Hello! Thank you for creating this forum, so that people had somewhere to turn to, after Surviving Antidepressants became read-only.

There is comprehensive background info in my former SA profile link, but the gist of it is that I'm on 10th year of taper (now, liquid microtaper) from Zoloft - a journey I began exactly ten years ago. I'm 46. I'm here to support others, if I can, and to get help on how to use a micropipette for the final phase of my tapering. I already have a micropipette, and am going to buy tips, but one of the withdrawal side effects has been cognitive difficulty, so no matter how much I read micropipette instructions, I can't figure them out.

I got on psych drugs to survive unimaginable suffering following parental incest at 13. It has helped me be numb, while I tried to get through crisis after crisis and trauma after trauma. In 2016, after a spiritual awakening in 2011, I felt a higher call to pursue greater healing, and thus to get all psych drugs out of my system. SA educated me about Akathisia, therefore I took a very long time to taper (using a shaving method for 8 years). If I tried going too fast, I'd develop a constant fever, which I knew was my body's warning sign.

How am I doing now? Well, I feel like I've just been through absolute hell and went to the shadowy underside of the world, and am now slowly coming back to life, rebuilding it. I haven't had any terrible issues with withdrawal, yet. These are some of the lingering issues I have, until my brain heals??:

• Neuro emotions are agitated if I cry even once. Then I'm in a weepy state the rest of the day.

• When going to the hospital, I specifically have to request LRS instead of saline. For some bizarre reason, I get the most insane restless legs with saline solution.

• I always have to make sure I've eaten a good and filling meal (and can't rely on a single soup or a single salad, for example) - because when I'm hungry, my brain starts short-circuiting and making terrible mistakes, like switching words around, or switching facts around. It's very embarrassing at work (started working part-time on year 4 of taper, and full-time on year 8.)

• I can't grasp complicated concepts or complicated information, and therefore work an entry level job. Also, sometimes my brain gets completely disoriented when I'm downtown at intersections I've already been at countless times before.

The good:

• My healing has picked up speed since I started my taper, and I've been employed full-time and am regaining functionality, which I lost at 24, when I became largely non-functional.

The bad:

• During the worst of my taper (years 2017-2023), I couldn't take care of myself and had no one to help me (estranged from entire family), so I had a horrific cockroach infestation, with a fly infestation, and a clothing moth infestation, all at the same time. I'll be rebuilding my life for a while. It's like a tornado went through my whole apartment, and everything exploded or imploded, and only now am I beginning to fix and clean all of it, finding and grieving pieces of myself in the wreckage. For me, the most frustrating and paralyzing side effect of the withdrawal has been a rare, mysterious inability to clean my living space. It's only now being dispelled.

• The only substance I was ever addicted to was kratom, which was exactly during those years. I was heavily addicted to it for 8 years, and quit a year and a half ago. I believe that it helped to take the edge of the terrible physical tension and isolation I was going through.

• My brain still requires much rest and repose. I work a very stimulating, at times busy job, but any chance I get, I'm still far away from the hubbub of the world, at home with my cats or out in quiet nature. Before the taper, I loved going to raves. Now, my brain would find them overstimulating.

• Because I've spent so much time in bed during this journey, my back muscles are super weak, and I find it hard to stand or even sit, and I need physical therapy to strengthen them.

• Most concerning symptom - Unable to work 5 days in a row. My brain ends up feeling like a boiling kettle that is under disturbing pressure. My mood is foul, and I can't bother to hide it from ANYONE. I've snapped at total strangers in this state, not to mention at coworkers. I've yelled at a deli clerk and told him not to put my purchase into a plastic bag, with another customer looking at me with utter bewilderment. The most I can work is 4 days in a row, though I try to only do 3.

Crystalfeather

p.s.: I have much gratitude for Monica Cassani of Beyondmeds. She is the reason I felt inspired to go on this journey

Hi @Crystalfeather

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

Please use the format outline here Preferred signature/drug history format

8 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Hello! Thank you for creating this forum, so that people had somewhere to turn to, after Surviving Antidepressants became read-only.

