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User Guide · Part 1: Understanding Your Taper

Lorazepam vs Diazepam: Why Half-Life Matters

Lorazepam: Quick Ups and Downs

Lorazepam amount in the body over 48 hours
Thin lines are single doses. The thick line is the total in your body. A simplified example.

Lorazepam leaves your body fairly fast. Many people take it 2 or 3 or more times a day.

The amount in your body goes up after each dose, then quickly drops due to its short half-life. It can dip before your next dose which can cause irritable symptoms, causing you to want to take more.

With long-lasting Diazepam, the amount in your body stays much steadier, so there is much less of a decrease between doses.

Diazepam: Doses Layer on Top of One Another – Getting to a Stable Dose

Diazepam doses layering over 7 days
Each shaded band is one day's dose. The thick line is the total. A simplified example.

Diazepam stays in your body for days. Each dose is still working when you take the next one, so the amount in your body is smoother. That can make each taper step easier.

The doses layer on top of each other. The amount in your body rises slowly over about the first two weeks, then stays steady.

Diazepam: Often Just One Dose a Day

Lorazepam leaves your body quickly, so some people take it 2, 3 or even 4 times a day. Each dose wears off in a few hours, and the day gets planned and ritualized around the next tablet.

Diazepam lasts much longer. People who switch to Diazepam are often surprised - and relieved - to find they can often take their whole Diazepam dose just once a day at bedtime.

One dose a day makes things easier: fewer tablets to remember, fewer ups and downs during the day, and no need to plan your day around your next dose and no ritualization.

Lorazepam

Taking a Lorazepam dose at breakfastTaking another Lorazepam dose at work in the afternoonTaking a third Lorazepam dose in the evening at home
A short half-life means taking multiple doses a day.

Diazepam

Often, just one dose at bedtime.
Often, just one dose at bedtime.

How many doses you take, and when, is up to your prescriber.

Side by Side: Diazepam Equals Fewer Dips Between Doses

Lorazepam and Diazepam at a steady dose over 3 days
Both are scaled to the same average strength, so the chart compares the swings, not the milligrams. A simplified example.

Here are both medicines at the same strength. Lorazepam swings up and down all day which can cause irritable symptoms. Diazepam lasts much longer and stays much more even with fewer dips between doses, which can make each step of a taper smoother.

The BenzoTaper 80/20 Smart-Taper is based on switching all or some of your benzodiazepine to Diazepam.

Already on Diazepam? After speaking with your doctor, you can start tapering right away. You can go to step 4 of Bob's story if you want.

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Use it for your own taper

BenzoTaper 80/20 Smart-Taper is the taper schedule that updates itself. Pause, change your pace or restart on any day, and every date, dose, tablet and prescription request updates in one click.

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