Hello All
I have sleep issues for more than 40 years and all 40+ i was taking sleeping pills.
Note: I never increase the dosage, still more or less the same for so many years.
In my country I am taking Alprazolam for about 25 years, and it works good - I easy wake up, and can drive, and work in IT.
My new Family doctor wants to switch me to Zopiclone.
What i found about Zopiclone - is not very impressive...
Can you share your experience?
Many thanks!
Hello Sleepless Years, no, don’t let your Doc switch you to Zopiclone. In my opinion it would be a bad move. I’ve been on this drug for almost 9 years now (following domestic and other traumas). I am sure this same drug has brought on my chronic fatigue syndrome - I am sure they are linked if you are a long-term sufferer. My medical advisers seem to be ignorant of the connection. Each day is a daily battle that at nearly 81 years of age I don’t need. All I need is some understanding of howI feel on a daily basis with bad MH problems now brought into the mix, but they are blissfully unaware and plan to stay that way. Janet80
Thank you very much, Janet!
It's quite uncommon it's worked that long. Such meds don't for most people but keeping the dose low is quite likely what has kept it working. When the receptors in the body sense excess of something beyond what the brain thinks should be there it become increasingly less sensitive to the neurotransmitter or some other substances. Most people keep taking higher dosages to try to maintain a stronger effect and their brain keeps reducing the effect until there is no higher dose to safely take. Sometimes a low dose can be enough to fix something your brain is not producing enough of without overloading it so it keeps reducing the reaction. This generally means you have found exactly the problem and right med to treat it without attempting to do more than what your brain needs to function normally.
The med you are taking is known as a benzo. It's a very short acting one that because of it's fast onset is often abused by people to get high or may accidentally cause them to get addicted. This is true of all benzos but especially ones that work faster and wear off faster because people typically use these during the day for anxiety. They feel the need to keep taking more whenever it wears off. Without good self control and questioning whether you really need another dose right now you can easily take increasing excess or keep asking the doctor for a higher dose and cause all sorts of problems.
Zopiclone is among what are known as z-drugs. It's a group of meds that all start with z as the chemical name and are related to benzos. They are more selective and only trigger some benzo receptors and not others. So they are sort of weaker, half benzos instead of the full thing. This reduces some of the effects that cause people to want to take more and get addicted. It also potentially but not always makes them more strongly target the receptor that helps with getting to sleep instead of with general anxiety like benzos are more common for, reduce how sleepy you feel the next day, and last the correct number of hours for a full night of sleep. The last part is less useful if you only need help getting to sleep. A longer lasting med than the very short one you are on may make you more sleepy the next day even if it's typically milder for that problem because it will remain in your body longer than your current med.
It's much like how every new antihistamine that comes out is designed to more specifically target a certain antihistamine receptor and nothing else so it only controls a specific reaction with less risk of side effects like feeling sleepy, dry mouth, or dizziness that you get with older antihistamines. Benadryl would be one of the most common first generation antihistamines and claritin or zyrtect are common current generation otc antihistamines with some newer ones refined from those to make the next generation being used as prescription right now. Such as desloratadine that is further refined from claritin(aka loratadine).
Sometimes though you need those other effects for it to do what you want. The effect that causes dry mouth from an antihistamine as a common negative is also good at drying up a runny nose and will do so for any reason that doesn't have to be caused by allergies. It can be useful for those just sensitive to cold weather, irritated by dust, or sick with something. Newer antihistamines that are more selective aren't as useful for anything but reducing specific allergic reactions. They won't stop a runny nose if it isn't allergies and you also can't use their drowsy effect to help you sleep because newer antihistamines no longer have those effects.
We don't know exactly what benzo effects you need to sleep well. It's definitely different for different people. Some researchers have attempted to classify insomnia sufferers into groups so we have an idea what meds or treatment types might work better on certain people but it has proven too complex for every group that has attempted it. Sleep medicine is really quite behind in our current needs. In general the z-drugs tend to fail even sooner or more often than benzos typically do. They are often an even shorter term med for effectiveness.
However, some people do find their limited effect is still exactly what is needed, may be stronger for sleep purposes than a common benzo, and with careful dosing can effectively use them for years without as much risks. Z-drugs working for years is even less common than most of the benzos doing so. It's also quite possible it won't have any of the same effect because you may need the extra receptors a benzo impacts that a z-drug doesn't.
With how much doctors fear people getting addicted you may have a lot of trouble getting back on a benzo if you attempt the z-drug and it fails for you. You will likely be given an antidepressant as an alternative instead. You might able to convince that particular doctor to let you try it while guaranteeing he will go back to prescribing your current med if it doesn't work but if it works for awhile and you switch doctors during that time another doctor is not going to honor that promise and may be hard to convince.
As the saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Are you at risk for addiction, taking extra doses, have side effects you don't like, or have had any ongoing decline in effectiveness of your current med? If not then I would refuse to change a thing until I did but it's your choice if you want to see if the other med is actually more effective by being more specific in action and designed specifically as a sleep aid instead of as an anxiety med. With the risk you may struggle to get anyone to put you back on the med that works now.
There is still no addiction, I take same dosage for 25 years, and i want to keep my current medication, as I know how my body reacts and what to expect in the mornings, thus I an not willing to switch.I am 64, female, working in IT, driving, and need my brain to stay in tact.
Thank you for your reply, but I really don't want to switch to Z, it is unknown side effects
I take 4 mg of circadin which is melatonin and 30mg of mirtazapine. I take these with 200 mg of solian which is an anti-psychotic
Sometimes I feel like you d escribed, but for this I take beta-blocker, and it makes me calm
pls ì was prescribed ½zopiclone a week and setral-50 for month am not addicted do I give it a try (note took zopiclone over 2 months was lucky not to be addicted) any advice cos experiencing insomnia reason I went to doc
does setraline reduce addiction on zopiclone.?
Tried Amitriptyline it didn't give me the desired effect and Loxton same thing later took zopiclone didn't work as I wanted still have severe insomnia saw my neuro he prescribed zopiclone 3 25mg for a week with setral-50mg. But seeing discouraging post. Any advise
I have been on lorazepam for 20 years without increase - i know doctors not happy but its the only thing that allows me to sleep…. tried melatonin and it made me feel drunk. Think my body used to my meds and have no after effects like others. OTC waste of time tried everything!
I was prescribed 3.75 mg for a couple of weeks when I had terrible tinnitus problem and couldn’t sleep. It did help me.
However, I was refused repeat prescription as it can be bad over a long period. Most doctors in UK refuse to prescribe this medication.
Why do you want to come off your current medication you have been taking for 40 years and has done you no harm?
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