Hello! Pleasure! We felt it was needed so here we are!

8 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

There is comprehensive background info in my former SA profile link, but the gist of it is that I'm on 10th year of taper (now, liquid microtaper) from Zoloft - a journey I began exactly ten years ago. I'm 46. I'm here to support others, if I can, and to get help on how to use a micropipette for the final phase of my tapering. I already have a micropipette, and am going to buy tips, but one of the withdrawal side effects has been cognitive difficulty, so no matter how much I read micropipette instructions, I can't figure them out.

Thanks for linking to your SA thread in your signature. I can see your taper from Zoloft has been very slow, congratulations on getting to 0.5mg!

What size and brand Pipette have you got?

We have a number of people on here with Micro Pipettes and some considering them shortly, so I am sure you will get lots of feedback on their use.

Perhaps you might post some of your questions that you have on it's operation here and others can chip and offer some advice. I don't have any experience with them myself but I can try to help too of course if I can.

8 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

I got on psych drugs to survive unimaginable suffering following parental incest at 13. It has helped me be numb, while I tried to get through crisis after crisis and trauma after trauma. In 2016, after a spiritual awakening in 2011, I felt a higher call to pursue greater healing, and thus to get all psych drugs out of my system. SA educated me about Akathisia, therefore I took a very long time to taper (using a shaving method for 8 years). If I tried going too fast, I'd develop a constant fever, which I knew was my body's warning sign.

I am so so very sorry to read this. This is an awful thing for you to have had to go through. My heart goes out to you. I am glad you found SA!

8 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

How am I doing now? Well, I feel like I've just been through absolute hell and went to the shadowy underside of the world, and am now slowly coming back to life, rebuilding it. I haven't had any terrible issues with withdrawal, yet. These are some of the lingering issues I have, until my brain heals??:

• Neuro emotions are agitated if I cry even once. Then I'm in a weepy state the rest of the day.

• When going to the hospital, I specifically have to request LRS instead of saline. For some bizarre reason, I get the most insane restless legs with saline solution.

• I always have to make sure I've eaten a good and filling meal (and can't rely on a single soup or a single salad, for example) - because when I'm hungry, my brain starts short-circuiting and making terrible mistakes, like switching words around, or switching facts around. It's very embarrassing at work (started working part-time on year 4 of taper, and full-time on year 8.)

• I can't grasp complicated concepts or complicated information, and therefore work an entry level job. Also, sometimes my brain gets completely disoriented when I'm downtown at intersections I've already been at countless times before.

8 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

The good:

• My healing has picked up speed since I started my taper, and I've been employed full-time and am regaining functionality, which I lost at 24, when I became largely non-functional.

 I am glad to read you are coming back to life. This is wonderful news. I hope this continues for you.

I can see you from reading your post you are still battling from WD/harm symptoms, but it is very encouraging to read how far you have come, I hope this continues and you get more and more of your life come online, you deserve it!

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

Chippy

Welcome to the forum.

On 5/23/2026 at 11:28 PM, Crystalfeather said:

I'm here to support others, if I can

That would be nice, I'm sure others would appreciate it.

It sounds like you've been through a huge amount, and that these drugs have severely impacted your life. I'm glad you're slowly rebuilding it.

I hope that this place is supportive for you too.

On 5/25/2026 at 4:28 AM, Luke said:

Welcome to the forum.

That would be nice, I'm sure others would appreciate it.

It sounds like you've been through a huge amount, and that these drugs have severely impacted your life. I'm glad you're slowly rebuilding it.

I hope that this place is supportive for you too.

Hello Luke. Thank you for the welcome!!

On 5/24/2026 at 3:22 AM, Chippy said:

Hi @Crystalfeather

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

Please use the format outline here Preferred signature/drug history format

Hello! Pleasure! We felt it was needed so here we are!

Thanks for linking to your SA thread in your signature. I can see your taper from Zoloft has been very slow, congratulations on getting to 0.5mg!

What size and brand Pipette have you got?

We have a number of people on here with Micro Pipettes and some considering them shortly, so I am sure you will get lots of feedback on their use.

