Posted by Rick on October 24, 1999, at 11:26:57
In reply to Re: Get ready for splitting headaches., posted by JohnL on October 24, 1999, at 4:48:34
Thanks for the input, guys. Noa, Bob and John L have all offered interesting tips, and raised some thought-provoking sideline issues.
John L, your thoughts on the benefits of dosage fluctuation reminded me of something that happened last week. I take the Klonopin for Social Phobia, and have settled into a regimen where I take 0.75 grams upon waking, and then take another 0.75 in two unevenly divided doses at work. One day last week I forgot to take my Klonopin to work, but it turned out to be a really GOOD day in terms of dealing with symptom-inducing situations. And I never DID take the remainder for that day. (That night I came down with my first cold in eight months, but I really don't think it's related.)
I'd be interested to hear what others think about moderate dosage fluctuation -- intentional and otherwise -- on a maintenance med. To me, your reasoning made a good deal of sense, not to mention providing some relief from worry over "splitting headaches".
Rick
> Hi Rick. I've often wondered the same thing. I don't know the answers to your questions.
>
> With that in mind however, I really don't think small inaccuracies in dosage are going to make any difference. Say for example the 5mg Pindolol breaks unevenly into a 2mg piece and a 3mg piece. Both of those doses are so small I don't think it's even relevent.> I sometimes vary the dosage by small amounts on purpose. I have alway felt it simulates real life better than a pure steady state. For example, I used to take Zoloft. I found it worked better when I took 100mg one day, 125 the next, then 100 the next, and so on. It worked better than 100 everyday or 125 everyday. I do the same now with Prozac and find it makes a positive difference when the dosage has subtle ebbs and flows rather than a continuous steady state. As long as the fluctuations are at or above the therapeutic level.
>
> If exact dosages are important though, there are very accurate weight scales (like a triple beam) that could be used. That's how drug dealers measure out the tiniest fragments of a gram or less of whatever illegal drug they're peddling. I think those scales are expensive though. Not worth what I think are irrelevent discrepencies in dosage accuracies. The inaccuracies of concern here seem too small to make any difference to me. Don't get a splitting headache over it. :)
poster:Rick
thread:13721
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991016/msgs/13763.html