1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Benzodiazepines and Z Drugs

Help with the final hurdle off Zopiclone!

Posted , 5 users are following.

tenthirtypm
tenthirtypm

I am a 70 year old woman who been on Zopiclone for many years. In June of this year I decided to quit this medicine. I was just taking 7.5 mgms.  I reduced to 3.75 mgms and then am now taking 1.87 mgms.  To help I take Melatonin 5 mgms and GABA 200 mgms and 10 mgms of Amytriptyline for neuropathic pain .  I now want to ditch that small amount of Zopiclone.  Can anyone advise?  I would be grateful for help.

0 likes, 15 replies

15 Replies

  • william03020
    william03020 tenthirtypm

    Posted

    Sorry, just will-power.   I stopped smoking once.  Wouldn't like to go througfh that again.
    • tenthirtypm
      tenthirtypm william03020

      Posted

      Hi there...thanks for your reply. Yes will power you're right. I gave up smoking 37 years ago so I do have it!!
  • ursulauc62
    ursulauc62 tenthirtypm

    Posted

    Hi,

    I am reducing diazepam to come off it - have been on it for quite a few years. Mr Dr prescribes an amount which is reduced by 2mg every month. I have tried coming off it before a few times without the Drs help, and just couldnt manage it. 

    You've done really well to manage as much as you have. 

    The last bit can be really difficult. I would advise taking it as slowly as possible, but a definite planned reduction, then not stopping totally, even on a really small dose, but taking it every other day, then after doing that for a few weeks, every three days, then every four days and so on.

    Otherwise, I have found that even after being on only 2mg on diazepam - valium a day for quite a while, which is the smallest prescribale dose, then trying to stop that altogether, the withdrawal symptons were still horrible.

    Lots of Luck and Take Crae.

    • tenthirtypm
      tenthirtypm ursulauc62

      Posted

      Thank you so much for your supportive reply... I think I'm nearly ready to cut the zopiclone into an eighth by now. I wake up about twice in the night and grab the Dr Bach's Night Rescue Remedy each time & follow it with a big gulp of water. I hit the pillow and sleep! It's just a question of the finality of it all, and will I be successful? I don't want to go back to square one again! I've been doing okay so far ... I don't want to fail and these awful tablets be a millstone around my neck.
    • ursulauc62
      ursulauc62 tenthirtypm

      Posted

      I know just what you mean. Its really horrible to go back to square one, and I've done that a few times with valium.  I have to make it work this time. Luckily I dont have to work currently, so loss of sleep is not such a terrible thing, and not a safety issue for me. If its the same for you I'm sure you can manage it. Its really dispiriting when you wake up after just a few hours sleep, cant get back for the rest of the night, and know you've taken all your'e prescription, so shouldnt take any more.

      I'm sure you can do it, I'm sure we both can.

    • tenthirtypm
      tenthirtypm ursulauc62

      Posted

      Hi again .... it's that fear of letting yourself down ... but I guess we still keep going even tho there are pitfalls sometimes.  As you say if there is a time frame when losing sleep doesn't really matter too much it will be fine and we'll succeed!  After all I know that we're the boss of our system and that zopiclone & Valium  isn't going to boss us.... and keep thinking that if possible!  I'm sure we can too!😀
  • Guest
    Guest tenthirtypm

    Posted

    I don't usually participate in forums, but i got off zopiclone cold turkey in February 2015 and I wanted you to know it can be done and you will feel and sleep a lot better eventually without it. The first month was difficult, it got better, and now I sleep really so very well, real sleep, deep sleep, without it. I had forgotten what real sleep was and it's so much better without zopiclone. What i remember about zopiclone is the FEAR. It made me feel so fearful inside, and I know now that it was withdrawal of the drug causing this. Trying to get the meds from the doctor, ordering it online, fear of getting caught ordering meds in the mail, it was all madness as I look back on it now.  

    That was my experience, I just wanted anyone out there to know that it can be done. I never force sleep, it just comes, and I'm always amazed to find that I'm now happy to go to bed, happy to go to sleep, I wake up slowly and normally. The fear is gone. I am not a doctor, but I wanted to get off zopiclone, sleep normally without any drug whatsoever, and that is what I have done. Unless you know you will have an unlimited amount of zopiclone coming to you forever, my advice is get off the drug and take control of your life. Otherwise you are a slave to this thing forever, and it's no way to live a life, there is nothing about this drug that is worth the misery it brings.

