addicted to zopiclone

Good morning Nick

You sound very much like me :shock: Only I have been using codiene which gives me the same feelings of being relaxed as zopiclone does for you. I also, just recently started using night nurse and syndol ( not together) both have a sedating effect.

I told my doctor last week what I was doing after I had tried anti depressants and they made me feel more stressed and anxious.

He prescribed zopiclone. Probably because he feels it safer that I get a good relaxing sleep on a prescribed drug rather than me self medicating from OTC products.

I will still take a couple of codiene during the day or early evening if I am feeling stressed or anxious but I can't say I have had withdrawal from them. In my opinion it is the desperate need to feel relaxed and free of anxiety that we are addicted to - not the drug! At one time I used to use alcohol but that would leave me feeling tired the day after :oops:

I start CBT this Tuesday and that is one thing I want to address. I need to be able to achieve a relaxed feeling without the use of tablets be they prescribed or OTC. We have fallen into the trap of forgetting how to relax without the use of drugs.

Try some relaxation classes or listen to some relaxing music after work, or go for a walk (weather permitting)

By the way my GP has prescribed zopiclone for the unforeseeable future - his main concern is that I get regular good nights sleep so that I don't feel as tired, stressed or anxious during the day, I'll quote him as saying: 'Nobody can function on a daily basis without regular quality sleep'.

Thankfully, I will be receiving CBT whilst on these sleeping tablets and hopefully will learn how to relax my body without the need of these tablets.

Would your doctor refer you for CBT?

Melbi x

Hi Nick

Been on Zopoclone for 18yrs. Like you got desterate when starting to run out. We are between a rock and a hard place. I think saying goes but whatever that place Zopiclone is not the aswer and in the end only makes things so much worse.

I am now in that bad place and about to start a slow taper and crossover to come of then all together. If I am still unable to have a full nights sleep once off them I will find other ways to help me.

I have been taking 5 x 7.5mgs nightly and have dreadful anxiety during the day as I am withdrawing from them. I have noticed loss of memory never feeling quite right during the day, muscle aches and pains and all kinds of querky feelings. Some of them seem to be withdrawal symptoms each day others are caused by the long term use of the drug.

I urge you to go to site called TRAP Traquillizer Recovery and Awareness place. I can't give you the whole site on this page since they don't accept it so ----3w's. thetrap. org uk ---------left big gaps so it won't appear as a link. Have a look around there and at some of the stories.

Hope this has been some help

letme know how you go and what you think of the other site

Best wishes

Gina

I've been trying to edit the above post to include the full web address as we do allow these it's just that we suppress the posting initially so that we can approve the link.

So the link for TRAP is http://www.thetrap.org.uk

Patient Admin Team

Hi Hilary

Thanks for that kink, Ihave now tried to cut down to one tablet after discovering I had ordered ££200 worth of this drug online on Saturday - completely oblviousi of doing this and only remembered after receiving email confirmations this morning saying my order had been received nd accepted,.

Back to the attempt at 3.75mg tonight, chose tonight as the night to start tryg to cut back becuause I have beem feeling relaxed today and been out walking and lots of fresh air, So 10pm I took just one tablet. Still relaxed and feeling tired anyway I thought just the one would do the trick,....

Wrong! :evil:

I lay down in my freshly made bed all comfy and snug with some relaxing music playing away in th background abd what shoulf happe/?..............

I felt comfy and relaxed but within 10 minutes of lying there my stupic, crazy, manic mind started! :shock:

At first it were just little things that had happened throughout the day - all good thoghts having had a reasonable day - but soon more thoughts and then more thoughts and the more the came the faster my mind went. Next came the anxiousness - palpitations and sweating. P_ushed off the duvet to cool down then tried again, turn over and tried to sleep again telling myself give my mimnd and body the time to wind down enough to sleep.

Well pfft\" 1 hour later I am wide awake and ready to pace the floors - so tried 20mg of the beta blockers.

I know its only my 2nd cbt tomorrow and i have been told I will be on zopiclone until my therapist has worked with me on this s,leep problem but by them I am going to be addicted to them. Or is it a case lof dependency - my therapist mentioned last week that onve he has worked with me he will write to my gp - therefore saying I no longer need zopiclone to achieve sleep.

Thing is - if Ican get 6/7 hours sleep in, the day after I am less anxious and obviously less tired, although it has taken 2 weeks so far for 6/7 sometimes 8/9 hours sleep everynight I feel I am only just catching up on all those months of sleepless nights.##

So tonight I have yet again had to resort to my usual 7.5mg of zopiclone and doubled up on the beta blocker as my failure to fall alseep on one zopiclone has left me feeling anxious, a complete failure and experiencing palpitations and sweating.

Melbi x

Sweet dreams all

Can't hang around too long on the internet after taking them as when I have before I've woken to emails confirming things I have ordered and thought huh? Did I really order that?