Perhaps you might post some of your questions that you have on it's operation here and others can chip and offer some advice. I don't have any experience with them myself but I can try to help too of course if I can.

I am so so very sorry to read this. This is an awful thing for you to have had to go through. My heart goes out to you. I am glad you found SA!

 I am glad to read you are coming back to life. This is wonderful news. I hope this continues for you.

I can see you from reading your post you are still battling from WD/harm symptoms, but it is very encouraging to read how far you have come, I hope this continues and you get more and more of your life come online, you deserve it!

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

Chippy

On 5/25/2026 at 4:28 AM, Luke said:

Welcome to the forum.

That would be nice, I'm sure others would appreciate it.

It sounds like you've been through a huge amount, and that these drugs have severely impacted your life. I'm glad you're slowly rebuilding it.

I hope that this place is supportive for you too.

Hi Chippy. Thanks to you and Luke for the very warm welcome.

My micropipette is Onilab Lab Micropipette, 0.1-2.5ul. Here it is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CTKBHS2

I simply can't figure out what size tips I should get, if I want to taper from 0.5mg to 0.4mg, and so on. I'm guessing it should be 10ul tips ?? I should post a separate thread in tapering, and see if anyone responds.

I can feel you have a caring heart.

Thanks for the tips and reminders. Indeed, I can't even drink alcohol anymore. I've tried smoking cannabis a few years ago, and all it would do is give me the most horrific panic attacks. I'd have to grab freshly ground pepper and cut the cannabis trip short. My heart would be nonstop for hours, and I was afraid I'd have a cardiac episode. Alcohol makes me overshare stuff. I'm not touching any of that until ten years, or so.

I do take supplements, because I have trouble cooking for myself. The supplements are not bothering me at all.

Daily walks are, indeed, crucial.

Nice to meet you!!

14 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Hi Chippy. Thanks to you and Luke for the very warm welcome.

Pleasure.

14 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

My micropipette is Onilab Lab Micropipette, 0.1-2.5ul. Here it is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CTKBHS2

I simply can't figure out what size tips I should get, if I want to taper from 0.5mg to 0.4mg, and so on. I'm guessing it should be 10ul tips ?? I should post a separate thread in tapering, and see if anyone responds.

Thanks for sharing. My understanding is that Pipettes come in two types. Fixed volume and variable volume. So you would need to pick a variable volume Pipette that matches the amount of liquid you are trying to draw.

So first thing to think about before choosing a pipette is the volumes of liquids you will be working with, and this is set by the method you use to make your liquid dose up and the liquid reduction you are trying to make. We can help with this if you let us know how you make your current dose up. :)

Basically think of a micro Pipette as a more accurate syringe.

So we need to know how you are making up your current dose? Are you on a manufactured liquid and if so what is the strength of the liquid and do you dilute it down currently? Or are you using a pill to make a liquid up and if so what is your current procedure for this?

In term of how much your reduce, we suggest no more than 10% of the previous dose. 0.5mg to 0.4mg is a 20% reduction so that is too fast. Often people need to much slower than 10% particularly on the lower doses. Your body sets the pace of reduction.

No need to make a fresh post about it, we can talk it through on here.

14 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

I can feel you have a caring heart.

Bless we do our best on here to help each other :)

14 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Alcohol makes me overshare stuff. I'm not touching any of that until ten years, or so.

Good. :)

14 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

I do take supplements, because I have trouble cooking for myself. The supplements are not bothering me at all.

Good also to hear, some are fine with them.

14 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Daily walks are, indeed, crucial.

100% a bit of daily exercise is important I think :)

14 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Nice to meet you!!

Very nice to meet you too! :)

On 6/2/2026 at 3:33 AM, Chippy said:

Pleasure.

Thanks for sharing. My understanding is that Pipettes come in two types. Fixed volume and variable volume. So you would need to pick a variable volume Pipette that matches the amount of liquid you are trying to draw.

So first thing to think about before choosing a pipette is the volumes of liquids you will be working with, and this is set by the method you use to make your liquid dose up and the liquid reduction you are trying to make. We can help with this if you let us know how you make your current dose up. :)

Basically think of a micro Pipette as a more accurate syringe.

