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Changing zopiclone for something different

Posted , 6 users are following.

vivien58797
vivien58797

I am fed up with zopiclone. They put you to sleep for around five hours and then you promptly wake up. I can't get back to sleep again.  Why do they have such a short life.

i am thinking of asking my go if I can try something else, but worried he will stop them altogether.

does any one have this problem.

also amytrypilene have been suggested, but do I ask outright for them.  Or maybe suggest the Ashton plan.

just worried I will be cut of and then regret it.

i have been on zops for many years now but they are not what they used to be.

maybe it a case of the devil you know and all that.

1 like, 28 replies

28 Replies

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  • michelle14134
    michelle14134 vivien58797

    Posted

    Hi thought it was only me that had this problem but I'm exactly the same as u except I'm on zolpidem which r basically the same as zopiclone I also am knocked out for 5 hours them awake suddenly around 4am and cannot get back to sleep at all, also I've tried amitryptilyne and it did nothing for my sleep these and zopiclone r the only thing s that got me any sleep at all.
    • tess33005
      tess33005 michelle14134

      Posted

      I found that when I was taking temazepam and amitriptyline simultaneously, I had very vivid visual hallucinations.

      It's possible that the dose you were prescribed was much too low.

      One other thing that has really helped me to sleep - stop drinking tea, coffee and anything else containing caffeine. I missed my early cup of tea but I got used to drinking water instead. What a difference! Apart from keeping you awake, caffeine stimulates the bladder, so you're out of bed six times a night to go to the bathroom.

  • lanzarote1960
    lanzarote1960 vivien58797

    Posted

    i have been on zopiclone since 1990 and still on 2 x 3.75 a night as well as 25mg Amitriptline, some times they work other nights they don't but i would not be without them, they do help me fall to sleep but i wake several times a night
    • vivien58797
      vivien58797 lanzarote1960

      Posted

      Are you prescribed both drugs together.

      Also, do you find you wake up early after around five to six hours of sleep

      I find they generally help me fall asleep but not for long.

    • tess33005
      tess33005 vivien58797

      Posted

      That's the problem, though. Your body has become accustomed to a certain amount and it simply can't sleep for longer than five hours any more. When that happened to me, I just bought loads off the internet and took about ten. Then I slept. Mind you, I'm not advising anyone to do that. That is very dangerous and it led to me taking a good deal more, but as you can see I'm still alive and nearly sixty, and finally tackling this. I HATE lying awake at night.................totally understand how you feel.
  • jo57386
    jo57386 vivien58797

    Posted

    Hi Vivien I used to take it but built up such a tolerance I can now take a whole box of 28 and carry on like I've had nothing which is how I worked out the tolerance thing. I have had Amitryptaline but my brain cant cope with them and smallest dose will knock me out for about 18 hours (cant win).

    I have found zolpidem better and you can get a slow release. I take both at night and get about 7 hours.

    Good luck x insomnia is torture

    • vivien58797
      vivien58797 jo57386

      Posted

      Do you get prescribed zopiclone and zolpidem together then. What's the difference.
  • jo57386
    jo57386 vivien58797

    Posted

    Hi Vivien

    One is zoplidem instant release 10mg and the other is zolpidem Controlled release 12.5mg. Same drug just one to put you to sleep and one to keep you there. Not all docs would agree but I was put on this by psychiatrist at a private clinic when I admitted myself for codeine addiction. I have been suffering chronic insomnia for just under 5 years and tried everything natural, OTC and prescription

  • gary92477
    gary92477 vivien58797

    Posted

    Hi Vivien, just chucking in a bit of info, i dont know how long you have been taking zopiclone but i took it long term and one day i decided to go cold turkey. please dont do that, talk to your doctor first. I was back on them for after four days I have never felt so ill in my life. It took me another 3years to pluck up the couragee to go on a reduction strategy!
    • vivien58797
      vivien58797 gary92477

      Posted

      Hi Gary.  I have been on zopiclone for almost twenty years now,

      .

      two years ago my then GP decided I should come of them and halved my dosage. Needless to say I felt terribly I'll as couldn't sleep.

      that was around two years ago now and changed GP,s. Have been on 7.5mg ever since, but getting fed up with them as can only grab around five hours kip.  Am thinking of going to GP and asking to change, but don't want to end up with something that's not suitable.

      What is your reduction strategy.  Is it the Ashton method. Also how are you doing with it.

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