Melbi x

hi melbi

have sent u private message but want to urge others on this site to be very wary of Z drugs.

they are addictive dispite what some GPs say and pretty hard to come off cause of their short half life 5-6 hours. i urge folk again to look at www.thetrap.org.uk to get help. it's been my life line and i am now beginning the journey back to a normal life. if you join look at my threads i'm known as gina and my thread called \"coming off zimovane after 17 years!\"

i was taking 5 Zopiclone a night! now doing a crossover to valium which seems at first a bit daft but there are very good and well tried and tested reasons for this which you will learn about on TRAP.

have now dropped 1 1/2 tabs over past 2 weeks and am feeling tons better already. also change of attitude cause now i'm doing something positive and have good support from GP and trap forum

all good wishes to all those trapped in the Z scene and want out

gina

Hi all. I have been prescribed zopiclone in the past but I have never been addicted to them. I am aware that they are addictive. In September of last year I experienced a depressive relapse and added zopiclone to the other meds that I was taking which are lithium and prothiaden. I did manage to get get some sleep. However when I went to see a psychiatrist he took me off zopiclone immediately and upped the lithium and added in mirtazapine. So now I'm feeling a lot better but I certainly couldn't function without sleep. I am going to have a look on this other site so see if I can learn any thing from it. I always thought that zopiclone was safe.

hi

i have learn't so much about Z drugs, antidepressants and benzo's on this site from the Ashton Manual which is found on the left hand side of the home page. www.thetrap.org.uk - it's worth a visit to have a look around and maybe join up in the introduction section.

it took me a week of investigation to decide my course of action which was to come off these drugs after 17yrs. not an easy decision and one which at times has filled me with terror. but i am on the road and already life it looking brighter. my GP tried several times to convince me that i was depressed but no antidepressants helped, if anything, made things worse.

my reason for starting Z was because of repetitive strain injury in both shoulders with two young children and having to sleep sitting up in bed.

I am a very stressy sort of person and find relaxation difficult and gave up smoking at the same time as having the shoulder problem which was an additional stress.

had a very stressful time during which i started drinking wine to help make the pills work faster - ended up hooked on the boose and had 2 home detoxes. been free of boose now for just over 2 weeks and now i'm on this getting off Z programme can't afford to go back. am attending alcohol dependency support group call addaction. any help i can get i will take to make me live a normal life again.

the drugs can actually cause depression since they work on part of the brain that keeps us going.

i am learning techniques of relaxation

getting to bed at regular time

no watching tv in bed and no eating in bed

meditation-very good for controlling negative thoughts

being kind to myself and giving myself treats

taking time to do the things that i enjoy and being more selfish

saying no if i feel under too much pressure.

hope anyone out there who feels hooked on these drugs can be helped by more knowledge and support groups.

time for bed

best wishes

gina

Hi, I was wondering if someone could help me. I am a 23 year old student, and I initially started taking Zops in 2013...so its been over 4 years

Please dont judge me, as what I am about to reveal may seem alarming. I am ashamed but I feel trapped and I feel like these pills have ruined my life. I want my freedom back sad

So basically I started to take these when I was around 18-19....I cant remember. I remember my grandad gave me a pill once when i couldnt sleep, and I remember feeling euphoric. So what I started to do, was pick his medications up for him and keep the zopiclone for myself. I know, I am so ashamed but I was young and stupid then. After college I began working and thats when i started taking them. Now Ive always been super shy and extremely insecure, and these seemed to have boosted my confidence. So guess what? I take them as soon as I wake up now. Otherwise I stay at home, trapped and isolated without them. I used to take 9, sometimes 5...sometimes 3. I cant remember, ive abused so many.

God what have I done. I couldve easily built up my confidence at work with the support of my coworkers. Now I am fully addicted. After leaving work I have attempted to study twice, but my memory is so bad because of these I cant study. This is my second year attempting to study Psychology. Noone knows about my addiction. I have also been buying them online, as the prescription only gives 30. I basically spend most of my loans on buying them online. Once last year I didnt have any on me for 2 weeks. My god, the withdrawal symptoms were so awful, I felt suicidal. Why did i mess with these? They are ruining my life. I think about the future it scares me. I cant talk to anyone If i dont take them. I cant leave thehouse without them. I want to pass my driving, I want to finish my education, i want to find someone to love, i want children and a successful career but these pills are stopping me from doing so. I cant live like this anymore i feel so trapped and I just want my freedom back. My grandad found out someone had been taking his tablets, and Im so ashamed i lied and said I had no idea. However the pharmacy recognise my face and know i pick them up for him. They dont realise I order double for a monthly repeat, one for him one for myself. But now theyve picked up on it. So now I am taking 2 a day, and I wont be going to the pharmacy anymore as i will get caught. I cant speak to my doctor because they know i pick my grandads pills as i sign them off. Ive tried to wean off them before but i relapsed because i was so depressed and I couldnt even leave the house. I have no siblings and its just me, my parents have always been too busy fighting they have there own problems. From young, ive seen nothing but violence, too busy fighting to ever spend time with me or take me out to social places. I have no friends either.

I have an exam soon and revising whilst on these is so hard. I beg anyone not to touch these tablets, they have ruined my life and i dont know what to do. Its that bad, i have to take one as soon as i get up, in order to be motivated to brush my teeth wash my face and communicate.

Please someone, tell me what can i do? Where can i recieve help from. I feel so lonely and trapped. I want these out of my system for good so I can live my life like normal 20+ year olds do. I beg for forgiveness from God everyday and confide in him. But my confidence and self esteem is so bad I always feel like someone is watching me if i dont take them, even in my house.

I would be so grateful to hear stories or some kind of support. I wish you all nothing but happiness and good health. I found my happiness through zopiclone, i hope you dont take my route