So we need to know how you are making up your current dose? Are you on a manufactured liquid and if so what is the strength of the liquid and do you dilute it down currently? Or are you using a pill to make a liquid up and if so what is your current procedure for this?

In term of how much your reduce, we suggest no more than 10% of the previous dose. 0.5mg to 0.4mg is a 20% reduction so that is too fast. Often people need to much slower than 10% particularly on the lower doses. Your body sets the pace of reduction.

No need to make a fresh post about it, we can talk it through on here.

Bless we do our best on here to help each other :)

Good. :)

Good also to hear, some are fine with them.

100% a bit of daily exercise is important I think :)

Very nice to meet you too! :)

Hi again Chippy. Thanks for giving me hope that I'll be able to figure this out. It sounds like you've used a micropipette, yourself.

My micropipette is variable.

I'm using a pill to make the liquid; this involves:

taking a 100mg pill,

cutting a tiny sliver off,

weighing until the scale shows that it's 2mg,

crushing that amount in a pill crusher,

drawing up water into a 3mL syringe,

releasing the water into the pill crusher with the 2mg of Zoloft,

drawing all of it back into the syringe,

and releasing the liquid until it's at 0.5mL.

Phew!

Btw, what does "Chippy" mean?

Edited June 3Jun 3 by Crystalfeather

10 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Hi again Chippy. Thanks for giving me hope that I'll be able to figure this out. It sounds like you've used a micropipette, yourself.

My micropipette is variable.

I'm using a pill to make the liquid; this involves:

taking a 100mg pill,

cutting a tiny sliver off,

weighing until the scale shows that it's 2mg,

crushing that amount in a pill crusher,

drawing up water into a 3mL syringe,

releasing the water into the pill crusher with the 2mg of Zoloft,

drawing all of it back into the syringe,

and releasing the liquid until it's at 0.5mL.

Phew!

Btw, what does "Chippy" mean?

You will be able to figure this out!

So you are taking 2mg of drug using your scales. This is a great way to do this. You are using 3ml of liquid, this is a slightly odd!

So you have a 1:1.5 ratio! A new one on me. :)

If this is the case your dose is lower than you think it is! 0.5ml of the liquid is actually 0.33mg of drug not 0.5mg with that ratio.

Can you confirm I am understanding your process correctly. Then I can help you pick the correct pipette and suggest the dilution you will need.

Chippy (Which is a carpenter in English) :)

On 6/4/2026 at 3:42 AM, Chippy said:

You will be able to figure this out!

So you are taking 2mg of drug using your scales. This is a great way to do this. You are using 3ml of liquid, this is a slightly odd!

So you have a 1:1.5 ratio! A new one on me. :)

If this is the case your dose is lower than you think it is! 0.5ml of the liquid is actually 0.33mg of drug not 0.5mg with that ratio.

Can you confirm I am understanding your process correctly. Then I can help you pick the correct pipette and suggest the dilution you will need.

Chippy (Which is a carpenter in English) :)

Do you work as a carpenter? 🙂

Yes, that's correct, Chippy. Sometimes I use 3mg instead of 2mg. Doesn't make much difference to my brain.

Forgot to include some reasons for why I can't just jump off:

A mere 3 hours without the daily dose, and I get super lightheaded, and my emotions get embarrassingly chaotic..

3 minutes ago, Crystalfeather said:

Do you work as a carpenter? 🙂

Yes, that's correct, Chippy. Sometimes I use 3mg instead of 2mg. Doesn't make much difference to my brain.

Forgot to include some reasons for why I can't just jump off:

A mere 3 hours without the daily dose, and I get super lightheaded, and my emotions get embarrassingly chaotic..

Used to work as a carpenter but not for a while now.

You should always take the same dose each day at the same time. Jumping doses around. Can cause lots of issues. You might not notice but please don’t do that! 😀

You should never jump off your drug. Taper slowly and step off at 0.01mg. 😀

9 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Used to work as a carpenter but not for a while now.

