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Zopiclone withdraway

Posted , 27 users are following.

jaygee2081
jaygee2081

Very interesting to read the discussions on this forum. And especially helpful for me since I am on day one of stopping zopiclone and feeling a bit wobbly after just one night of no sleep (well, actually about two hours in fact), nightmares, sleep paralysis episode and sweating. I've been on Zopiclone since 2001, having been given it as a last resort after several years of chronic insomnia. I started with 3.75 and have increased roughly every four years. Now I've been taking 11mg, supplementing the 3.75 dose still prescribed for me with internet orders every few months. Somehow I couldn't admit to my GP's that I was doing that. I'm now retired and living a stress free life, so all the presenting circumstances for insomnia A&E way in the past. When I moved to a new life in a peaceful island environment at th end of 2012 I decided to come clean with my doctor about using internet 7.5 doses. But I've continued to take the 11 mg dosage until now. I haven't slept naturally for at least 14 years so I'm very scared of stopping. But the effects of the drug have got worse and now I want to stop. For a long time, my brain has felt foggy, I have a horrible hangover for half the day, really fatigues, forgetful and speech stammer. I've been reading up since last week and this is the most informative and supportive forum I've found. I looked at the CITA site and the adivice seemed to be not to go cold turkey but to do a crossover to an equivalent dose of diazepam first and then reduce from there.

I met with my GP yesterday and he is supportive and has given me 2 mg pills of diazepam to make the tapering easier. He's also going to monitor me and see me once a week to check progress.

i feel really scared about this, for all the same reasons I've read here. Zopiclone has given me the security of going to bed and knowing I will lose consciousness. That's been huge and I've traded that off against the feeling of being dulled, impaired and drugged in my daily life. I've done lots of amazi things over these last 13 years, lots of achievements, but all against a background of feeling crap. 

Last night was my first night without Zopiclone.  I took 9 mg Diazepam at bed time (probably too late I think) and set up relaxation cd I've been using, a radio, a corner of my spare room to curl up in with my book instead of lying in bed sleepless. I was awake until around 3.30, when I think I slipped into a two hour dose. But had mini hallucination about the radio playing ( it wasn't) and me ripping the batteries out (I didn't) I also had a nightmare, which I've never had before, and some sleep paralysis on waking from it. My temperature went up and down too, with some sweating.

i  will go on with this but would so appreciate any support or ideas. Many of you know too well how savage the effects are of acute insomnia and I know I'm in for a rough ride. I've bought some Phenergan but didn't take it yet. I'm also sending off for 5 HTP. 

So that is night one over. Any words of encouragement welcome. I'm not at all sure I can do this, with a supply of Zopiclone still in my bedside drawer. But being sleepless and not on the drug feels better than sleeping badly with it.

I'll keep you posted....

 

6 likes, 85 replies

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  • dave88
    dave88 jaygee2081

    Posted

    The problem is that Zopiclone does not induce sleep it anaesthetises you so whatever the job of sleep is it is not getting done it is just removing some of the time you lie awake worrying about not getting sleep. A vicious circle.

    .

    • vivien58797
      vivien58797 dave88

      Posted

      Hi Dave. I would rather get a few hours anaesthesised than no sleep at all. 
    • zaphod
      zaphod dave88

      Posted

      Well although I do have some strange outlooks on vvarious topics, I view 8 hours sleep as a 33% improvement in all my other problems, noting worse than being awake at 3am watching the same news every 15mins, with at least 3 of the longest hours you can imagine, before the rest of the World starts to come to life.

      Just my view of things

      All the best

      Paddy

  • jaygee2081
    jaygee2081

    Posted

    Just an update to this first week off zopiclone. I'm continuing to take 9 mg Diazepam, as advised by CITA, now taking it earlier in the evening, about 9 latest. I don't feel any effect from it at the time, and have been set up withbooks, tv programmes ect if necessary. Havent been expecing to sleepbut have mostly slept five or six hours a night since Tuesday, taking a while to sleep and then waking about 5.30 to 6. Vivid dreams but no nightmares. My doc saw me for an update yesterday and thinks I should stabilise for another week on the diazepam dosage and not try to taper too quickly, which I am tempted to do. I am living very quietly at the moment, with no big commitments, so don't know what it will be like when I have things to do and people to see, and some evening stimulus.

