My experience of zopiclone (down the rabbit hole)

Anybody who is tempted to take this poison, BE WARNED! If you've been addicted to it already and want to get off it, it's probably best to wean by cutting a 1/4 for 4 days or so, then another 1/4 &so on. Or just stop cold turkey. The few sleepless nights you may experience, plus anxiety, is nothing compared to how you will feel if you continue taking it. The living hell gets worse the longer you take it. Soon you'll find that you need to increase the dose, even needing to take it during the day, because of the anxiety and irritability it causes. As said by Anita, you only feel normal again after you take it. This is because it affects the neurotransmitters in the brain. In layman's terms, the brain gets lazy and stops producing it's own GABA, which is for calming, as it now relies on this zopiclone to increase it. In between doses, you start to have withdrawal symptoms as the brain and body needs more and more of this medication just to feel normal. Yep, short term memory loss, raging tinnitus, extreme anxiety, depression, irritability, lack of any pleasure in doing things you used to enjoy, the list goes on! People begin to be very careful of what they say because you become so impatient and cranky. As mentioned, even babies can sense you're not yourself. You've got to be strong and get off this drug. Remember, a few days of discomfort, sleeplessness, horrible withdrawal symptoms, increased anxiety, is so worth it if you keep your mind on the freedom ahead. I know your body will be screaming for relief, but time does pass. You will get through it. It was the best thing I ever did when I stopped it cold turkey, even though I went through all those horrible withdrawals. My family are so thankful to have me back! You can be free too! You can do it! Don't fee like a failure if you can't do it the first time. Just keep trying. Calming herbal teas help a lot, valerian, hops, magnesium all help.

keep in mind, each person is different, the effects of zolpiclone vary from person to person, for some, it's less addictive, for some it's more, it's not a one size fits all, each person is different. How much you're taking, what your dose is, how long, and other individual differences, how you cope with things, your support system, and for some, it's harder than for others,for some it's easier than for others. For some, cold turkey is better. in 1993, i went cold turkey off 20 years of using Valium, a benzo, for sleep. in the last month before cold turkey, i was getting a tolerance for it and increasing my dose, which had been the prescribed dose. I was taking than that in the last few weeks. i had to just stop cold turkey because i didn't have any more medication. It wasn't easy but it wasn't, for me, what i would call 'hell.' Not for most of it. I didn't sleep more than an hour the first night, and then the first day wasn't too bad. i got more sleep, 2 or 4 hours, and not too bad, but i was using things to cope, reading positive affirmations and stuff like that. But the effect of withdrawal was worse the 3rd and 4th day. i was drinking chinese herbs that were prescribed by an herbalist i don't know if it helped, but by the end of the 4th day, the worst of the anxiety and stress ended, it all got milder. I was a single mom with a 9 year old, and she didn't even know it was going on. i wrote in my journal a lot, that always helped me get through things. I talked some to a few friends but for the most part they didn't understand. It probably would've been helpful to have a therapist but i didn't have one. Aftery the first 3-4 days, it wasn't bad. It wasn't perfect by any means, but throughout all of it, i never wanted to take the meds again, i was glad to be off, and being off of it, i believed at the time, was helping my health and how i felt day to day. Now 20 years later, i'm regularly taking zolpiclone and zolpidem for sleep and i am having a hard time getting to the point of giving it up, but i know i will. i think i will not try cold turkey, but i will at least start by cutting down the meds slowly. Something that helps me is cognitive behavioral therapy, using it by myself, i don't have a therapist, but there is a website called Mood Gym that has an interactive program in which you can have a cognitive therapy experience over time and i've found it helpful not just for meds but for life in general and thinking more positively, which helps with anything and everything in life. The program, like having a therapist to work with, helps you to keep working at it on an ongoing basis, having some discipline or structure in your life to make a habit of positive thinking, and as simplistic as that might sound, for me, it's powerful. My daughter also works with a cognitive therapist and as an outsider, i can see how that has helped make a big difference in her life. I would see a therapist but all therapists are not created equal and i just don't know someone who is good at it. But i have found that if i use the mood gym program on an ongoing basis, it makes a big difference in my life. Mood Gym is free. It's university based. I'll post a link, but if it doesn't post, you can google it. Try it if you want. It's not difficult. it's anonymous.