You should always take the same dose each day at the same time. Jumping doses around. Can cause lots of issues. You might not notice but please don’t do that! 😀

You should never jump off your drug. Taper slowly and step off at 0.01mg. 😀

Yes, I know, I was only relaying what happened when I tried to skip a dose, to see how my brain would reait.

So, based on the info, what size of micropipette tip do you think i should get?

Just now, Crystalfeather said:

Yes, I know, I was only relaying what happened when I tried to skip a dose, to see how my brain would reait.

So, based on the info, what size of micropipette tip do you think i should get?

Good. I’m glad to hear.

I’ll have a look in more detail tomorrow when I’m at my computer. 😀

24 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Good. I’m glad to hear.

I’ll have a look in more detail tomorrow when I’m at my computer. 😀

Ok!! Thank you!! 🙏🏻

Hey @Crystalfeather

Ok,

So to confirm your current dose:

2mgai (ai=active ingredient) powder mixed with 3ml of water to make 1:1.5 solution. You take 0.5ml of the solution meaning you current dose is 0.33mgai.

This is what I would:

Buy the micro Pipette which goes from 100-1000ul

Make up a more dilute solution (which is double what you currently do) of 1:3 using the Micro Pipette to measure the fluid. So in reality its a 1:3000 now.

-Draw up 6000ul (6 full pipettes worth) of water using the Micro Pipette

-Add in 2mgai of drug

-Draw up 1000ul of dose from the new solution that will be the equivalent of your current dose of 0.33mgai

You can then taper all the way down to 100ul of the new solution which will be a dose of 0.03mgai. When you get to this dose I would continue to reduce to 0.01mgai by making a new more dilute solution which we can deal with when you get to that point.

Hope that helps!

10 hours ago, Chippy said:

Hey @Crystalfeather

Ok,

So to confirm your current dose:

2mgai (ai=active ingredient) powder mixed with 3ml of water to make 1:1.5 solution. You take 0.5ml of the solution meaning you current dose is 0.33mgai.

This is what I would:

Buy the micro Pipette which goes from 100-1000ul

Make up a more dilute solution (which is double what you currently do) of 1:3 using the Micro Pipette to measure the fluid. So in reality its a 1:3000 now.

-Draw up 6000ul (6 full pipettes worth) of water using the Micro Pipette

-Add in 2mgai of drug

-Draw up 1000ul of dose from the new solution that will be the equivalent of your current dose of 0.33mgai

You can then taper all the way down to 100ul of the new solution which will be a dose of 0.03mgai. When you get to this dose I would continue to reduce to 0.01mgai by making a new more dilute solution which we can deal with when you get to that point.

Hope that helps!

Hi. This is so helpful. I feel so stupid at not being able to figure this out without help. The first step is to just get the correct micropipette; I seem to have obtained one that is of the wrong size.

So does this mean that I won't need to use separate tips with the 100-1000ul micropipette?

I'll probably be asking you several questions in the near future - sorry Chippy

Edited June 8Jun 8 by Crystalfeather

8 minutes ago, Crystalfeather said:

Hi. This is so helpful. I feel so stupid at not being able to figure this out without help. The first step is to just get the correct micropipette; I seem to have obtained one that is of the wrong size.

Pleasure. They are fairly in expensive that brand. I know others have invested in a more expensive models. I don’t know how good the cheaper ones are. Perhaps they are ok. I know science students use the fixed volume ones and they are fine.

You’re not stupid. It’s a bit complicated to be fair!

10 minutes ago, Crystalfeather said:

So does this mean that I won't need to use separate tips with the 100-1000ul micropipette?

I don’t think that’s how they work. The unit measures the volume and the tips where the fluid goes. I’ve never actually used one so I’m not very familiar with them but I understand the theory of it, so happy to try to help you.

I think you just need to buy the one that’s marked 100-1000 and it comes with everything you need.

Hi Chippy, don't know how I'll thank you.

I get my correctly-sized micropipette tomorrow, and have just a few questions...

"Make up a more dilute solution (which is double what you currently do) of 1:3"

Does this mean I'd be using water worth two 3ML syringes, instead of just one 3ML syringe?

