My GP wants me to come off Zopiclone and Im afraid....

Wow amanda well done!!

Hi amanda,

Thank you for your message and well done coming off the Zopiclone!! It makes me feel bit better reading positive stories.  Maybe I will ask my Doc to give me some valium to help with this.

 

You can do it believe in yourself xxx

Hi Amanda

Just seen your post. I sent Debbie a reply last night it might be worthwhile your reading it?

Yeah I've read it , that's why im under arch I am on diazepam 30mg per night to get off the zops , I was titrating the dose before myself and suffering very bad attacks of panic and anxiety , so bad a cpn was called and took acute care for 4 days , I am a nurse myself it was shameful , but shows the grips this drug takes hold , I now attend cbt and group sessions and collect my diazepam daily up until this week very embarrassing I thought the pharmacist has been fantastic and says how much better im looking , im blessed xx

Amanda my two daughters are nurses, one is a nurse prescriber. Both now work alone holisticaly. They are horrified at some of the messages I've had. The problem is as you know nurses and doctors are taught to follow one specific pathway a bit like driving down the the M4 past say Windsor and not go see what's there, would you agree? 30 mg is a hefty dose, could I ask what part of the country you're in, how old you are, are you working also do you take it in one dose or over a specific period of time? We will try and help you but need info on how you got on such a high dose eg was it tolerance are there any other meds involved ie interactions? Oh and please don't go to any detox unit !

Hi , I've been qualified for neatly 20 years , I was in a very violent 1st marriage , found the courage to leave with my 2 children , last year both my mum and nan died suddenly 6 weeks after I had been raped , court case pending , I tried reducing my dose had a melt down and was referred by the team to a great team 30mg sounds a lot , I was on 10 zops clone 7.5 mg per night , I now am having cbt and meditation as well a key worker and at last people to help me , doesn't matter if you a nurse , Dr , banker your still human , my sister is also a nurse addiction is addiction , you build a tolarance to these drugs without realising it , I've cut my work load life's looking better and I never want to take a zopsclone ever again in my life 30 sounds a lot 100mg was a lot more x

I take 30mg at 10.15 per night to sleep only , I sleep 6 hours and am working 11 till 7 , im west London , being a nurse doesn't make you less human x

Are you saying you were on 100mg, if so,, what sort of time scale did you allow between what drops to end on 30mg?

If it were me I wouldn't take them in one dose! I would divide them around the clock.

BNF NICE Guidelines - I know both you and your sister will be aware it states half life UP to 200 hrs. In my.experience (over 40 years) the withdrawal symptoms seem to set in after 4 - 6 hrs..

Yes we are all human but there is also human error I've just posted how much of my day and night was taken up. Two different people different doctors involved, one on this forum was told to reinstate 4mg. The other had put someone very close to me in abrupt wihhdrawal and would not reinstate? Please see royal college of psychiatrists own website under benzodiazepines. A long day and night but eventually another doctor did reinstate. Long day and night so hope this makes sense! Take care

I was on 100 tablets a week a mixture of stilnoct and zops as they had stopped working I have not had any for 6 weeks since been in refered via an emergency cpn call to my home through anxiety and panic I now take 30mg 3 tablets of diazepam same time every night and I have already in 6 weeks come down from 35mg , so I am pretty happy that this is my journey and I will be on none shortly , I still get little waves of anxiety 1st thing but have gone from 3 hours sleep to 6/7 hours I don't lay in bed worrying I get up make tea and put the news on , and feel blessed 2 weeks ago I hadn't driven my car let alone left the house only to get meds every day, I went to meditation yesterday and played x box with the guys at the centre and went for a sauna so I am truly blessed x don't believe all the research you read we are all individuals so no 2 rules apply

Hi Daniel,

I dont want to come off it and I'm more than happy to be on it for life really if my doc would let me.  I do know that my condition worsens if I dont sleep.  I had 5 days off the zopiclone about 2 months ago as I managed to loose them and Doc wouldn't give me anymore.  I spent the entire 5 days on just 4 hours sleep.  I was sick as a dog with anxiety and panic attacks and thought I was going to be hospitalised - it didn't happen, but the sleep deprivation was making me so ill, pysicall and mentally - I dont want to go back there!! All this panic about stopping the sleeping pills is making me think about possibly buying them online, but i know that is dangerous!! Anyway, if I did, I would probably be too scared/anxious to take them!! I will stick with advice from GP and reluctantly come off them I guess.

 

I bought them on line , and in Spain for years , since last June it became a controlled drug hence the gps stopping them , believe in yourself get and take any help offered , you will feel better eventually x

Becareful you will build up a tolarance and 1 tablet won't work that's how I started , I swore I could get by and never come off as long as I could sleep , it's taken all these years and I ended up on 10 per night , don't be fooled it's dangerous psychological drug x I mean this with kindness xx

Hello Daniel

What did you say to your shrink so he kept you on zopiclone because my one has put me on a drug called pregabalin I haven't started it yet

Pregabalin isnt for sleeping,i'm on those for a prolapsed disc in my neck,they are also to help with anxiety in some people..however they've made no difference to it,maybe they will make you feel drowsy but i'm on the full dose daily and they wouldnt help me get to sleep.Zopiclone is a strong hypnotic drug so i really do doubt pregabalin will put you to sleep.

Hello dean

Did you get any side affects with the pregabalin

The shrink has give me these for aniexty but 50 mg a day and to cut down on my zopiclone every 4 weeks until I come of them do the pregabalin help you with aniexty ?

pregabalin hasnt helped with the anxiety at all for me but this doesnt mean it wont for you..I'm on the maximum too which is 600mg per day.i've always argued with the gp that i'm not sure if it is anxiety i have anyway,its more that i'm unable to relax,i'm not worrying about anything in particular,I just cant seem to be able to settle and chill out..The main reason that i take pregabalin is for nerve pain due to a pro lapsed disc in my neck.

Hello dean

I agree with much of what you've said, also very familiar with pregabalin. It's prescribed for neuropathy. It Interacts with benzos and z drugs can also be a drug of abuse. It's a derivative of gabapentin which is used for epilepsy/ seizures. Please be careful you don't leave it off abruptly. It's very similar to benzodiazipines or any of the Z drugs and must be tapered withdrawal due to the risk of seizures. I can see us all having a discussion about this drug in time when they decide to withdraw it as it is also expensive?

Take care

I asked my doctor if I can become addicted to it and he just shrug his shoulders and didn't really give me a answer he said I might need it all of my life but I haven't started it yet they just don't want to listen to reason

i'm already having problems trying to come off it..i stopped taking one tablet in the morning(150mg) and i knew about it,so i'm going to go see the gp and tell him i need to get off it,but only in the smallest steps possible and i dont care if it take 12 months,

i've had the prolapsed disc repaired so need to get off the drug but i'm worried that my 'anxiety' will get worse

if you can avoid it then do so,i think you'll find that it wont help with your anxiety but then when you come to pack it in your symptoms will get worse..that my experience with all the tablets i've tried.as for doctors,well i wouldnt trust them as far as i could throwthem when it comes to drugs,they just look in a book to find out what the effects will be.

Thanks for your advice dean I'm really at a loss at what to do because the shrink don't want to see me after only seeing me once and not really offering anything other than pregabalin

And them taking me of my zopiclone because he thinks it's all in my mind

After 18 years Hardly any suggestions you guys are the only ones who understand

From experience I would day don't start it! Another nightmare drug to try and come off of!

get some mirtazapine to help with your sleeping,it will also help you relax..tell them to start yoiu on the maximum dose of 45mg because you are tolerant of zopiclone the lower doses of mirtazapine wont have any effect.