The Benzo Basics
Solutions, Suspensions, and Mixtures
There is a big difference between a suspension (mixing), and a solution (dissolving). In a mixture, the benzo will start to settle to the bottom of the vessel. In a solution, the same concentration of benzo remains at the top, the sides, and at the bottom of the vessel. This means that when you measure a sample from any location, the drug concentration in a solution is the same. The difference between the two procedures is important because it's the difference between being accurate and being "close enough" with your doses. This difference will be significant to very sensitive people.
Which would you rather use: a true solution or a suspension? If you would like further information that might help you make your decision, keep reading...
You must think about what you want from your benzo-liquid. If you want your benzodiazepine evenly distributed so that measuring is accurate, you want a solution. A true solution will give you a reliable measure of drug concentration, while a mixture may or may not be reliable and always only for a definite time period. For this reason, the ideal benzo-containing liquid is a solution and not a suspended benzo-mixture. Regardless of what liquid-taper procedure you are using, a solution guarantees that X.0 milligrams will always be in Y.0 milliliters.
Many people don't know the difference between a solution and a suspension or mixture. In chemistry terms, a solution is two or more substances that are combined into a homogeneous mixture (a mixture in which particles are both uniformly and consistently spread). A solution must have a solvent (the dissolving medium of sufficient quantity) and a solute (the substance that is dissolved). The solute (in our case, the benzo) does not separate or settle from the solvent (the appropriate liquid in sufficient quantity). A sample taken from any part of a solution will show the same concentration, even after standing. In a benzo solution, the drug concentration is the same when measured from any location in the solution.
A suspension is different. In a suspension, there are two main parts - a liquid and the particles to be suspended. When the particles (benzo) and liquid are stirred or agitated, the particles become suspended in the liquid. When the action is stopped, the particles begin to settle. These particles need to be only more than one micrometer in size for settling to occur. In a suspension, the drug concentration will be different when measured from different locations in the suspension. Suspensions are mixtures.
The important thing to remember is that a solution is produced be actually dissolving the benzo crystal into the proper liquid. When you have an actual solution, the benzo will remain evenly distributed in the liquid indefinitely. In contrast, a suspension or mixture will suspend the benzo crystals for a very limited time.
When making a solution, choosing the correct liquid is essential. You will need to know the solubility of your specific benzo - what your benzo is soluble in and how soluble it is (how much solvent is needed per milligram of drug). This is laboratory-verified information which can be found at pharmacological data sources. The drug's monograph requires listing solvents and degrees of solubility. Some of the listed solvents are not to be taken internally. Water, fat, and ethanol are the only safe solvents to ingest. Ask a pharmacist for sources if you have trouble finding this information.
Water is the correct solvent for Tranxene, but not for Klonopin (clonazepam) or Valium (diazepam). Klonopin and Valium are not appreciably soluble in water, therefore you cannot make a true solution by using only water and Klonopin or Valium. Hence the not-always-ideal results from water mixtures are noticed, especially at low doses.
Klonopin and Valium are fat soluble. Homogenized milk is an emulsion. Homogeneous milk contains both water for volume and fat as solvent. The process of homogenization keeps the fat globules in the milk from "creaming" or clustering together. This makes milk a superior choice to water for both Klonopin and Valium. Milk is not the only choice though, and milk is not a correct choice for all benzos. The experience of real benzo-patients illustrates the success of employing the correct solvent.
Here's an easy experiment you can do right in your own kitchen to examine the difference between a suspension and a solution. The only tools you will need are a spoon and two clear drinking glasses. The only materials needed are ordinary table salt, water, and Isopropyl Alcohol - 91%. If you don't already keep Isopropyl Alcohol in your medicine cabinet, you can find it at any pharmacy and at most supermarkets in the first aid aisle.
Take the two drinking glasses - put one-half cup cold tap water into one glass and put one half-cup of 91%-Isopropyl Alcohol into the second glass. Now add one tablespoon of ordinary kitchen salt to each glass. Stir the contents of each glass and watch what happens. Let's start with the salt and water combination. At first, the salt and water combination looks cloudy. Stop stirring and continue to watch the result. The water clears and no salt is visible. Now stir the salt and alcohol combination. Stir it as much and as fast you want, but the salt will only suspend in the alcohol. Once you stop stirring, you can see the salt settle as a layer on the bottom of the glass. Let them both sit for an hour, then look again. The salt and water combination is still clear with no visible salt. The salt and alcohol combination still shows the layer of salt at the bottom of the glass. The salt and water combination is a solution; the salt and alcohol combination is a suspension.
If you wanted to further test your solution and suspension, pour the salt and water combination through a regular coffee filter. There will be no salt left behind in the filter. That is because the salt (the solute) has dissolved completely into the water (the solvent). Now pour the salt and alcohol combination through a coffee filter. The salt will be left behind in the filter. That's because the salt was not in the proper solvent it could not dissolve, but only be suspended in the alcohol.
In the early days of less finely tuned benzodiazepine withdrawal procedures, people often used what is commonly referred to as a "titration" in benzo-circles. The benzodiazepine tablet often was put into water and mixed well. Sometimes and electric mixer was used to achieve better distribution. However, when the mixer was turned off, the distribution immediately began to separate making measurements inaccurate. This kind of mixture is a suspension. This method was not accurate enough for those whose withdrawals required extreme accuracy.
In benzodiazepine withdrawal, it is plain that some cases work well enough while relying on a lesser degree of accuracy. Could they work better if a greater degree of accuracy is used? Could symptoms of benzo withdrawal be lessened by using a more accurate method? You must be the judge for your own case. Being familiar with these differences will enable you to make good decisions during your benzo journey.
Further Explanation and Sources:
- Solutions
- Mixtures and Solutions
- Mixtures
- Solutions
- Matter Classification
- Pure Versus Mixture
- Homogenization
- Solution
- Solution
- Suspension
- Mixture
- Atkins' Physical Chemistry, 7th Ed. by Julio De Paula, P.W. Atkins ISBN 10198792859
- Chemistry: Matter and Its Changes, 4th Ed. by Brady, Senese, ISBN 0471215171
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Solution or Suspension
- Summary:Understanding the difference between a benzo-solution and a benzo-suspension is imperative when deciding on a benzodiazepine withdrawal method.