"Draw up 6000ul (6 full pipettes worth) of water using the Micro Pipette"

Again, brain lock. So that would be 6 of the 3ML syringes?

"You can then taper all the way down to 100ul of the new solution which will be a dose of 0.03mgai."

So that would literally be what I'll be doing for the next month? Or were you talking about the actual endgame?

8 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Hi Chippy, don't know how I'll thank you.

It’s a pleasure to help

8 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

I get my correctly-sized micropipette tomorrow,

Great news

8 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

"Make up a more dilute solution (which is double what you currently do) of 1:3"

Does this mean I'd be using water worth two 3ML syringes, instead of just one 3ML syringe?

Yes. But it’s important to use the pipette not the syringes but I think you know that, but I’ll say to make sure. 😃

8 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Draw up 6000ul (6 full pipettes worth) of water using the Micro Pipette"

Again, brain lock. So that would be 6 of the 3ML syringes?

No. 6000ul is 6ml. 😀

8 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

"You can then taper all the way down to 100ul of the new solution which will be a dose of 0.03mgai."

So that would literally be what I'll be doing for the next month? Or were you talking about the actual endgame?

No, you need to taper at a pace that suits your body. Nice and slow still. I’m just covering the technicals of how to get to 0.03mgai with the pipette.

The end games a good question though. I’d call the last dose 0.01mgai.

It’s worth considering a long hold at some point before you stop even if you do this at 0.01mgai just to let your body settle before zero.

Thank you, Chippy...

Last question, I think. What is the Math for figuring out how much of the 6000ul to discard, using the 10% tapering schedule: 3mg from 3.33, 2.7mg from 3, and so forth?

Since I'll want to start with the new dose of 3mg...

Edited June 15Jun 15 by Crystalfeather

5 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Thank you, Chippy...

Last question, I think. What is the Math for figuring out how much of the 6000ul to discard, using the 10% tapering schedule: 3mg from 3.33, 2.7mg from 3, and so forth?

Since I'll want to start with the new dose of 3mg...

You've lost me, your dose is 0.33mgai? :)

13 hours ago, Chippy said:

You've lost me, your dose is 0.33mgai? :)

Yes, is it not?

You wrote: "0.5ml of the liquid is actually 0.33mg of drug not 0.5mg with that ratio." and "Draw up 1000ul of dose from the new solution that will be the equivalent of your current dose of 0.33mgai."

So I'm at 0.33mgai now, right?

And if I want to taper by 10%, my new starting dose will be 3mgai. And two months later, it will be 2.7mgai, and so forth?

If so, what how do I achieve this, using the 6000ul? This is like rocket science to me, Chippy :///

9 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Yes, is it not?

You wrote: "0.5ml of the liquid is actually 0.33mg of drug not 0.5mg with that ratio." and "Draw up 1000ul of dose from the new solution that will be the equivalent of your current dose of 0.33mgai."

So I'm at 0.33mgai now, right?

Based on what you told me your dose is 0.33mgai

9 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

And if I want to taper by 10%, my new starting dose will be 3mgai. And two months later, it will be 2.7mgai, and so forth?

No your next dose would be 0.297mgai, then 0.267mgai then 0.240mgai. 😀

I would not reduce 10% at such a low dose, you might be ok but for most this is too much. Often even 5% is too quick. But this choice is up to you, listen to your body.

9 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

If so, what how do I achieve this, using the 6000ul? This is like rocket science to me, Chippy :///

That is ok, happy to help it can be confusing.

Easiest thing is to write it down on a piece of paper and stick it to your fridge like this:

0.33mgai - 1000ul - Current Dose

0.279mgai - 900ul - 10%

0.267mgai - 810ul - 10%

0.240mgai - 729ul - 10%

Basically take the current dose of 0.33mgai x 0.9 and you have your new dose of 0.279mgai, take the current volume of liquid of 1000ul and do the same. 1000ul x 0.9 is 900ul.

If you did a 5% reduction, which would be more sensible, it would look like this, basically multiply by 0.95 in stead of 0.9.

