problems sleeping

Hi there Mikey,  I know your frustration at the thought of it not working, or having the same affect as it use to anymore, been on them for about eight years myself and i am currently going through the same thing, as with most drugs we reach a point ( some people quicker than others ) where we become almost immune to the original effect of the drug as with illicit drugs like Heroin, amphetamine, Cocaine etc and Zopiclone is no exception. Also different people may have different reactions to a given drug, for example my wife says Zopiclone have no or little effect on her as does her friend, but to me they have always had quite a powerfull effect which only makes it all the more harder to go without them. Being an ex drug user ( illegal drugs ) for many years and having given them all up one by one to the point where Zopiclone is my only dependance does not make it any easier, i feel this is one drug i cannot go without which of course is what being addicted to something is all about..............so having two Zopiclones instead of one only makes the problem bigger ....100% bigger.  I have had some good advice from members on this forum recently of which i am very gratefull, even with my past experiance i was finding the obvious difficult to see, and quite often in life people see or spot things which we can't or don't want to see, with me i was thinking drinking alchohol last thing at night with my Zopiclone was a good idea dispite having Liver Disease,  guess i did not want to admit to myself that really now was the time to seriously think about cutting back my medication with a long term view to giving it up altogether and try to find an alternative way to cope with my problems. Sorry i seem to have gone into one.....i guess i am just typing what i am thinking and hoping some of it makes sense to you and may be of help. I personaly feel so much better for having given up the illegal drugs that i am sure this must be the way to go....all the best and good luck to you.....Robin

Everyone is different.  You say you've been on it for a long time, i don't know how long that is.  I took zolpidem, a similar drug, for about 17 years and didn't increase the dose at bedtime, it was 10mg, but because it's a very short acting medication (its purpose is to get you to sleep but not to keep you asleep) i would wake up after 4 or 5 hours, and then i got into a thing where i would take a smaller dose and get back to sleep for another hour or two.  For many years, i didn't need to do that, but at some point i did.  They came out with an "extended release" version and i took that, it's 12.5mg, and that worked for a long time, but finally, i stopped getting much effect from it. I could get to sleep at night usually but it didn't keep me asleep long. Then, i found some zopiclone in my drawer that i'd apparently tried years before but didn't like it as much. I tried it out one night and it did get me to sleep, and i stayed asleep all night. Unfortunately i was also hung over during the day. But i started taking it instead of the zolpidem. I found that i was too hung over to work during the day so at first i only took it on weekends. Then i started taking it all week.  After about two months, maybe two and a half, it stopped working as well as it was, and i added the zolpidem back in, not as much as before, i took half of the extended release zolpidem with 7.5mg zopiclone. But i was also taking more zolpidem in the morning around 4 or 5am because i would wake up and not be able to go back to sleep. So, after taking zolpidem for many many years without getting addicted, by that time, i developed what you're talkinga bout, tolerance, which is a feature of addiction, and i needed to take more to get the effect.  But i also knew that the more i took the more i would need, that's how it works, and i wasn't able to get enough to do that, so i had to sometimes go without very much sleep for a day or two, without increasing the dose, and then, from getting less sleep, i'd be more tired, and the same amount of meds would get me to sleep.  I hated being on both medications and got some odd symptoms which began shortly after i started the zopiclone which were disturbing (waking  up feeling like i was in an unfamilar place, even though it was my home, and not knowing how to do things like making breakfast). it would wear off pretty quick, not more than a half hour, but i was not happy with it. It only happened on occasion, like twice a month or so, but still, it was very disturbing to feel that out of it, and one morning i had a black out experience which to my knowledge, i hadn't had before.  A plumber came to my house for an appointment and i told him i didn't need a plumber. Later, his boss called me and asked my address and then said his plumber had come to my house and was told a plumber wasn't needed. I did not remember that at all, and insisted that i had been home the whole time and no one had come to the door.  But the guy described me and my dog, so i bellieved them that they came and i didn't remember it at all. Disturbing. So, i was really wanting to get off the zopiclone because i'd never had symptoms like that before. It still took me almost a year to finally get the courage to start reducing the amount of zopiclone, i was so afraid of not getting enough sleep. But when i finally did it, it was pretty easy because i was still taking plenty of zolpidem so i didn't really miss any sleep, i was cutting 1/4 of the zopiclone tablet, it took me a couple of months but i got off it, and have not had those weird symptoms since then.  But i'm still on the zolpidem.  Maybe instead of doubling your dose, did you try cutting the pill in quarters and seeing if just adding a quarter would get you to sleep? In my experience, the only way to reduce my tolerance has been to go with less sleep for up to a couple of days, and i have  been very reluctant to do that, but for me, there is really no choice. If i keep increasing the amount of medication, it will get less and less effective, so that a huge amount will not work.  I sympathize with you.  I am planning to get off the zolpidem even if it means very little sleep, but in my case, i have found that when i go without sleep, i do sleep easier after a day or two. This may not be true for everyone.  Another thing i've found is that sometiems i feel better on days i slept less than on days i sleep more, i can't explain that but it is real, and i've heard other people say the same thing.

get to the doctors and get some mirtazapine 40mg..start taking them with the zopiclone then as soon as you can start tapering the zopiclone down to the point where you are having even just a minute amount.Its working for me and i thought i'd never get off zopiclone.15 years i'd been on them.

Hey Mikeyboy. That must be awful if the medication is no longer having its proper effect. I have found that too at times on 15mg of zopiclone. I am sure there are other things that may help you. Please read my post on "Sleeping Strategies" I really think it will help you. I know very well what it is like not sleeping and it is terrible. Hang in there and keep posting.

Mikey. What will you do when you gain a tolerence of the 15mg of. Zopiclone?

I understand your situation truly. I wish I could give you an answer or tell you the way forward.

Thank you for starting the discussion. Xx