View Full Version : Trying to get off the Zopiclone
Hi all
I have been on Zopiclone for close to ten years. I have always had problems sleeping and I was given these pills by the doctor as I had started college and was not getting much sleep and it was causing problems.
Anyway I have been on these things, brought over the internet, ever since. I normally take about half when I go to sleep and on the odd occasion another quarter if I awake before about 3 am.
Earlier this year the legal status of these pills were changed here in the UK so only licensed places can sell them. They can still be brought online, but they are more expensive and I can't afford my habit. So this week I have a week off work and I am trying to get off them.
So, last night was my first night with out the Zop's. Well, almost. I took two Valerian about half an hour before bed. I read a bit of a magazine and had some soothing music on very quietly in the background. Come 2am I cracked and grabbed a zopiclone and chopped it into quarters. (of course, you can't guarantee its 7.5mg's evenly distributed) and drank it down. I had two spells of good sleep, waking up at about 5am and then sleeping for a while until about 9am. I feel a bit funny in the head today, per haps a bit dizzy.
I have a few days out this week so we will see what it brings.
:shrug:
venusbluejeans
21-09-14, 13:20
Hi
This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your problem.
This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.
OK venus :)
Not much luck in kicking the pills. Had to have a quarter of one last night even though I was shattered from a three mile walk yesterday.
Well, Thursday night into Friday I slept for about three or four hours up until about 3am. I then came into the back room and played on the PC for about an hour before feeling shattered again and went back to bed. I then managed to sleep for about another three or sour hours. When I got up I felt quite good. I was tired and felt slightly 'different' but overall OK.
Last night (Friday into Saturday) despite being really tired I was still awake at almost half past four. Twice I managed to stop myself from grabbing half a zopiclone pill, but the third time I was to tired and annoyed. Within an hour I was asleep.
So I will have to see what tonight brings. The real test will be Sunday night as I have work Monday morning and that always makes me a bit nervous.
MyNameIsTerry
28-09-14, 04:27
Have you considered seeing your GP about this? I have used Zopiclone on prescription and your GP will be able to help you with a withdrawal programme.
Considering it acts on the same areas as Benzodiazapenes, it may need a similar withdrawal programme to reduce the withdrawl side effects.
Good luck!
I feel for you Pete and can identify with trying to hold out and not take the zoo.
Your sleeping pattens sound all over the place.
Have you considered mirt/pregabalin combo instead as this should help aid sleep, but not as addictive as*zop.
MyNameIsTerry
29-09-14, 05:38
I'm really surprised that they were allowing general sale of this stuff until making it a Cat C in May 2014. I took it back in 2007 and my GP said it was habit forming then so why on earth have they allowed it to be sold in the first place or for another 7 years after GP's knowing about it?
I'm really surprised that they were allowing general sale of this stuff until making it a Cat C in May 2014. I took it back in 2007 and my GP said it was habit forming then so why on earth have they allowed it to be sold in the first place or for another 7 years after GP's knowing about it?
I suspect he has been buying from dodgy online 'pharmacies' that will sell you anything if you have the cash.
Really should speak to the GP about getting this on prescription and doing a controlled taper because withdrawing from long term use your own will not be easy.... Z drugs like Zopiclone are pretty much just Benzodiazepines by another name so cause many of the same unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.
Sorry but I think you will find that Zopiclone is a Hypnotic drug and Benzes are tranquilizers so work in a completely different way on the brain.
I have been on Zop for 14 years and Lorazepam for 2 years and they work totally differently.
Zopiclone withdrawal really should be done VERY slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms..but it can be done.
Look up the Ashton Method, the. Go to your GP and be honest about buying it on the internet, which is illegal as it is a prescription only drug.
The Ashton Method has a taper programme for Zop withdrawal using Diazepam as a substitute, but it does not always work. My GP was happy for me to try this methods once I had shown her the programme.
Good luck
Sorry but I think you will find that Zopiclone is a Hypnotic drug and Benzes are tranquilizers so work in a completely different way on the brain.
I have been on Zop for 14 years and Lorazepam for 2 years and they work totally differently.
Good luck
Try actually reading what I said.