    Vivien, I agree that it feels much better to sleep 'anaesthetised' than not at all And if I felt ok on zopiclone I would be happy to keep taking it forever and getting it from where I could. ('ve been supplementing my 3.75 prescription  on internet for nine years now) What's spurred me on now is the recent Schedule C status and  prospect of no avaibility othen from unfamiliar sources - I've used United Pharmacies successfully till now) and realising that I feel really terrible every day with it and only feel normal by evening - when I take another going to bed. Also, I know my tolerance is increasing and that I'd shortly be needing 15 mg.( I started on 3.75 in 2001. and have increased by  3.75 roughly every four years)

     I'd sayif my usual dose kept working ok and I felt ok, I'd probably still take it. It felt like a lifesaver for me after years of torment. 

    But one day at a time...

  • Quovadis
    Quovadis jaygee2081

    Posted

    Hi,I did post some 4 weeks ago, stating that I had stopped all medication dead in its tracks ....This includes Zopiclone, Cipralex, Lomotrogine, Clonazepam, Zolpidem and I am still here !!!! , yes, some of the side effects, or withdrawals have been interesting BUT I am now dealing with the true me i.e my feelings, emotions, thoughts  etc are no longer drug controlled/suppressed/enhanced  I have had to give up work true, again this has its advantages and disadvantages . One is the shortfall of income....the bonus is that I can be what I want, where I want (at home) , I can shut off most if not all triggers (that are often caused by other people anyway) . I can crash, scream, shout, cry, laugh, dream, sleep, work, in fact anything...and do you know what .... it doesnt matter aymore, this is the true me ... this space and acceptance of myself is part of a long term self imposed therapy that allows me to work through issues in a safe environment, so if I have a bad day ...it doesnt matter . 
  • jaygee2081
    jaygee2081

    Posted

    I've been 18 days Zopiclone free,after taking it for 13 years, was currently taking 11mg and had been supplementing my GP 3.75 prescription with internet orders. I'm following the Ashton regime of switching to equivalent dose of 9mg diazepam, taken usually a good hour and a half before bed. Also taking 5HTP right at bed time and using a Body Scan relaxation CD in bed. So far, after the first bad night, I'm getting off to sleep, getting between four and six hours and then drifting after that. Very vivid, detailed dreams. I do feel tired and yawning a lot (I never felt drowsy with Z) but definitely not having the toxic, buzzing daytime feeling from before. I've now just dine a big training day, travelling the day before and after, and managed ok. So the terror of not functioning without sleep is less. I start tapering the Diaz from next week, one mg a fortnight. GP is seeing me every week for support. No idea how the reduction will go but every day I'm without Zopiclone is a bonus.
    • keith09733
      keith09733 jaygee2081

      Posted

      Well done - you give me confidence that I can do it too. I have my referral on Monday so am hoping to get a crossover prescription asap. Good luck and hang in there!
    • jaygee2081
      jaygee2081 keith09733

      Posted

      You too. I was pleased to find I wasn't tempted to take my remaining Zops with me this week to my two days work away (I still have two months supply left). But I'm starting the 1 mg reduction Monday and will take two weeks to each reduction. Apparently it's best to be really slow with it. I don't feel totally secure, but still have Phenergan to fall back on (not taking them just now) and 5HTP taken at bed time seem to help. You just need to stay on them for a while. Patience and faith....
    • jaw444
      jaw444 jaygee2081

