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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by pseudoname on November 20, 2005, at 15:55:07
I'm titrating my dose of sublingual buprenorphine up from 0.1 mg / day to ...dunno ...maybe 2.0 eventually.
PROBLEM: The smallest tablet in the US is 2.0 mg. So there's no way to get a consistent fraction of that in the 0.1 to 0.2 mg range. I'm just looking at the broken pieces & guessing.
I could grind up a tablet and scoop some of the powder under my tongue, but how would I know how much? Is there a trick to dosing this?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Posted by Larry Hoover on November 20, 2005, at 17:19:44
In reply to need advice grinding, measuring, posted by pseudoname on November 20, 2005, at 15:55:07
> I'm titrating my dose of sublingual buprenorphine up from 0.1 mg / day to ...dunno ...maybe 2.0 eventually.
>
> PROBLEM: The smallest tablet in the US is 2.0 mg. So there's no way to get a consistent fraction of that in the 0.1 to 0.2 mg range. I'm just looking at the broken pieces & guessing.
>
> I could grind up a tablet and scoop some of the powder under my tongue, but how would I know how much? Is there a trick to dosing this?
>
> Thanks for any suggestions.If the tablet is meant for sublingual use, it dissolves....right?
Dissolve a tablet in a small but precisely known volume of water. The dose is then proportional to the volume of water consumed.
An example would be to dissolve a tablet in 20 drops of water (from an eyedropper). Then each drop of the solution thus prepared would be .1 mg. One drop under the tongue....
Weigh scales that would do what you would like are very expensive, and I think they're monitored by the drug police.
Tricky work, no doubt.
Lar
Posted by pseudoname on November 20, 2005, at 18:22:36
In reply to Re: need advice grinding, measuring » pseudoname, posted by Larry Hoover on November 20, 2005, at 17:19:44
(...at least in the design, LOL!)
I will give this a try tomorrow.
Thank you, Larry.
Posted by pseudoname on November 21, 2005, at 15:06:22
In reply to Brilliant! » Larry Hoover, posted by pseudoname on November 20, 2005, at 18:22:36
I crushed 1/2 a tablet & added 10 drops of water in a baby's ear medicine beaker. Then I put 2 drops under my tongue, several minutes apart. You have to look in a mirror to do this. From the level of side effects 4 hours later, I'd say I got exactly 0.2 mg, which was my target.
Next time I'll try less water. Holding a drop under your tongue without swallowing any for several minutes while the drug gets absorbed is tricky. If buprenorphine gets swallowed, it's worthless & nauseating. A slightly more viscous solution would be perfect.
Posted by Larry Hoover on November 23, 2005, at 8:19:18
In reply to Seems to have worked, posted by pseudoname on November 21, 2005, at 15:06:22
> I crushed 1/2 a tablet & added 10 drops of water in a baby's ear medicine beaker. Then I put 2 drops under my tongue, several minutes apart. You have to look in a mirror to do this. From the level of side effects 4 hours later, I'd say I got exactly 0.2 mg, which was my target.
>
> Next time I'll try less water. Holding a drop under your tongue without swallowing any for several minutes while the drug gets absorbed is tricky. If buprenorphine gets swallowed, it's worthless & nauseating. A slightly more viscous solution would be perfect.Thanks for reporting back on your experiences.
Two comments...
A drop under the tongue of a drug solution is a lot easier than holding a pill there without swallowing. Just put the drop there, relax, and don't swallow for a bit. No bodily contortions required. All moist surfaces in the mouth are absorptive.
Just make sure you use enough liquid to completely dissolve the tablet/powder. I'm unclear on the stability of the liquid, so store excess in the refrigerator.
Lar
Posted by pseudoname on November 23, 2005, at 9:23:13
In reply to Re: Seems to have worked » pseudoname, posted by Larry Hoover on November 23, 2005, at 8:19:18
Larry, thanks for your comments.
> I'm unclear on the stability of the liquid, so store excess in the refrigerator.
The enclosure info said not to refrigerate the tablets. Dunno why. The liquid Buprenex info just says to avoid excess heat.
But for anyone trying this, I would recommend not making much more than 24 hours' worth of solution, anyway. I had noticeable evaporation occur after 2 days, even inside the dropper sealed as best I could with kitchen wrap.
> Just make sure you use enough liquid to completely dissolve the tablet/powder.
I tried using less water the second time, but even if it dissolved OK, it was too little water to work with conveniently. Although "drop" may not be precise for others to follow (I'm using a big, 5-mL dropper), I found that 10 drops to 1 mg of tablet worked well.
I need a very short, round-bottom test tube. (With cap.) The one that came with the dropper has annoying corners.
Thanks again.
This is the end of the thread.
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