0.33mgai - 1000ul - Current Dose

0.314mgai - 950ul - 5%

0.298mgai - 903ul - 5%

0.283mgai - 857ul - 5%

Do you feel pretty stable and low in symptoms atm? If you have any symptoms how would you rate them out of 10, 10 being awful 1 being mild?

10 hours ago, Chippy said:

Based on what you told me your dose is 0.33mgai

No your next dose would be 0.297mgai, then 0.267mgai then 0.240mgai. 😀

I would not reduce 10% at such a low dose, you might be ok but for most this is too much. Often even 5% is too quick. But this choice is up to you, listen to your body.

That is ok, happy to help it can be confusing.

Easiest thing is to write it down on a piece of paper and stick it to your fridge like this:

0.33mgai - 1000ul - Current Dose

0.279mgai - 900ul - 10%

0.267mgai - 810ul - 10%

0.240mgai - 729ul - 10%

Basically take the current dose of 0.33mgai x 0.9 and you have your new dose of 0.279mgai, take the current volume of liquid of 1000ul and do the same. 1000ul x 0.9 is 900ul.

If you did a 5% reduction, which would be more sensible, it would look like this, basically multiply by 0.95 in stead of 0.9.

0.33mgai - 1000ul - Current Dose

0.314mgai - 950ul - 5%

0.298mgai - 903ul - 5%

0.283mgai - 857ul - 5%

Do you feel pretty stable and low in symptoms atm? If you have any symptoms how would you rate them out of 10, 10 being awful 1 being mild?

🙏🏻

Thank you so much, Chippy. I think it makes more sense now. I'll try all of this out tomorrow.

Someone sent me a tapering spreadsheet once, but I can't edit it. I'll look for similar ones.

I feel very stable and have zero protracted symptoms, apart from things like gray dreams, inability to work 5 days in a row, and lightheadedness/chaotic emotions if I try to stop. My only tapering symptoms have been emotional; appearing even more of a weirdo than I already am

13 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

🙏🏻

Thank you so much, Chippy. I think it makes more sense now. I'll try all of this out tomorrow.

My pleasure

13 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Someone sent me a tapering spreadsheet once, but I can't edit it. I'll look for similar ones.

This is our sheet Cutting Calculator 2.0

If you need help with it let me know.

13 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

I feel very stable and have zero protracted symptoms, apart from things like gray dreams, inability to work 5 days in a row, and lightheadedness/chaotic emotions if I try to stop. My only tapering symptoms have been emotional; appearing even more of a weirdo than I already am

That is great. Use this current state as your base line, if things get a bit wobbly, hold and wait to return to this state before tapering again. If things start to get a bit too wobbly like 4+/10 than consider going more slowly still. You are doing really well, you are down to under 0.5mg and stable, great going! Don't be in a rush to get off, taper nice and slowly down to 0.01mgai, you'll need to dilute the solution to do this and I can help with that, consider a long hold at that dose before stopping too. You'll be drug free before you know it! But nice and steady, no rush!

Chippy, thank you so.

I think one more question - I'm too nervous about using the micropipette without dedicated tips. Everywhere I'm reading says that the one tip that comes with the micropipette is only a test tip, and that I risk damaging the apparatus without using brand new tips each time. This thing was very expensive, so I want to make sure I don't damage it. Question is, am I getting 1000ul tips or 100ul tips? Am I correct in guessing that it's 1000ul, since you wrote that

Draw up 1000ul of dose from the new solution that will be the equivalent of your current dose of 0.33mgai

13 hours ago, Crystalfeather said:

Chippy, thank you so.

I think one more question - I'm too nervous about using the micropipette without dedicated tips. Everywhere I'm reading says that the one tip that comes with the micropipette is only a test tip, and that I risk damaging the apparatus without using brand new tips each time. This thing was very expensive, so I want to make sure I don't damage it. Question is, am I getting 1000ul tips or 100ul tips? Am I correct in guessing that it's 1000ul, since you wrote that

Pleasure, it is best to use a fresh tip each time. You would want a tip that takes the max volume so 1000ul.

Can you confirm which model you have?