Zopiclone - Side Effects

I was prescribed Zopiclone about four years ago as a remedy for chronic insomnia - I have Fibromyalgia and the lack of sleep was absolutely killing me. At first I was just really, really happy to be getting 8 hours of solid sleep and woke up feeling like I could take on the world. However, one morning I woke up as usual and opened my bedside drawer to get my daily vitamins out and I discovered several chocolate wrappings! I couldn't remember eating any chocolate and so I asked Husband if he had put the wrappers in my drawer (even though I was pretty sure this wasn't something he would do). Husband then told me that about an hour after I had said goodnight and left him in the lounge watching telly, I'd come back into the lounge and asked if we had any chocolate. Seems that somewhere between getting into bed and actually falling asleep, a severe chocolate craving had overcome me! Even more odd was the fact that Husband told me this wasn't the first time it had happened and that I had regularly gotten up after going to bed and meandered around the house, eaten chocolates, drunk tea or coffee and had lucid conversations with him. Suffice to say I gave Husband strict instructions to hide the chocolates well and to send me back to bed should I ever get up after having said goodnight.

The second strange thing that occurred after starting with Zopiclone was that I could feel my teeth, and I mean really, FEEL. MY. TEETH. It was perhaps the most odd sensation I've ever had and together with the metallic taste (which I had been told to expect) it made eating, drinking, talking and smiling quite unbearable. I'm not sure why I never linked the feeling the teeth thing with Zopiclone and actually pursued other avenues like gum disease and receding gums in an attempt to 'cure' myself!

The third, and perhaps worst, side effect - also something I never linked to the use of Zopiclone until now, was recurrent urinary tract infections. We had just moved (in my defence) and I honestly thought there was just 'something in the water'! On average I would say I had a UTI every two to three weeks and they would vary in severity from mild irritation quickly remedied with Citrasoda to debilitating infections remedied only with a long course of anti-biotics.

Then about eight months ago now, I decided that I could no longer take Zopiclone, it had stopped working effectively and when my dosage was increased I was left feeling very foggy the next day and the metallic taste in my mouth was magnified and frankly, just unacceptable. If I had half an hour sleep a night for the first four weeks, I was lucky. To be honest I can't even tell you how I made it through but I was determined that I was not going backward and that this lack of sleep would have to kill me before I took another Zopiclone. The good news is that within weeks my teeth returned to normal, the metallic taste was almost non-existent and I hadn't had to see the doctor about a UTI in what seemed a lifetime.

I'm curious whether anyone else has had similar side effects (extra sensitive teeth and recurring urinary tract infections) - or is it just me?!

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