1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Benzodiazepines and Z Drugs

zopiclone

Posted , 2 users are following.

dory9999
dory9999

hi i have been on zopiclone for 18 months following a fifteen year break up from an abusive husband. last night was my first night of not taking it. it was fine i took a herbal alternative. but i know now that zopiclone has a massive cancer risk an now i am panicking that i have taken too many and now will get cancer. does anyone know how much u have to take to be at risk? i took 3.75 mg at night for the 18 months. thanks xx

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Fanny_Jane
    Fanny_Jane

    Posted

    Hi dory, please do not worry about this. there are many scares going on about many of the different drugs that we have all taken for various lengths of time.

    I myself had a chat with my gp when I read about it in the paper. The chances of getting cancer is extremely small and usually due to lots of other factors as well. Not just taking the medication.

    What the papers don't tell you is that the small amount of people who developed cancer taking this drug may have developed it anyway due to other factors in their lives.

    18 months is not long enough anyway to worry. Some of us have been on medications for 40 years.If none of us took any medicines at all, a few of us would still get cancer. This is true.

    Cancer is caused more from bad lifestyle choices than anything else .Sometimes there is a genetic componant such as BRAC2 for breast cancer. Again it is not common.

    You have been through a very bad time and are probably feeling anxious about lots of things.Please don't slide backwards through a fear that may never happen.

    Go back to your gp, tell him/her that you don't want to continue with the zopiclone and make sure you get checked out. You may find an alterntaive that you are happy to take.

    Life is hard enough for us without a lot of scare stories from journalists who do not print the exact facts but pick and choose eye catching headlines.

    Many good wishes to you, Fanny Jane.

  • dory9999
    dory9999

    Posted

    hi and thank you so much for the reply. it is a worry and yes zopiclone helped me get over a man who beat me and verbally ubused me for a long time. i did smoke too but for only a year and i managed to kick that havit too. i am a fitness freak so hopefully im healthy enuf. it is a scare and im not gonna take it anymore. hopefully i am over the worst. thank u so much xx
  • Fanny_Jane
    Fanny_Jane

    Posted

    You are very welcome dory, a years smoking is not enough to worry about either. Take all scare stories with a large bucket of salt.

    Careful of the fitness freak bit though, you may develop arthritis or sore joints if you're not careful.

    Get on with your life and put that ....... behind you, life is for living and out there is your future.

    Bless you, Fanny Jane.

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.