My experience of zopiclone (down the rabbit hole)

Hi all, good plan Gurd. I am down to 1/4 of 7.5mg Zopiclone and after reading your comment decided that New years Day is the day I stop taking zopiclone altogether. Christmas visitors will be gone and plan to start the New Year like I mean to go on!!

Anyone else up to a New Year challenge! We can support each other on line.

After reading other comments I remembered I also had short term memory loss from taking 7.5mg at night. From the time I took it until I feel asleep would often loose my memory or recall. Once had a late phone call from my Mum in Australia and couldn't remember talking to her the next day, my husband said when I spoke to her I sounded perfectly normal, - but I had no recall. Very dangerous when you think about it.

Also hate the metallic taste in my mouth, - and as for the anxiety, panic and fear, - I realise after reading accounts from all of you that that is a very common side effect.

Facinating to see where everyone is, - all over the world, I live in New Zealand.

So, anyone want to do the New year óff zopiclone' challenge?

I'm not up to New Years Day, i'm going to be applying for a new job that month and also getting my house painted. But i will happily support all of you, not just for your sake but for mine too--it's so helpful to see that it's a reality and to hear about the successes, it's vicarious.

Earlier this year, i scheduled a plumber to come to my house around 10am a few days later. Around 12 on the scheduled day, i got a call from the plumber asking for my address. I gave it to him and he said he was here at my house but that the person who answered the door told him they didn't need a plumber and he wasn't sure he had the right house. He described my house, and my dog who comes to the door with me. So, with great difficulty, i realized he was really at my house a little earlier and talked to me and i had no memory of it, and still don't. I had no memory that i had scheduled a plumber for that day, although i later did remember that, but i didn't' remember anyone coming to my door. He came over after that and it was really embarrassing. I apologized for being "confused."

This was the only time anything like that ever happened to me before, to my knowledge, but also in the early part of the year, i was waking up in the morning in a weird state, an altered state, and it was a feeling of being lost and bizarrely disconnected somehow, i can't really explain it in words, but it was worrying me and i searched the web, trying to figure out what it could be, at first i thought it might be some kind of hypoglycemia as i had had some symptoms of that sometimes when i didn't have lunch early enough, but on the hypoglycemia forum, the things they described were not like what i was having, so it wasn't that.

Then, i was looking up zolpidem and zopiclone, because that was the time i was planning to go off of them, i wasn't associating it with the weird altered state i sometimes woke up in, buti read in the wikipedia article that a symptom of withdrawal from both of those medications could be 'derealization' and 'depersonalization.' Those sound like apt names for what i experienced.

I found a discussion forum about going off of benzos (ever though the Z drugs are not technically benzos, they're similar) and there was a whole sub forum on that sight about derealization/depersonalization.

For some reason, after having that somewhat regularly for some months, it has not come back in more recent months, THANK GOD. i wonder if it's because i increased the amount of zolpidem i was taking. But i don't know. Just saying, this is a symptom related to these medications that i never knew about, and i think maybe the incident i had with the plumber was related to this. As my daughter said, "You blacked out." Not good. So glad it stopped happening, for now at least.

Hi all

It's been 3 days since I've stopped taking the

Zopiclone from 1/2 a tablet of 3 75mg

I ve noticed that I have not been sleeping much

Which I suppose I was expecting however I have

Not felt tired as much as I expected to be

I believe a lot of our dependency is psychological

Hopefully some of the nasty side effects will subside

In time such as the acid reflux and slight dizzy spells

Will keep you updated

Thanks

Shiloh - I'm so excited for you ! Thank-you so much in all the help you have given me. I'm still taking the 3/4 till Jan 1 then I'll still be taking 1/2 for a few weeks, etc. So not ready yet for the challenge but let us know how you are doing. I'm not staying asleep for as long with just the 3/4 but can usually go back to sleep for another few hours. As I'm not working it is manageable. When we go out socializing a bit well then it takes me hrs to get to sleep! But this is not too often anymore . Naps during the day are sometimes successful , sometimes not so have to go with the flow...

Jaw444 - Appreciate all the info you can give us. That blacked out episode is really scary! It's unbelievable how these drugs can really change us. I was reading a different thread on how zops can change the way we look. Some were saying that they looked more tired and old , they lost weight and face looked drawn. I thought um another reason to quit taking these.

Gerd...good for you. Looks like the took the bull by the horns and did it!! Yah for you ! Even with the busy season of Christmas just around the corner. I think you are right when you say that some of our dependency can be phychological ! The big factor is in the decision to not want to take them and becoming our true selves again .

These alpha-sims machine are interesting. Good to know that they exist and keep getting feed-back.

8 days till Christmas- 5am here so better get back to bed!

Thanks all

Jaw.i know that my memory has been affected too and there are also many things that seem to have been

eraced from my mind.As I am only taking Zopiclone regularly I know it is the cause.When I

wake up in the morning all I want to do is go back to sleep,and the only time I seem to function at all is much

later in the day so my life has been turned upside down.

The withdrawal symptoms that you have described are all to familiar,but I must say that it is very helpful to

know that it is not just me who reacts that way and encouraging to think that with WILLPOWER this

dependency can be overcome.This site is my only support system as I live alone and backup from family and 'friends' is not available to me,so it is a constant struggle.

It is still my New Years Resoloution to GRADUALLY stop taking the pills,by cutting down bit by bit,and

hopefully that way will reduce the dreadful withdrawal symptoms that I experience and find very frightening.