    • tenthirtypm
      tenthirtypm Guest

      Posted

      Hallo and thank you for replying to my post. I think you were very brave to do it cold turkey. I tried last November 2014 and the irrational fear and panic attacks were so frightening and disabling to continue withdrawing. I knew in June it would be a good time to start and would taper slowly as I had taken it for about 8 years. Now I'm down to an 1/8 tablet probably for 2 weeks ... then 1/16 and hopefully that will be it.

      I feel so much better, much more alert. energetic happier and confident. Sleep is more natural and now have proper REM sleep

      The caveats with this drug are so alarming and true. I never took more than one 7.5 mgm tablet.. at the most two and then that would be for 14 days only usually on holiday with a partner who snored! I noticed that my immune system would be compromised and was susceptible to colds and flu like illnesses quite often. I had about six not serious falls.. I'm sure Zopiclone related. As you said in your email the requests to the GP, online ordering( which filled me with guilt and shame) and the fear of the tablets being confiscated.

      The Zopiclone being an awful and evil millstone around ones neck is being lifted at last. It's great.

      If I was offered an unlimited supply of Zopiclone tablets forever ... I would proudly say No thanks ... Nearly free at last! Thank you so much for your kind words and well done ... you're a star! biggrin

  • Guest
    Guest tenthirtypm

    Posted

    thank you tenthirtypm. I was a little afraid to post not wanting to sound like I knew it all, I don't. I just got tired of chasing the zopiclone. I am an older woman as well in my sixties and had been on it for a full 15 years. I still get the longing, but so much less now, and I sleep amazingly well.  I stopped zopiclone on 6 February 2015 and when I'm off it for at least 2 years, I will feel fully confident I will ok for the rest of my life. When I discovered zopiclone years ago, I thought it was a miracle, a miracle which in a few years turned into a nightmare of finding a doctor willing to prescribe, waiting endlessly for the mail, finding sources online, there was no end to it, so it had to stop, for me it simply had to stop and it did.

    I didn't realize how much fear zopiclone caused until I stopped taking it. I cope better with life now, I have to live my life and not sleep it away. The fear and the longing are probably what makes zopiclone an evil drug. 

    I suppose I am lucky in the sense that I have a strict doctor who is unwilling to prescribe anything benzo unless there is a death in the family or something drastic like that. I am keeping him for now, as he is what I need for the time being.

    You are not alone in your quest. Just wanted you to know that. Good luck to you, I hope you will be ok and that your life will be calm enough in months to come giving you the time and space to do this for yourself. 

    • tenthirtypm
      tenthirtypm Guest

      Posted

      Hallo Marie47609

      Thank you again for your email which I received yesterday and having read it again this morning find it really so profound and echoes all the feelings and emotions both physical mental and emotionally that I have found on this drug Zopiclone.

      When I first started taking this medicine I had no idea the havoc and fear that it would cause me. Like alcohol really ... the way your system depended on it. It is an insidious addiction.. and creeps into your being as a friend but really as a foe. I will conquer it soon I think. I have the time and space and peace to fulfil that. Thank you for your support. smilex

  • roger08365
    roger08365 tenthirtypm

    Posted

    Much like you and others I am trying to reduce my dependence on Zopiclone (I am 65 yr old male) - now down to 1.87 mgs.  Difficult to cut a smaller amount without it crumbling? Can you tell me more about GABA?

    Thanks and best wishes

    • tenthirtypm
      tenthirtypm roger08365

      Posted

      Hi Roger08365 Thanks for you post... it's a struggle .. I tapered down to 1/16 ... but find myself back to 1/8 (.90mgm). ... not too bad really. I did a lot of research into GABA on the web... it's an amino acid and it acts on the neurotransmitters in the brain like the benzodiazepines do by dampening their activity.. some people are low in GABA.. and therefore become anxious easily. It works for me with melatonin tabs and I fall asleep more easily. I do wake up twice in the night and take Dr Bach Rescue Remedy Night Spray with water and that gets me back to sleep fine! It's easy to research ... read as much as you can about it... good luck! ;-)x
    • tenthirtypm
      tenthirtypm roger08365

      Posted

      Hi again Roger

      Don't know whether you read my post ... I should add I do find the GABA tablets are working for me. With the Melatonin tabs with the GABA I fall asleep quickly .... I have the sublingual peppermint tablets x 2 (125mgms each tab) ... they are widely available and are non addictive. I hope this helps. smile

    • tenthirtypm
      tenthirtypm roger08365

      Posted

      Thanks for your message.... there are many articles on GABA on the web ... it's wise to read up as much as you can first before buying them as they might not be suitable for you, and consult your Doctor too to see what he advises for you.

      I believe that I am nearly off Zopiclone now and I'm so so glad that I'm not chained to it anymore. Best Wishes. smile

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

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.