addiction to sleeping pills

Posted , 6 users are following.

hi, im addicted to sleeping pills. i get stressed so easily or at least most of the time cant sleep without sleeping pills. i take 7.5mg of zopiclone everyday and for many days during the week i take 20mg of zolpidem. both are not all that effective but i seem to get by just. been taking pills for over six years now. sometimes i drink alcohol as well as taking the pills. ive got to do something about this. i worry about not sleeping so much and with the pressure of having to go to work the next day i do almost anything to get some sleep. i have a plan. iam going to stop taking the zolpidem completely and stop drinking. i believe that i will be able to get some sleep on just the zopiclone. once i get this stable iam going to see my doctor and see about coming down to 3.75mg of zopiclone. with the ultimate plan of coming off it all together. i dont want to lose my job as it took years to get a good one like this and i may never get the same good opportunity again. but having said that ive got to get off these pills. they are ruining my life. ive been off work this last three days with a bank holiday weekend. ive been able to sleep on just the zopiclone every night, but the test will be when i go back to work and wether i can hold my nerve and stick it out with out the zolpidem. one thing is for sure. i refuse to take any higher doses, and have maintained that despite having a high tolerance to the drugs.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi and thank you for taking the time to share your experience. It is not easy and most times, we all just want to be heard, and understood. You are on the right track with stopping drinking, alcohol is NOT for everyone and is a poison. My friend is in the hospital with kidney failure at 60 even though he stopped drinking in his 40's!. I think we are going to lose him. ... Anyway, on a brighter note, you have chosen to decreae the level of zopiclone in your system, which can also be quite a big step to health and happiness, soon you may look into ways to sleep naturally, such as herbs that aid in sleep. (google it) may exist and are very helpful. Good luck and keep positive, nothing changes if nothing changes.....
  • Posted

    Hallo mikeyboy.  I have shared my experience.  Ask your gp for phenergan an anti stamina.  It is an older method for sleep.  I was along term user of zopiclone and never had proper sleep.  My new gp substituted my zopiclone for this.  It worked from day and I am not on any sleeping aids now.  My anxiety is gone and I can't believe how much has changed my life.
  • Posted

    i tried phernagen before and it didnt work. the first step is to get stable with just the zopiclone, im going to do this this week and then in a few weeks time am going to see my doc about getting areduced dose of zopiclone. the important thing to me is bveing able to maintain going to work everyday whilst doing this. its going to take time, but im up for it.
  • Posted

    Hi Mikeyboy,  The Zopiclone has stopped having its intended effect because you are now addicted to it. Increasing the dose won't help you sleep it will just make you need more of it.

    You'd be better off taking the plunge and stopping the Zopiclone cold turkey, You could do it over a weekend when you don't have any work. it will almost certainly be that which is causing the stressed out feelings that you mention.

    I haven't used Zolpidem but I did use Diazepam when first breaking the Zopiclone habit with excellent results. Others have said they had good results using Zolpidem.

    For my tuppenceworth if your doctor is a typical GP you will be wasting your time asking them for help in stopping or reducing Zopiclone. They are there to push drugs onto you and keep the chemical houses in business not to help stop you taking them.

    Dave - NINETY DAYS ZOPICLONE FREE!

     

  • Posted

    Hi mikeyboy .I too was addicted to zopiclone for 5 years and was very ill from side effects of this drug .The only way that i could come off was by completely stopping the zopiclone and switching to diazapham and then cutting this slowly.Some can come off zopiclone by cutting down and i hope this works for you but not in my case as withdtawal symptoms were to horrendous.Diazapham is a long acting benzodiazapham whereas zopiclone is short acting so doesnt stay in your body so long.I didnt decide this option without help which was from a tranquiliser addiction support group

    It is a charity group and was amazing and helped me tremendously ,without them i dont know what i would have done.Have been off this drug for 3 years now and sleep ok without anything.If you want more details feel free to contact me, otherwise good luck.Anita

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