      Posted

      Good luck with your reduction of diazapam.  Keep in mind that as you reduce by 1mg, the fraction that you're cutting gets larger as the total amount you're cutting from gets smaller, so in a way it's like you're taking a bigger piece off as you go down, proportionally.  I started at 10mg diazapam and it wasn't bad going down to 9 and then to 8, the first day i think was shaky, and then i adjusted and was OK on the new amount. When i cut down to 7mg, it was harder. There was something else going on in my life making it hard to sleep so i don't know that it was because of the reduction to 7, but because of the other thing going on in my life, which is a kind of serious health problem, my addiction meds doctor and i agreed that i should just stay at 8mg diazapam until the other thing is taken care of. I was in such a hurry to get off diazapam, i was not too worried about going cold turkey as i did once before many years ago, from a much higher dose, but then this other thing came up and i need to keep everything else stable for now.  My doctor is totally rejecting of cold turkey.  FWIW, there are a lot of people tapering off of diazapam after crossing over from other benzos or Z drugs who, per Ashton method, taper at a much slower rate than what you and i are doing, in my case 1mg per week.  There are people who only cut 10% of the dose per two weeks or so. They use liquid diazapam and they just cut 10%, keeping it proporitionately constant.  That seems awfully slow and can take a year sometimes, but there are people who say they are unable to do it otherwise. Withdrawal symptoms are definitely minimized that way.
  • julie1111
    julie1111 jaygee2081

    Posted

    hello i hope i can help i was on zopiclone 7.5mg a night for over 10 years, doctors dont like giving it out so put me on the ashton plan for tapering off using diazapam they gave me 4x2mg to take for 2 weeks then 3x2mg for another two weeks and so on till i stop i havent had any zopiclone for 4 weeks now and never took the full dose of diazapam and been ok and sleeping few odd nights but not to bad. u can do it ..goodluck x
  • julie1111
    julie1111 jaygee2081

    Posted

    hi i have tried to get Phenergan whats it for i asked at chemist but they u can only get it on percription is this for hay fever and info would be great .. thanks in adavance  julie
    • zaphod
      zaphod julie1111

      Posted

      Ask for Promethazine Hydrochloride, for itching, ie Eczema. It is the generic name for Phenegran, and still otc (i believe).

      But I wouldn`t put too much hope on them working, never have for me, either as a sleep aid, or to stop my Exzema itching.

      Don`t whatever you do try taking more than 50mg max, as they can put you into a very scary and not nice place at all.

      They are known by people who try and abuse them as a Deliriant Antihistamine, Delirious is what you can end up as, and believe me, it`s not nice at all.

      All the best

      Paddy

    • julie1111
      julie1111 zaphod

      Posted

      thanks zaphod for the reply i think ill give them a miss but thanks x
    • vivien58797
      vivien58797 julie1111

      Posted

      Hi Julie.  I explained to you some time ago about Phenergan and what they were used for. Do you remember.  I told you that you can buy them from Boots. You dont need a prescription, althoughn the doctor can prescribe them.  I bought them, no problem over the counter. Theyt didnt work for me either.
    • julie1111
      julie1111 vivien58797

      Posted

      hi yes i have tried 4 boots and a local chemist with no luck . they told me its on prescription only i wanted to know if they were wrong or right x
    • zaphod
      zaphod julie1111

      Posted

      According to the latest BNF, Promethazine HCL is still an OTC medicine, (it is the main ingredient in 1 or 2 of the Patent Sleep aids on the market). I think that Pharmacies are generally tightening up on anything that effects the CNS due to people abusing them.

      I remember reading once that Nytol was the OTC medicine most refused sale by the Pharmacies,?

      As  I find it something else that doesn`t work, I can`t see why they are so paranoid myself.

      All the best

      Paddy

    • zaphod
      zaphod julie1111

      Posted

      My answer stating that it s still an otc may be wrong, as the BNF doesn`t seem to label meds as POM or not anymore, as it is listed you may be right, perhaps they only list POM meds in there now.

      Soz about the confusion

      Paddy

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