Benzos have various effects, muscle relaxant, anti seizure, calming anxiety, hyponotic, etc. Temazepam is an example of a benzo that is primarily used for its hypnotic effect and not as a tranquilizer for anxiety.
So they do have very similar effects and work in similar ways. So similar in fact that they even have the same antidote in case of overdose. I mean think about it, if they weren't similar why would they use diazepam to taper.....
Zopiclone, a benzodiazepine-like drug was introduced and initially promoted as having less dependence and withdrawal than traditional benzodiazepine drugs. However, zopiclone may have an even greater addictive potential than benzodiazepines and has been described as a "benzodiazepine in disguise".[27][28][29] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zopiclone
I would find a more reputable source than wikipedia but I can't be bothered.
Zopiclone is nasty stuff and best avoided, OP should speak to his doctor.
On the other hand, zopiclone does not necessarily cause tolerance, and thus is still considered non-addictive per se, by many doctors. Tolerance is the second "prong" if you will, of addiction, dependency being the other. For example, if I don't take zopiclone I can't sleep. I depend (am dependent) on it for sleep. However, I never take more than the same one tablet, and it continues to work for me years on. No tolerance issues. Technically not addictive, despite what wiki says. But definitely not the panacea it had been touted as, since dependency does rear it's ugly head and will still require a withdrawal to come off of. Whether to check into a detox facility and do it more quickly, or to stick to a withdrawal schedule and cope as best as possible while carrying on with life is up to the person who wants off it.
After being diagnosed with depression again, I do find that with my new psych meds I require more sleep before I can wake fully, and believe that the zopiclone is part of the problem now. My doc is hopeful that as my depression is resolved, I will be able to sleep naturally without the zop, and I am willing to try. Another member here did the same, by implementing a slow, slow taper (paring the pill gradually). I look forward to doing the same, as I know the psych meds will be long-term and I can't just continue to sleep for 12 hours a night!
In my experience vs benzodiazapenes, I don't feel "high" on zop nor do I get a real 'hangover' stupor from it, and neither does it interfere with my memory like benzos. Of course, it too is ideally only used for a week or so, which is what most docs prescribe it for. My doc seems to feel that it is a safe bet for sleep alone, especially when one is also taking psych drugs. ... I hate to say it, but I don't trust benzos anymore at all, and wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. Diazepam would be much more likely to create rapid tolerance than zopiclone, and thus create full-blown benzodiazapene addiction instead of helping with withdrawal, imo. Talk to me again when I'm coming off the zop, and I'm sure I will have my struggles re-establishing sleep again. But I don't anticipate that I will suffer the same sort of panic and drug-seeking/substitution behaviours. Fingers crossed...
Good luck to you as well, Pete_uk!
Marie
MyNameIsTerry
30-09-14, 08:15
I took Zopiclone for 30 days when I was going onto Citalopram and what I found out from the mental health team is that it should have been cycled every other day. So, after a month on it, I did this to taper off and for the first week I just couldn't sleep hardly at all but would sleep fine the next night, albeit the hours asleep decreased from about 9-7hrs max. After that week, I could go without it.
I found after being on Zopiclone for a couple of weeks that I really struggled waking up, would take an hour or so to get up and I couldn't digest food so had to eat plain biscuits. It would take about 6hrs before I woke up properly. I still suffer this slightly (takes hrs to properly wake up, but can eat properly, but sometimes it can be an effort), so I expect Zopiclone just advanced an existing issue.
These past few days I have had to take a stupidly small amount of the Zops to get me to sleep. I know when its kicking in as I just feel more rested. I have tonight and Friday night before I don't need to get up for work for another week. Although I won't go to bed so early I know I need to keep in a rhythm.
My sleep has always been broken and bad. The last time I had an early morning job before I was on any pills I was miserable most of the time.
If I wanted COPD or liver damage, I could go out and smoke and drink as muc has I could afford. But something to get a good nights sleep? Thats a no no.
ok, so Monday night I had to take half a pill as I had a sudden angry outburst with myself. But Tuesday night I went without the zopiclone and last night I also slept well without any zopiclone. Had some very weird dreams though.