Thanks for your information which is SO helpful.

Hi All... it has been four days since i had 'zopie's and i am the frame of mind of when i go back to the Pharmacy as a friend of mine has been monitoring my usage which has been sparingly, for which i am grateful for as i know that had i had the bottle with me i would taken so much more so i need to get the damn things out of mind and just be thankful that i don't have them with me as i don't like how they make me feel. Unfortunately my doctor has now given me codeine for my headaches, from one rabbit hole to another. I just want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and safe Holidays.

Hi,

Have now gone 6 days without Zopiclone and

Would like to update you guys

The first 2 to 3 days I had very little sleep at all

However on the 6 day my sleep slowly improved

Not great but didn't seem tired the next day or had

Any headaches

Hopefully the body is adapting to being without

Zopiclone and will slowly improve over time

Will keep you updated

Regards

Gurd

Gurd - that is so wonderful!! thanks for the report. For sure your body is adapting. It takes a few days for the meds to go out of your system, to be completely metabolized and eliminated, which probably has happened by now because of the really short half life of zopliclone (6 hours), i think it's all gone now and you are getting back to normal, whatever normal is. you did it !! I have been thinking about it so much, getting it cleaned out of my system and having life without it. I was thinking about all you guys and wondering how you were doing, and i will be thinking about you and looking forward to hearing how it's going.

Dean--That's great that you had three days without zopiclone, wondering how you're doing now, not just with sleep but general mental and physical functioning. After reading your last post, i googled mirtazapine, i wasn't familiar with it. i see that it's an anti-depressant prescribed sometimes as a sleep aide. i was reading a discussion forum, some people are helped a lot for sleep with that medication, others, not so much, there are side effects for some. Apparently, at a lower dose, such as you're taking or lower, it's more helpful for sleep than at a higher dose, because it effects the adrenal glands, whereas the sleep effect sounds like it's more of an anti-histamine thing which can be overpowered by the adrenal effects as the dose goes up.

I hope you're making progress, i've been thinking about you and wondering how the Alpha-Stim is working for you. I have mine which i have not yet taken out of the sealed wrapping because i don't want to try it out until i'm either off my sleep meds, or taking way less than i am now, preferably completely off. Do you find that you can go into an alpha state when you're using it? Do you get relaxed? Do you feel any different? are you continuing the mirtazapine? i hope you're doing ok.

Hi All...I just want to say how impressed with all the wonderful and positive progress you are all doing you should give yourselves a big hug for you're accomplishments well done all.

It's a New Year soon and i would love to go into it with a clear head and a stronger belief that i can get off the dreaded zopie as come next year i will begin my studies into IT, so i need to be on to it in order to graduate and move onto the next journey of my life after Brain surgery.

Hi Everyone'

well there is no going back on zopiclone now for me. Had very little sleep the last 2 nights as family staying for Christmas and baby grandson has been sick and kept me awake, - so I thought this morning after reading the forum, I'm not sleeping anyway so why take my 1/4 pill which isn't effective anyway.

As someone said, at a low tapered dose it is a psychological dependency, - so on that note and reading how Gurd had decided that's it, - I have flushed 45 zopiclone down the toilet and have none left. No scary, feels good, - decision made.

Will keep you all posted as its the only place I can actually say how it really is. I couldn't get melatonin, - in New Zealand you need a doctors precription for it and I'm not going to my GP on this one. I did buy some 100% tart Cherry Juice concentrate, very high in melatonin, so started that last night, and will take my magnesium.

Wish me luck! I may need it

shiloh--!! that is a milestone, to just stop. goodbye, that's over. you were only on 1/4, less than 2mg, you did great getting to that point, where you can just stop. such an important choice. i hope and pray it goes smooth for you at this point, as smooth as can be expected. i am eager to hear from you what it's like, if you see a big difference from being on 1/4 or not. So sorry your grandson is sick. you will get through this and are getting free and un-poisoned. it's not going into your body anymore, your body will eliminate it, it will soon be all gone. that's something to celebrate.

OMGoodness !! Gurd & Shiloh ....you guys are blowing it out of the water !! So very inspiring for all of us to know that it can be done and that we will survive and be better off health wise in the long run.

One thing that I have to work on is confidence...confidence to stay calm & sure of myself. It is probably part of the reason that I went on the zops in the first place. It was the inability to calm myself, inability to stop bashing myself about everything etc so just easier to take a pill and go to sleep. Now I have to retrain myself with deep breathing, positive thinking, and all the other things that I have mentioned in previous posts.

I know that we all have many things to overcome in life, the lists are endless from divorce to brain surgery! We've all come a long way and lets give ourselves a pat on the back!! Well done guys...keep it up!!

My turn is coming when I'll be able to say that I'm drug free...stay tuned.

Thank-you everyone for all the good advice , support and little nudges to keep going!

Night 1 - no zopiclone and no sleep at all. Was awake all night, tried to just relax and rest my body, close my eyes and concentrate on my breathing. Didn't help that I have caught a cold and have a really sore throat. Anyway, apart from being tired and doing my best to stay in a good frame of mind, -( - a bit more challenging with a houseful of people at the moment) then no headache or other withdrawl symptoms.

Going out on the farm on my horse for some fresh air and peaceful me time, later.

Thanks for the comments and support, it really helps to have other that understand.

How you going, Gurd?

NO ZOPICLONE night 2 no sleep, night 3 20mons sleep, night 4 3 hrs straight sleep, wow, that feels better