Insomnia

[mombasa74]

After covid I developed insomnia.

I started taking 3.75mg zopiclone and it works wonders. I have about 6 hour sleep and I feel great whole day.

However, I tried not to reduce dependence by taking one on alternate days. Hell. It doesn’t work. I have zero hours of sleep. The worst part is that I can not sleep even 10 minutes during the day even though I am exhausted. The only way I can go on by taking zopiclone every night. I don’t care about of the future consequences.

Can anyone tell me about his/her experience of taking zopiclone for many years please. Thanks.

[Kels999]

HiSorry to hear you had covid!

And unfortunately yes Zopiclone is a very very addictive drug!!!

I have been taking them for 20 years now believe it or not, and I can’t stop, if i don’t take one I become really unwell, bad Anxiety, rebound insomnia, the list is endless!!

I advise you strongly to stop taking them now if you have only just started using them, if you find it too difficult please go speak to your Doctor he will help you.

Please stop taking them now they will ruin your life!

Take care

Kerry

[kaliska0 in reply to Kels999]

That's not addiction by definition. It's dependence. Withdrawal symptoms from dependence is normal for most meds and with a few exceptions generally completely manageable and overall harmless beyond a brief period. It does suck though and doctors really should inform patients better about this issue because unless they stay on a med for life and that med works forever (almost never happens) they will have to deal with it eventually. For some it's not a big deal and for others it's a horrid experience but unlike addiction it's a temporary one. Addiction on the other hand results in craving a drug even if you don't still have the symptoms or problem it was treating. You still feel like you absolutely *need* it when you don't truly need it for any real purpose except to satisfy the feeling. This is much less common with z-drugs like zopiclone than benzos and other past sleep aids.

Doctors started using z-drugs like that instead of benzos specifically because they are less likely to "ruin your life" and cause addiction. While addiction does happen on occasion z-drugs have a relatively low risk by comparison. They rarely cause you to desire or crave the drug beyond the fact you wish you could get better sleep again. That usually passes in a few days and unless you have ongoing sleep issues that did not improve while on the med you don't usually think about wanting to take it once your sleep is normal again.

I have started and stopped zopiclone, ambien, and far stronger benzos after years of using them and then started another one more times than I can count over the years. They did not ruin my life at all. The only thing they did was not be useful enough or not keep working. Even a few times I've had injected lorazepam it didn't make me crave more of it. Doctors have occasionally mistaken a metabolic issue causing high heart rate and rapid breathing for anxiety. The slight benzo high from a rapid injection is far from bad but if I were addicted to it I'd find the headache about 5 hrs later to be totally worth it when it's not and I usually try to refuse any short acting benzos or offers of z-drugs for improving my sleep. By now I only get a couple days of usefulness out of zopiclone or ambien. I have to use lesser known benzos with insane half lives like flurazepam or doral (quazepam) that can still be testable in the body and exert their effects for 3-4 days after you stop taking any.

Part of the point of meds like zopiclone is that it is mostly gone by morning and nearly to completely eliminated by the next night to prevent daytime sleepiness and reduce build up in your body. Then when you cease taking it the onset of withdrawal is rapid because of how quickly it disappears but doesn't last as long as similar meds that aren't eliminated from the body as quickly. Withdrawal tends to not be as severe for most compared to longer lasting meds because your body has not experienced constant levels to rely on as strongly.

A few are extra sensitive though and will experience a much worse withdrawal than average even after just a few days of taking it. If these people take it for a long time it can be very hard to withstand the withdrawal long enough to get off the medication. There are methods that can make it possible though with a combination of very slowly tapered dosages and alternatives that have a similar enough action they reduce the symptoms but are not identical to the med you are stuck on so you don't just end up with the same problem on a different med.

I've also talked to people who ended up illegally taking 10x the approved dosages of lunesta (eszpiclone derived from zopiclone) or ambien as the meds lost effectiveness over the years and they still didn't experience a *need* for the med. Only a need for sleep. They still weren't truly addicted. They just couldn't find anything else that helped them sleep enough so they kept taking it and acquiring higher and higher dosages to keep it working so they could keep sleeping. When they couldn't get that much medication they still went right back to how life was before they ever started it. Just with an extra nasty withdrawal period for a few days from forcing their body to deal with such a high dose.

[mombasa74 in reply to kaliska0]

Thanks kalisco. Very informative.

[mombasa74 in reply to Kels999]

Many thanks Kerry. At the moment I need zopiclone everyday to live a normal life. I have tried to take on alternate days but that means suffering. One good day, one miserable day.

20 years WOW. And side effects? Do you still take the same dose as from day one? After 20 years is zopiclone still effective for you?

[Kels999 in reply to mombasa74]

Hi Mombasa I only get side effects when I don’t take one! All that’s on my mind 24/7 is when I can take my next one.. I am on between 15mg and 22.5mg a night so basically 2-3 pills a night,

But sometimes my anxiety is so bad in the daytime I sometimes take one in the day to keep me calm, it’s a vicious circle really I wish you all the best

Kerry

[welly10]

Hi mombasa Was on 7.5 mg for 8 weeks every night due to insomnia but like you mine was for sleep and fear of not sleeping as the next day I was a train wreck.

I found sleepstation which I had to get referred through my doctor.

This is a 7 week sleek course to get you back to sleeping better without meds.they use different techniques you send all your sleep data through the week they look at it and give you a sleep pattern to try and stick to.

They send videos etc and talk to you.

I stopped taking zopiclone over 2 years ago.i sleep better but still have some crap nights it just how you deal with it the next day.i still have some pills just incase but that's the last thing I'll try.

Good luck.

[mombasa74]

Thanks a lot welly. I will certainly make a note of this.

[Moon_Glitter]

Sleep is so important to your over all health. I'd speak with your doctor about your fears of dependence.

[Thejosephbear]

Hiya mate

So ive been on zoplicone for 3 months nearly and im currently tapering down to 3/4 of a 3.75mg tablet.

These can cause dependance as they downregulate your Gaba-A receptors over time.

Best advice ive seen is what im doing right now.

Get some light sandpaper and scrape the tablet each night.

So first nice. One scrape. 2nd night 2 scrapes.

This will be a very slow process that your body will not even notice the drop in tablet and give more time for your receptors to heal.

Additonally theres some supplements to take that may heal gaba receptors as you go:

Bacopa (check how you feel when to take this)

Magnolia bark

Black seed oil

Chamomile tea

The above ones before bed

[Kelzlsd]

Hi, I have been taking zopiclone for 20 years now, I cannot sleep without them at all, if I try I will just lie there with the jitters, I know I am addicted but cannot get off them, my doctors ring me every few months to tell me I need to reduce my dose, they say they will cut it but they haven't yet, the thing I like with zopiclone is that there's no bad effects in the morning, I sleep straight away and wake up feeling fresh, I cannot see how I will ever sleep without them again, fortunately for me, they stillborn, even after all these years on them.