Advice needed on sleeping pills

[willow1990]

Hi, 2.5 weeks ago my doctor have me Zopiclone to help me sleep as a short term measure. I know how addictive the are and really want to stop taking them, I tried taking just one last night but woke up at 3am and just couldn't get back to sleep. I don't know whether to just stop taking them completely and eventually I'll start to sleep again in a few days or what I should do? Anyone had similar experience and have any advice? Please no replies with horror stories of bad withdrawals, this is already what I am really anxious about! Thanks xx

[Hidden]

Hello willow1990

I totally understand your concern about the addictive side to these kinds of medication even though short term they can be a live saver for some that are struggling and that is why doctors prescribe them at the same time a good doctor like yours sounds will only prescribe them on a short term basis so as to not get patients in a position where they do get addicted and if taken this way then usually people are fine

You say you have just tried the one , I think to give them a fair chance to see if they would help short term you would have to take them a few nights before you could say if they would work or not

I also think weighing the situation up would be a good idea and writing this down could help make it clearer which way would be the best way for you to go

One list could be how not sleeping is affecting you ?

Listing all the things lack of sleep is creating

Then the second list could be something like how you feel getting more sleep would benefit you

When you have done both lists then look at which one outweighs the other and that could be your answer in which way would be best for you to do

I believe that if lack of sleep is really affecting us then sometimes we need a little help short term but on the other hand I also believe if we are still managing to cope even though we are lacking sleep it can sometimes be about finding things that will help us get a good nights rest , maybe some meditation , relaxing exercises which you can find loads on You tube , or a warm relaxing bath , reading before bed , warm drink before bed , trying to find something that relaxes your mind before sleeping

I always wait till I am so tired before going to bed and if I wake and cannot get back to sleep then I will come downstairs make a warn drink and try again , if we fear waking up we will do and if we do wake up and let it have so much importance then it will thrive on that fear so it can also be about if you wake up just saying , OK fine , I am awake , no big deal , I will sleep when I am ready , that way of thinking will not allow it to have that control ( if this makes sense )

But if you need those meds short term they should not harm you and I have taken addictive meds before but sensibly and put them down once I have got over a bad patch and been fine

Maybe another suggestion could be saying I will try them a few nights if I feel no better or uncomfortable after taking them for a few nights then I will stop them

I am not sure if this will have helped but let us know how you get on

Take Care x

[willow1990 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Lulu, I have been taking them already for two weeks (sorry didn't make that clear in the first post, my head is a bit fuzzy!) and now I am feeling a bit better after two weeks of sleeping ok-ish and wanting to stop taking them, but worried about how I'll cope without them xx

[Hidden in reply to willow1990]

Hello

It will be the fear that will make you feel you are not copying without them but if you want to come of them how about doing it gradually ?

You could take half a tablet for a week and then a quarter of a tablet for a week and then maybe a quarter every other night something like that till you are going to bed without them that way your body will get slowly used to not having them so if you did feel anything it would be your anxiety and nothing else , I know when I was stopping something that was addictive that is how I did it I slowly reduced till I was taking none x

[willow1990 in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou I will try this xx

[Hidden in reply to willow1990]

Let us know how you are getting on x

[LibertyB]

How long has your doctor put you on them for? Sleep is a big issue for me and trust me I used to be able to sleep through anything and now I wake every night 6/7 times.

I’m on quetiapine and quite a low dose but now I’ve got the balance right it really does the trick.

Have you tried different methods to help you sleep? When I was really struggling I really got into meditating. I could listen to 10 mins and I would be asleep straight away but then I would wake an hour later and I would repeat the process. Now I’ve got it down and it really helps. Have you given it a go?

[willow1990 in reply to LibertyB]

Yea I have given it a go, any recommendations for sleep meditations? Willing to try different ones as maybe the one I have isn't that great xxx

[LibertyB in reply to willow1990]

There’s an app called insight timer that’s completely free. I just search sleep and make my way through the list. I’ve even taught myself some of their methods so I don’t need to look at my phone. But don’t worry yourself if you don’t get it straight away - it’s all a learning curve.

[willow1990 in reply to LibertyB]

Thanks x