Thank you jaw444 for your comments it certainly helps that there is someone else out there that understand about what i am going through regarding my baby.

Since i have returned home from hospital my 2 year old cries a lot and does not like being around me because i am always stressed with headaches and the lack of sleep does not help either. My doctor has given me another script of 'Zopies' which i am not eager to fill and i am seriously contemplating not to fill the script as my baby-boy is important too me i want him and I to enjoy our time together as life is to short because before i know it he will be all grown - up and gone to live his own life i just don't want him to have regrets about being brought up by me. I know it sounds corny, but being brought up by an alcoholic and druggie myself it puts things into perspective for me i hated my mother for not loving me enough to stop...i guess she had her reasons for doing what she did but as i got older it continued to the point where i started drinking and experimenting with her drugs, so yeah.

Thank you everyone for your awesome comments very much appreciated. Now i have some awesome tools to try.

Hello everyone

I went to my Doctor this morning and he agreed that Zopiclone is not a good sleeping pill as eventually we will develop a tolerance to it and need more & more of it. He said that my long term health will be better if I stop taking them. He did not seem to know how well the pills cut up and I said that it wasn't too bad to cut them in quarters. So he agreed with taking 3/4 for 3 weeks, then 1/2 , etc. So by the end of Jan I should be off them for good. Wow can't believe it. I thought I would be taking these for the rest of my life. But I'm so glad to be doing this. It feels so much better to be in control . Also the doc suggested that I take melatonin every nite as well.

So to everyone reading this I would highly recommend to try not to take these. And good on you to not fill the prescription !

Yes, melatonin is very good, as well as tryptophan, St John's Wort (only if you're not on an antidepressant), and plenty of calcium, because for sleep to come, the brain needs to be saturated with calcium. If you're on an antidepressant, a SSRI helps replenish your serotonin, which is necessary for producing the delta sleep waves for you to have a good sleep. Vervain tea is very calming. GABA levels should be checked, too, because it is essential for making you calm and relaxed. Medications for this, may be needed for a short time, to kick start the production of more GABA. Valium, xanax, can help, but not if you have an addictive personality. Klonopin is the least harmful, but naturally talk with your doctor. Gabapentin can help and it's also good for pain. It's essentially Inositol (a B vitamin) & GABA. Yes, there's better ways to get a good night's sleep than taking the horribly addicting Zopiclone!

Two approaches to better sleep that i am interested in, though somewhat expensive, are, one, neuro-feedback, where the brain is trained to produce delta waves (i think), and two, alpha wave stimulation, where you attach a device to your head and it creates the alpha waves--your brain isn't trained to do it, the device does it. I bought one of these, it's called Alpha-Stim, but i haven't used it yet, i'm just hesitant to do anything. I'm scared. It works for some people and not for others. Some people get side effects. It's government approved for the purpose of treating insomnia (and anxiety) and i think neuro-feedback might be too.

Hi everyone, lots of good information and ideas from you all, thanks Christine and jaw444. Tell me Christine is melatonin available over the counter from a pharmacy.

I am on 1/4 of 7.5mg zopiclone having cut down from 1 whole tablet, having taken it for nearly ten years (my history listed in earlier post) I have been on the 1/4 tab for 2 months now and a few tomes have taken no tablet which results in NO sleep at all and endless night time thoughts racing through my head. I have family arriving from overseas next week for a 3 week stay over Christmas, so will wait until after that to tackle the next phase of getting of zopiclone, as extra stress and being busy is not the right time.

Anyone who has cut down slowly on zopiclone, - what did you do when you got down to 1/4 tab, - did you just stop or did you take it every second or third night and cut out that way?

