at micro stakes when people bet, raise they're almost never bluffing. If they do bluff you'll should notice it and they become an ATM.

You need to do what makes you comfortable. I would take a shot with 15 buy-ins. Play less tables (I go from 4 to 2) so you can pay attention and see what's going on (what hands players value, how much they respect bets, etc). You'll see it's not much different (less spew basically). Also you can buy-in shorter, 40bb. People will give you zero credit, your decisions will be easy, and the money you're risking will be similar.

However, if you're having 5+ buy-in downswings (is plural right?) you would probably be better off working on your game and plugging these leaks (which is what it sounds like you're doing).