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To much zopiclone

Posted , 4 users are following.

vicky86909
vicky86909

Hi every1 very hard right now 4 me to talk about this but reading every1 else's as gave me a boost I needed,V been on n of these 4 about 15 years, this time tho has been around 5 yrs docs av helped me n slowly reduced my tablets time n time again but then I get them of other people no matter how much my docs thinks am currtney only takin 7.5 1 a night but am not am at least taking 4 to 5 split up in a day tho, since finding this page it has made me realise tht it is now my time to come of them I cannot cope anymore with the feelings am getting and being so paranoid and scared to go anywhere I no these tablets are guna end up killing me and av got 4 beautiful children I need to be there 4 them, I need to b better mum to them I don't take them out or do anything with them and its all cos of these tablets. Do yous think if I went bk to gp they would be willing to help me or not because they have helped b4 and av let them down xx thanks 4 reading 

1 like, 17 replies

17 Replies

  • julie1111
    julie1111 vicky86909

    Posted

    hi vicky sorry to hear your going through this, i think you need to be honest with you gp and tell them all this! there must be something they can give you to help you through this are u on anything else hun xx
    • vicky86909
      vicky86909 julie1111

      Posted

      Hi Julie thanks 4 reply am on anti ds aswell think am going to make n app in the morn n just tell them everything am a bit worried in case they refuse to help xx
    • julie1111
      julie1111 vicky86909

      Posted

      hi vicky . zopiclone is now a controlled drug awfull what they have done but we cant change that , you have made a great step coming on here ! if ur honest with the gp im sure they will help you! u have to do this for you and ur children im sorry for being honest but there no were else you can go and remember on here u hear the bad things not the good things..let me know how u go on? goodluck xxx
    • vicky86909
      vicky86909 julie1111

      Posted

      Hi Julie thanks 4 the msgs means a lot. I think the 1st for me was coming on here it's made me realise am not alone as there is so many people like me who are suffering. I just want my life bk and to be able to go to just even the park with my kids. Good luck to u 2 and keep in touch and let me no how things r going xxx
    • julie1111
      julie1111 vicky86909

      Posted

      hi vicky. it will all be ok in the end..let me know how u go with the gp x theres many going through this hun. keep strong and speak soon xx
  • keith09733
    keith09733 vicky86909

    Posted

    Hi Vicky,

    You need to go see your GP and explain that you are addicted to them and tell them exactly how many you are taking. Tell them you want to get off them - that's what I did (because I do) - but you need help. Go visit the CITAP website at: http://www.citawithdrawal.org.uk/ and print out the page about Z-drugs (since most doctors don't seem to have a clue about their nasty effects). In fact talk to the CITA folks before going to see your GP.

    When you do visit your GP, ask that if they cannot help directly with a withdrawal/crossover program, that they refer you to someone who can. Don't take no or a fob off for an answer - you owe it to your kids.

    In the meantime while they are referring you (it's taken me 5 weeks so far) ask for them to prescribe you the dose you have been taking, and remind them that its unsafe to withdraw suddenly. That worked with my GP - he has been prescribing me two weeks worth every two weeks while I'm waiting to go on a managed withdrawal program.

    Good luck and don't give up!

     

    • julie1111
      julie1111 keith09733

      Posted

      hi keith, this as helped me also , i am a doctors tomorrow they dropped my 7.5 in half with out any support, do they have to refer us for withdrawel? this is so usefull thank you
    • vicky86909
      vicky86909 keith09733

      Posted

      Hi Keith thank u so much 4 getting bk to me it means a lot, am going to go to gp in the morn,n hopefully they will be able to help me,I want my life bk so time I was honest. I will not take no 4 an answer. I feel so much better now reading ur comment, av never opened up this much before. What's the programme u will go on? I wish u so much luck with ur journey x
    • jaw444
      jaw444 vicky86909

      Posted

      Vicky---i agree with Keith, CITAP, reach out for that support, they know how to help, they can advise you and support you, and help you with doctors.  

      i also agree with Keith's advise, to ask your doctor for help in safely gradually withdrawaing from the meds, but it sounds like they have been doing that and you haven't been able to handle it, so you have increased your dose without them knowing.  I have been the same way--my doctor was very supportively prescribing three sleep meds prescriptions for me whcih included zopiclone 7.5mg , zolpidem 10mg and zolpidem 12mg extended release. i was getting all of that every month, but i also bought 28 more zolpidem 10mg from an overseas (no prescription) pharmacy every couple of months and i did not tell my doctor about that.  He wanted me to come off but left it up to me, thank goodness because i wasn't ready to come off.

       But when i finally was ready, i tapered off the zopiclone first, 1/4 pill at a time, it wasn't hard because i had so much zolpidem to help me sleep. i took a couple of months to get completely off zopiclone and it was not hard because of the zolpidem. In my case, the only thing i use them for is sleep. I have been taking 2 doses a night because they are so short acting and i have tolerance for them. But i thnk you said you take a dose during the day, is that right? i don't feel any need for these during the day, no withdrawal symptoms or anything, it's just about sleep, so i only want to take it at night, but twice, 5 hours apart. 