Merry Christmas to you all, may the New Year be the one that see's you off zopiclone and enjoying life to the full

You people are all amazing with all the sharing and information we are getting! BTW the doc that I went to yesterday was not the same one that prescribed me the zops in the first place. During this time I went to 3 other Family Physicians ...one did not want to prescribe them and the other 2 had no problems to keep writing out the prescriptions. Until someone really wants to get off them, it seems like they ( the docs ) just keep doing what we want them to do! So it is really all up to us to get better informed and take action.

Question for Christine - how much is enough calcium ? Two 650 mg/ day ? Plus warm glass of milk at night . Would this be good ? Thx

I'm also reading a book on Health Solutions for Sleep with a Get-to-Sleep CD by Dr. James Rouse.

Lots of good ideas and the CD is fantastic to coach us with the breathing & letting go of thought's etc. with soothing music.

Jaw444- I've never heard of those devices. Sounds interesting - let us know if you do try It !

Shiloh - it was great to hear from you and to know that you are doing well ! Just a suggestion - make yourself a goal, after the visitors have left after Christmas . Maybe you could start staggering the 1/4 portion every 2 nites for two weeks and then - DONE FOR GOOD . As long as you decide the process and feel good with it then you will succeed ! Good luck girl ! You have really helped me with my plan of attack .

Melatonin is available over the counter in Canada . It comes in a Maximum strength /Fast dissolving 10mg strength . So it's a dual action timed release ,to help increase total sleep time. I'm now taking one of these at bedtime. Had a really good sleep last night!

Rina- let us know how you are doing OK ?

Take care everyone and hope we can all be Zopiclone free in the New Year !! YAHOO !!

Hi Everyone the feedback is so awesome regarding the dreaded 'Zopi' a good friend is monitoring my intake of the zopi, i told her that i would prefer not take it at all but she reckons that i need to wean off not go cold turkey, so am going to give it a go for a couple of weeks and see how it goes.

I just want to wish you all a wonderful Christmas Holiday and Blessings for 2014, the New Year should bring new beginnings - hopefully.

Keep Well all.

It's so good to see you all taking positive action in getting off the dreaded zopiclone. When you first stop taking it, you will probably have a few sleepless nights because your brain chemicals have all become imbalanced. The withdrawals were horrendous, but I kept my mind on the freedom ahead and this helped me to be strong. I took a long bath every day, drank vervain, hops, chamomile,, lavender & passionflower herbal teas. The vervain was especially calming! I also took valerian 2000mg capsules a few times a day & a good dose at night, 6000mg, Researching alternative remedies kept my mind occupied, to take my mind off the withdrawals feelings & craving for relief that zopiclone could give me for an hour or so, (not worth it, as he cycle would start all over again). In answer to Colette, I read that you need 750 -1000mg calcium, 400-600mg magnesium, (magnesium must be taken with calcium as calcium alone would create an imbalance of magnesium. Magnesium is needed to keep you calm, stop the shakes & twitches), melatonin 1-6mg which is available otc in pharmacies & health food stores, passionflower 500-1000mg, vit B6 & all the B complex vitamins, 10-50mg, trytophan 1000-1500mg, zinc 30-45mg. Drinking a warm milk drink, eating yogurt & other dairy foods like cottage cheese during the day, all help to boost your daily calcium levels, If you can afford it, the Cranial Electrical Stimulator (CES) is supposed to help regulate all the neurotransmitters esp serotonin. Too much to go into here. In short, CES helps us balance our brain waves. Prayer & meditation, healthy diet & believing in yourself will also go a long way in relieving withdrawal symptoms.You can get your life back! Best wishes to all!

I shall be 71 in three weeks time,and the scariest thing is that the last twelve years of my life have been a

total waste, and most of all has had no structure,and I know that Zopiclone has had much to do with it.

Because I have been living alone,with no close family for support or back up and no one to monitor me ,my

crutch has been Zopiclone ,which worked at first,then I abused them,and took them during the day to obliterate the day,as I could not face my problems alone,so in my befuddled state I felt better if I "'got rid of the day "

by remaining asleep for most of the time.

I hardly venture out any more because of numerous phobias (mostly because of being alone 95% of the

time)that should anything untoward were to happen to me,no one would know.It is an overriding fear and

therefore I feel safer in bed.

