problems sleeping

A comment on zolpidem and zopiclone.  They're in the same family, non-benzo hypnotics that have sedative effects.  Both are short acting so if you stop taking them, they're out of your circulation really fast, in one day for zolpidem, in about 3 days for zopiclone.  Compared to benzos, they're easier to get off of--not to say it's easy.  

Zolpidem is shorter acting than zopiclone.  Half of the zolpidem you take is gone from your circulation in 2 or 3 hours.  With zopiclone, it's about 5 or 6 hours.  When i was taking both together, i slept longer. When i quit zopiclone, i found that i only stayed asleep for at most 2 hours. I would take a second dose, but i would wait until 5 hours after the first dose, otherwise, in no time it wouldn't work for me at all.  

The reason it only lasts a couple of hours is tolerance to it from taking it so long.  I took it for many years, about 15, and would get at least 5 hours sleep on it. So that gradually changed over time, and by now, especially because i increased the dose in the past 2-3 years, it has its very minimum effect on me.  But although i didn't sleep as long as i did when taking it with zopiclone, i didn't feel tired. I would sleep 2 hours, stay awake a couple more hours, and then take another dose and get a couple more hours of sleep, or even more,  and i wasn't tired, usually. i was surprised at that.  

But i wanted to get off it, after all these years, so i went to an addiction medicine doctor for help, and he advised me to switch to diazapam, just stop taking the 25mg of zolpidem i was taking (in two doses, 15mg, 10mg) and start taking diazapam 10mg.  The reason to switch is because diazapam is so long acting (it takes anywhere from 40 to 100 hours for half of it to be out of your circulation, and you can multiply that by two because it also has something that doubles it which most sleep meds don't have, called "active metabolites") so because it's long acting, it's supposed to smooth out the process of tapering off of it, compared to short acting meds which theoretically give withdrawal symptoms during any given day because the body has eliminated the meds--the diazapam will not be eliminated. (I've never had any withdrawal symptoms from zolpidem or zopiclone).  

I found that the diazapam worked great, i slept the whole night which had not happened in a few years.  But unfortunately, it gave me a horrible hangover, i was really tired all day, more tired than i would be without sleep, way more tired. I took it for a couple of weeks, and i started tapering off it, but i got a tolerance for it so that it stopped working for as long, and it didn't get me to sleep at night, so i started using the zolpidem again, with the diazapam, to get to sleep.  Now, i'm using the zolpidem to help me wean off the diazapam completely, which is kind of funny because i only got on the diazapam in order to get off the zolpidem. But compared to diazapam. for me, zolpidem is a really mild drug and i like that it's eliminated from my body every day instead of building up and accumulating in the body as diazapam does.  I am now down to 5mg diazapam and will keep going until i'm off it.

About zolpidem, even though i've been taking it for 20 years, it still gets me to sleep at night, even though it doesn't last long. It did last for 15 years at the prescribed dose, 10mg, it did get me to sleep and i slept for 5 or 6 hours which was enough for me, but over time, like any sleep medication, there is tolerance and need to take more.  

What zolpidem is best for is getting you to sleep, not keeping you asleep. If a person's main problem is not being able to fall asleep, it's great. They also make an extended release zolpidem, either in 6.25mg or 12.5mg.  It's the same medication, it's just made with a coating on it that has a quick release process, and then a slower release component. It's supposed to last longer.  

I would recommend starting with the regular kind, 10mg if you're used to a lot of zopiclone, or possibly more if necessary, but try 10mg, give your body a couple of days to get used to it, and it will probably work well to get you to fall asleep and maybe you'll stay asleep as long as you need.  In my case, i can take a second dose around 4am or later, and i will wake without an alarm clock in a couple of hours.