      I was up to 27mg of zolpidem a night and really wanted to get off it, so i went to an addiction medicine specialist.  He advised using the diazapam crossover method.  He said i would switch overnight from 27mg zolpidem to 10mg diazapam, and then after about a week, i would start tapering off the diazapam. He said that would be easier than tapering off the zolpidem because it's short acting, diazapam is long acting.  I was desperate so i did it. It worked. Over night, i could give up 27mg of zolpidem, the diazapam was stronger. it got me to sleep and i didn't wake up after a few hours, i slept all night, how cool is that?  But the problem i had with it was that i felt very hung over all day, it ruined my days, i felt so out of it and groggy and tired--the whole point of getting enough sleep is to NOT feel tired during the day, so this wasn't workign for me.  I started tapering off by 1mg after a week, i went down to 9mg, and then 4 days later i went down to 8mg. I was wanting to get off that diazapam so bad, it seemed more toxic than the zolpidem because it stays in your body for a very long time builds up.  But it's well known to be helpful to a lot of people for getting off of Z drugs. You just need to be ready to taper off, and to not rush it too fast. If a 1mg cut is too much, try doing a 1/2 mg cut.  There are people, you can find them online, who do their taperign with liquid diazapam, so they can do what they call micro-tapering. That's the way to do it, if you don't have a good ability to stay committed when you get withdrawal symptoms or no sleep, and i'm kind of in that place now. Anyway, this really is a medical speciality and if your doctor isn't comfortable or knowledgeable in helping you with it, you can ask if they can refer you to a specialist in addiction medicine or in withdrawing from medication. Tell him how much you want to get off, to be there for your kids, get your life back, he will see your motivation and hopefully will be supportive.  

      For me, cognitive behavioral therapy is a helpful part of going off meds.  It gives you ways of dealing with the thoughts you get when you're going off sleep meds. thoughts that scare you, thoughts that tell you "tomorrow is going to be a really bad day, i'm going to be so tired, i remember the last time, i had such a bad day," those kinds of thoughts, CBT teaches you how to respond to those thoughts in your head, i've found that helpful.

      i think for me, it's gpoing to be a matter of just accepting that i'm not going to sleep much for a while, but i just need to ride that out, and i will gradually start getting more sleep. 

      I have heard people on this forum say that even when they don't get enough sleep, they feel so much better not having the zopiclone in their system and they are happy.  i was really happy when i got off zopiclone and i stopped having some weird symptoms i was getting since i first started taking it, but i'm still on the zolpidem.

      good luck tomorrow, i hope you can contact CITAP, call and leave them a message tonight, tell them you'll be seeing your doctor tomorrow and aren't sure what to say. 

       

    • vicky86909
      vicky86909 jaw444

      Posted

      Hi jaw thanks 4 ur helpfull comment,sounds like you've been threw it yourself,ye I have increased my dose which I feel so stupid 4 I have these feelings tht something bad is going to happen and end up takin a panic attack then of I take a tablet I get a farm feeling not 4 long tho it soon wears of, I am going to ring citaps today b4 I go the doctors, am tht paroined with these tablets now I haven't been to bed for 4 weeks I stay on the couch I think if I go to bed something bad will happen, it's not normal i do really need help. Thank u once again means a lot to me x
    • keith09733
      keith09733 vicky86909

      Posted

      Hang in there Vicky, let us know how you get on at the GP's. If they don't understand the problem, don't be fobbed off - insist on a withdrawl program over several months. If you can, print out and take the CITA documentation, it may help.
    • vicky86909
      vicky86909 keith09733

      Posted

      Hi Keith I was refusd any help yest was told I had to write a plan myself cos he didn't have the time to do 1 4 me n go bk thu with it,I told him I had no meds at all to take and he told me tht wasn't his problem and seems as tho I had been getting them from elsewhere tht he was sure it wouldn't b a problem 4 me getting any as it was my own fault for upping my does so high he said hel discuss what av told him with the GPS and they will come to a decision on thu but they could refuse I asked him if he knew the dangers of just suddenly stopping meds n he said yes but sometimes it's in people's heads but if I did have any withdrawals ad have to deal with them, I rang the cita when I come out and they were shocked with what this doc had said they were brilliant with me as I was crying so much they calmed me down n were so understanding xxx
  • jaw444
    jaw444 vicky86909

    Posted

    Vicky, Keith wrote some good clear advice on Julie's thread and i'm doing to paste it into this post. i don't remember if it was you or someone else who said you don't have a printer.  If you don't, do you have a friend with a printer?  There may be people on this forum who could help you put a complaint in writing if GP doesn't give proper appropriate medical treatment for dependence on sleeping pills. It's a medical condition with a diagnosis and there are treatment protocols, guidelines, to be followed. You don't have to go into all of that.  You can just say you asked for help and have been denied help and left in condition of suffering and risk to your health.  That should be enough.  

    Here is what Keith wrote today to Julie:

    "...Nobody should have it stopped without help - either a long term withdrawal program or a crossover program to diazepam. If any doctor told you they would just reduce your dose and had ignored your concerns, then I'd be the first to put a complaint into writing- it will go on file. Have you showed your GP the CITA docs on withdrawal and how they will work with local GP's? Has your doctor consulted a specialist on how to help you? Ask all of these..."

    Addiction medicine is a medical specialty and you deserve to be referred to a specialist, if your condition isn't being appropriately treated at the GP level.

    • vicky86909
      vicky86909 jaw444

      Posted

      Hi jaw thanks 4 msgs my friend is going to write a letter of complaint I was treated like dirt yesterday n thought about going cold turkey last night but a friends mum helped me out I think if she hadn't then I wouldn't be here now writing this. I showed the doc the withdrawal programme and he never even looked at it xx
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