it makes the scales less flighty.

can i just put the powder in a spoon and swallow it with water directly?

Just now, scj1236 said:

can i just put the powder in a spoon and swallow it with water directly?

I think it would be best to put it in a capsule.

I think the idea of sticking at a level for a while before going down is good. Since I know the precision is within 0.001, maybe I should think of this as a range. For example if I start at 0.124, I will try my best to get exactly that, but between 0.123-0.125 is fine, since both of those could actually be 0.124 as well.

11 hours ago, scj1236 said:

I think the idea of sticking at a level for a while before going down is good. Since I know the precision is within 0.001, maybe I should think of this as a range. For example if I start at 0.124, I will try my best to get exactly that, but between 0.123-0.125 is fine, since both of those could actually be 0.124 as well.

Yeah we suggest holding for 30 days, unless you are actively trying to micro taper a bigger drop.

I would sugest you choose a dose and just aim for that on the scales using the techniques I've suggested. It will fluctuate around a bit sometimes but you'll get the hang of when to take the reading. If you are still struggling when you to do your next reduction we can switch to liquid, just need to spend a month doing it that is all without reducing. Let me know if you want to go this route and I'll help you with it if you need.

went from 0.123 to 0.120 grams, feeling fine.

signature updated. things are still going well. I purchased a metal file to make shaving the pills down a lot easier. I'm doing some traveling so I make sure not to change doses immediately before or during my travel.

9 hours ago, scj1236 said:

signature updated. things are still going well. I purchased a metal file to make shaving the pills down a lot easier. I'm doing some traveling so I make sure not to change doses immediately before or during my travel.

Good to hear. Hope the travels go well for you. Keep us updated.

update - see signature. staying on each dose level for about two weeks currently. no issues noted when decreasing. the lower I go, the smaller the decrease I will need to do of course. the last was around 9%. I also put down projections for the rest of the year, using 10% reduction every two weeks.

Edited July 27Jul 27 by scj1236

On 7/11/2026 at 4:57 PM, scj1236 said:

signature updated. things are still going well. I purchased a metal file to make shaving the pills down a lot easier. I'm doing some traveling so I make sure not to change doses immediately before or during my travel.

Glad to hear your doing good on your reduction, and safe travels. Wishing you the best time ever

just went from 0.105 to 0.094 g. feel a bit off just now (took the dose about four hours ago). should i just tough it out for now and see if it improves over the next couple days?