So my answer to this dilemma is to try to get as much sleep as possible and forget everything.

At this rate the pattern will not change as far as I can see,but I want my old life back,which is a distant

memory.

At present I am trying to decrease the 7.50 dose by half,but I wake up round 3am and then take the other

half,which is not the answer.

I feel a failure because I do know better,but never have the strength of mind to persevere with decreasing the

dose,as the withdrawal symptoms of hallucinations ,palpitations, shortness of breath,and the feeling

that the inside of my brain is shaking like jelly,is so very frightening.

My remaining friends have no understanding of my "addiction"and think I am being lazy by remaining in bed.

I am just too scared to get up and lead a "normal "life again ALONE feeling so ill most of the time.

I am my own worst enemy.

That is just too sad, Wendl! It sounds like the zop has messed up your brain chemicals big time. I guess you've read all the posts here about this horrible drug. The depression that it causes must be addressed. Can't you ask your GP to put you on a SSRI or SSNRI? When your brain chemicals, the neurotransmitters become imbalanced, medication is needed to restore your Serotonin & GABA levels. Mirtazapine is a tetracyclic antidepressant & will help balance your brain again. It's also good for pain, & makes you drowsy, so it's good to take it at night to help you sleep. I too, became very depressed when i was on zopiclone and even had a death wish. I also stayed in bed all day and was very scared to go anywhere. I was confused, very anxious, jittery, irritable, angry and just very very sad. It was a nightmare! I decided to take action and get off this mind, body & soul destroying drug. I weaned by 1/4 for a few days, but that was too hard because it just made me crave more and the withdrawals from having less than i was used to, were too hard to bear. I thought I might as well stop this drug cold turkey seeing as I was suffering anyway by weaning down from it and only prolonging the agony. Stopping was the best thing i ever did. As I posted back in May, June & July, I had 6 sleepless nights & intense withdrawals, but keeping my mind on the freedom ahead, kept me going.& kept me strong. You can't go on like this, Wendl! Since you are already suffering terribly, you may as well suffer for something. You will have something to aim for - freedom! It seems that cutting down your dose is worse than just stopping as you're keeping yourself in withdrawal all the time. Sometimes it's best to just stop, as the withdrawals will soon be over, rather than prolong them by cutting down. Of course, I don't know your medical history, so just stopping cold turkey may not be an option, but please talk to your doc. You won't believe how good you'll feel when this poison is out of your system. Your brain chemicals will become more balanced again & this will have a great effect on your mood. Your depression will lift, your anxiety will go & you'll be more calm. If you're on an antidep, talk to your doctor about changing to Mirtazapine or Zoloft, one that will boost your serotonin levels. It'd be great if you could afford to get a CES machine, to re-balance all your neurotransmitters as this machine is supposed to be fantastic for helping you sleep well. The first thing though, is getting on a good antidepressant to kick start your Serotonin production in your brain. This should stop that shaking jelly feeling in your brain. Good nutrition is essential, plus the supplements I mentioned above & a good multivitamin, will all help ease your withdrawals. I've proved all this works, except I haven't tried the CES ,machine. I'm sleeping normally now, I'm no longer depressed or anxious & I'm no longer confused, headaches have stopped. All in all, I feel pretty good. You can have this freedom too, this peace of mind & happiness. Try and get some help, but in the end, it's up to you. So, be strong and remember, keep the end in sight . You may need a benzo to help with the withdrawals, but if you're an addictive personality, you could end up with just another addiction. I read that Klonopin is the least addicting, but I was too scared to try it. I boosted my Serotonin & GABA naturally, through diet & supps as well as Gabapentin, which is a medication, but it's made of GABA & Inositol, a B vitamin, so it's not really a dangerous drug. This helps with the production of GABA in the brain. I'm also on Mirtazapine, which is an antidep & this helps boost Serotonin & balance the other neurotransmitters. I've researched a lot & I'm still learning. See if you can research GABA & Serotonin, as these are the 2 brain chemicals for calmness, happiness & sleep. They're the 'off' switches in the brain to make you calm down & sleep. I wish you all the best. You can do this! Take care please!