TaperMate

Diazepam brand change calculator

If your pharmacy changes your diazepam brand, the beads per capsule or the tablet weight (in grams) can differ — even at the same strength. Enter both brands and this works out the amount to take on the new one to match your current dose.

Brand change · dose equivalence

Match your dose on the new brand

Current brand
mg
g
g
New brand
mg
g
Your dose now(0.045 ÷ 0.18) × 50 = — mg
New brand weight(— ÷ 50) × 0.22 = — g
This converts between brands at the same strength — it doesn't change your dose. If your pharmacy has substituted your brand, confirm the new bead count or tablet weight with them, then check the result here.

Weighing on the new brand

Method The maths above converts your dose; these steps are the practical part. Adapted from the RELEASE Toolkit.
  1. Weigh a whole tablet or the full contents of a capsule of the new brand on a milligram scale — average a few for accuracy, as weight varies by brand.
  2. Enter that weight above to get the amount to weigh on the new brand.
  3. Weigh out that amount — by crushing a tablet, scraping small amounts off, or weighing capsule beads — and take it.
  4. If you measure doses in advance, put each weighed dose into an empty capsule shell or an airtight pill-container.

About the weighing method

You weigh a measured amount of the medication on a milligram scale — some people crush a tablet to an even powder, others scrape small amounts from a tablet or weigh capsule beads. It's the method to reach for when a medicine can't be made into a reliable liquid and doesn't divide cleanly with a cutter.

The key thing to understand: a tablet's physical weight is not the same as its drug content. A "50 mg" tablet might weigh 0.18 g (180 mg) once you include the binders and fillers — so the calculator scales by the tablet's measured weight, and shows how much active drug each gram holds. Weigh a whole tablet or the full contents of a capsule (or the average of a few) to get an accurate weight.

Accuracy depends on your scale and on the drug being evenly distributed through the tablet — which isn't true for every formulation. Use a scale that reads to 0.001 g (1 mg), weigh onto a small weigh-boat or paper, and don't use this method for modified-release or coated tablets. If you need very small doses, a compounded product is usually more reliable.

Next step

Plan your full taper in TaperMate

This calculator handles one dose. The TaperMate app calculates a full reduction schedule with hold periods, microtapering and symptom monitoring — so each new dose is one tap away, not a daily maths problem.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Sources to discuss with your prescriber