I feel for you Pete ,ive just gone through two weeks of terrible insomnia.My only advice for you is to taper very very slowly and be in no rush to get off the meds.A slow taper will win in the end every time
good luck
MyNameIsTerry
10-10-14, 05:14
Well done Pete, thats how it starts mate. You get more able to come off them and each extra day is another victory.
Weird dreams are part of anxiety & depression anyway so perhaps these will adjust as you do?
Well, I have been doing quite well! Last Wednesday I had a bad cold so I took half a pill - the first for about five days. Needless to say I slept well and I needed it too.
Last night something wound me right up, so I took a look in the drawer and there was this quarter of a pill I had broken up a few weeks ago. God knows what small amount of drug was actually in there but I was off with the fairies in about half an hour.
So, I'm getting there. :)
MyNameIsTerry
22-10-14, 06:10
Thats good news Pete!
Yeah, some strange dreams but the Valerian capsules (about £17 for 60 + another 60 for 1p at Holland and Barratt) seem to relax me enough to drift off.
this might sound daft Pete but just recently I drink a cup of warm horlicks before bedtime and it really settles me for the night
this might sound daft Pete but just recently I drink a cup of warm horlicks before bedtime and it really settles me for the night
don't you end up peeing all night?
MyNameIsTerry
26-10-14, 07:14
don't you end up peeing all night?
I used to drink chamomile and I found if I was going to wake up to need to pee it would be in the next hour or two but after that it wouldn't bother me again. I guess if you knock back a pint it will have a longer effect though.
musiclover
26-10-14, 19:18
In the last few weeks I have developed insomnia from work related stress and a couple of weeks ago I was sleeping 2 hours per night. I was prescribed zopiclone 3.75 last week and I took one and I felt like I had been hit by a bus the next day and it only let me sleep in 2 hour intervals. I haven't taken another one since. Over the last few nights I have been consistently going to bed at the same time, no tv in the bedroom, turned the clock round and put an alarm on if I need to get up at a certain time. I have slept until 6.30am every night and not clock watching means I am not stressed about how much I sleep. If any of this helps, then I'm glad. I've been struggling with this for the last couple of weeks as I am someone who normally can sleep for England!
Definitely good advice about avoiding clock watching - a sure recipe for stress!
I never take zop 2 nights in a row. Adds to the pressure to get to sleep but am usually more tired the night after having taken it.
Got through 1 and half boxes of 3.75mg in 10 months which is not a lot, break them in half usually. Had. A good few weeks without any but lately have had to turn to them again.
Double edged sword having them in the house. Safety net if I really need them but also the nightly dilemma of should I or shouldn't I.
don't you end up peeing all night?
Nope
I need a good few pees before I am settled.
Its been a mixed bag over the past few weeks. I have resorted to taking a small about of zopiclone because I just cant switch off. it was 2am this morning when I swallowed some and only woke up once for about ten minutes between then and half past eleven.
What dose do u call small Pete?
About a third of a pill. As to how much active ingredient is in there???
Do we know if the active ingredient is split equally throughout the pill.
Do you mean third of 3.75 or third of 7.5?
Do we know if the active ingredient is split equally throughout the pill.
Do you mean third of 3.75 or third of 7.5?
1. No
2. 7.5mg
I have about three pills left. Once they are gone I will just have to see what happens :wacko:
Well, I have 1/3rd of a zopiclone pill left for an emergency. I dread the next time I have a stinking cold.
I know that I need to understand that some nights I just don't need as much sleep as others. I also know that going back to bed when I finish work at 9am won't help but some mornings I feel like I can't cope with twelve hours ahead in the day with not a lot to do. That in the most part if from the year someone who I quickly became scared of hearing was living next door. Not a day goes past when that doesn't enter my thoughts and I remember the emotional and mental termoil it put me through.
Well, last week, searching through my draws I found a whole pill. Good timing as it was 1am and I had a stinking cold! The half I didn't take is still in there. I would like to take it but I know I may need it in an emergency.
So, I guess, I have kicked the habit!* Don't know if I feel better for it or not!
*any donations on unwanted Zop's still welcome :winks:
Good effort Pete.
Am still reaching for half a zop, a couple of times a week approx
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