Posted , 5 users are following.
I am seeking guidance on how to get off Zopiclone! I am taking 3 -7.5 a night. I started taking these 4 years ago when travelling and never stopped.Any schedule for reducing without using any other drugs? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
0 likes, 10 replies
We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.
Guest
Posted
All i knew is that abrupt withdrawal can feel terrible and may even be very dangerous and that a long slow withdrawal is the best way to avoid nasty symptoms so i just set my own rough timetable of half a pill every few months and waited to see what happened.
Every time i reduced the dose by half a pill i had a few nights of mild-moderate discomfort, rebound insomnia and a little anxiety mainly but it was not unbearable at all and after the horror story's i had read about Zopiclone withdrawal i was very relieved to find i could cope with it, its my guess that the people who have terrible experiences withdraw to quickly.
I now take a quarter of a 3.75 pill per night ( yes it sucks having to bite a pill into 4 pieces!! ) and i hope to take the last big step ( the hardest step in my view ) to stop taking the drug at all within the next few months probably by alternating the nights i do and do not take it for a while and then stopping completely.
I think its important to get into a good routine to tackle this withdrawal. If you don't sleep one night get up at the same time the next morning as you would usually would and just get through the day as best you can, keep yourself busy, exercise a lot and try to tire yourself out during the day, your body WILL recover its natural sleep patterns in the end so dont worry and soldier through any discomfort. I feel a lot better now than when i was taking large doses of Zopiclone, the drug did help me get through some bad times many years ago but it became a problem in itself. It can actually cause daytime anxiety which is what i had suspected for some time, so if like me, you feel very anxious during the day its likely that its the drug causing that. Since being an a quarter pill my anxiety has all but left me. Good luck to everyone getting off this drug, if anyone has more questions just post them on this feed.
Guest
Posted
mattz37001 mikedunham
Posted
After reading a'll of these stories I'm scared I'm gonna be stuck on them for life. And I feel they cause alot of my anxiety to get worse.... I really hate them and want them gone.
But I have started to fear sleep without them even for one night....
sheila65847 mattz37001
Posted
please stop these nasty addictive pills now before you develop the problems I did - 10 years +. I justified taking them as they were prescribed by a doc but I became addicted. There's lots of brilliant support on this forum. It's interesting to read what you have written - 2 months in and you feel you 'need' them and are starting to fear sleep. This Is not you - it is the drug talking.they are highly addictive. I beg of you to spare yourself the agonies some of us have gone thro. I am in my 3rd week of freedomand feel fantastic. I didn't think I could stop. Thanks to the support I'VE GAINED from this forum, I amfree 😃.i had no sleep whatsoever last night (rebound insomnia). I will sleep well tonight. Good luck
mattz37001 sheila65847
Posted
I don't see myself going back. Looking back now I can see these pills really had an effect on my anxiety levels, a side effect but not one that happens to everyone. I was completely trapped inside my own head and wasnt enjoying things I would normally enjoy. By day 3 this had faded and I was able to smile and laugh again!
maureen11956 sheila65847
Posted
sheila65847 mikedunham
Posted
I'm really happy for you.
You have avoided absolute hell. I would not wish zop addiction on my worst enemy. Thank God I found this forum and stopped
maureen11956 mikedunham
Posted
sheila65847 maureen11956
Posted
glad to hear you have decided to stop. It will be 4 weeks for me on Tuesday. Already my memory is improving, I don't have to re watch TV programmes! Also, I've lost most of my daytime anxiety and I don't have the incessant mind games of worrying about a). Running out of the dammed things or b). Fearing a visit from the police about importing a controlled drug!
You say in your post that you are going to try to taper off and that you've failed to do so In the past - I had to go cold turkey. Like you, i tried to taper but couldn't do so; I always ended up'bborrowing' from the next day so i just stopped.
Be realistic, expect some anxiety and rebound insomnia, it took 3 weeks before I had a brilliant night's sleep. But it's fantastic to be free and to enjoy the lovely drowsy feeling just before you drop off, when your muscles do the little twitches as your body relaxes (at least mine do!). I wish you success, keep posting, let us know how you are doing👍
maureen11956 sheila65847
Posted
I've tried both ways - tapering off, and going cold turkey.
When I tried to go cold turkey, I went without sleep for well over 80 hours before thinking that I could go insane if I didn't get some sleep soon, and so I began taking Zopiclone again - but fortunately only needed a tiny amount to get back to sleep. And then over the months, I kept slowly increasing the dosage.
When I tried to do the tapering off method, I got no sleep either.
My life seems to have calmed down recently so I'm going to try quitting again.
I am so grateful to have found a support group that understands what this feels like.
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!