As you no longer get them from UP where else? I have been using UP for over 4 years and it's like hell now. I've searched online, most just look like scams
I dont think any of the internet suppliers sell the real deal. My gp prescribed some and i thought "oh great" a good nights kip at last". Took the prescription to Asda chemist and when i got them, theyb were exactly the same as the internet ones, which quite frankly are not the same. I am very annoyed as i had at last managed to get some legitimately. Has anyone else had this experience.
Hi Keith,
Hi Keith,
I am Geri I have been on Zopiclone now must be for about ten years after a very good friend of mine killed her self my G-P started me on one Zopiclone but it only worked for a while I am now on two Zopiclone now and addicted to them,
I have become medically dependent on them
Hi Geri. Is that a problem for you being dependent on them. I have been taking them for at least fifteen years now. Are you having a problem getting them, as quite a few people on this site are, including myself at times. I tried to give them up but realised i was better of mentally and physically taking one a night. Are you looking to try and give them up. There is lots of advice here if you do decide to do that.
I am not going to give up, I work 12hr shifts and need my sleep
Hi Geri. Hows it going with you. I am waiting to see if i can get repeat prescription on Wednesday for another months supply of Zopiclone. I am so nervous that i will get a phone call to come in and see doctor to discuss it. I just put repeats in and hope for the best. Fingers crossed.
Hi Keith
I want to update on my own efforts to come off 11 mg Zopiclone ( on it for 13 years and was adding to my own low prescription using Internet provided Z's). I stopped taking Zopiclone 9 weeks ago after looking at the CITA website and advice and crossed over to 9 mg Diazepam nightly. My GP was very supportive on this. I hoped to reduce quickly and am now on 6 mg but feeling a bit scared to drop lower. I feel very different with Diazepam - not sleeping quickly or well, but I do get some sleep. I am more emotional and feel I have lost some kind of 'security' that I felt with Zopiclone (misplaced, I think, since I didnt sleep that well with it and felt pretty hungover in the day time). But on the other hand, I'm off it, and the Diazepam dose is relatively low - and also, I think I've lost my fear of not sleeping. I've realised I can get a few hours and still live my life ok. I'm hoping to drop another mg this week, when I have a quiet time coming up. I feel I'm doing well, but it's also hard and its a very big deal. That's my experience so far!
Hope everything goes OK for you kept, I too am addicted to zopiclone I take 3, 7.5mg a night, not only am I addicted to those also Fentanyl, Amitriptyline,.Co-codamol, Sertraline. I suffer from Fibromyalgia, Chondramalacia. Patella, Sciatica, IBS, Slipped disc, Raynauds disease, Cubital tunnel syndrome, Migraines, Asthma, CFS. I know I need painkillers to get me through the day & night. I've felt like ending it numerous times but I'VE 4 lovely kids & a granddaughter on the way. So have a lot to live for. Just wish there was one tablet I could take a day instead of 36 tablets sometimes more.
Jules xxx
Hi Jaygee, I'm glad you got support of your GP and are crossing over. Are they OK with you extending the timescales a bit? I don't have any fear of sleeping... but I do have anxiety during the day (and sometimes the night) . Anyhow am glad you seem to be so close to kicking them ... dont give up, be strong! You can do it!
Meant to say I take four 3.75mg tablets a night
Hi Keith,
i am Geri,
i started on Zopiclone ten years ago after the death of a very close friend,
they worked reall well for about seven years but I had to go back and see my GP to up the dose I now take two per night 7.5 mg I am now totally hooked on them so now I think I have been on them for about 12 years,
I want to ask my GP if she will put me on three Zopiclone a night but I really don't think she will the only thing I can think of is buying them off of the internet but they are not cheap,
you say you take 4 or 5 a night do you get any side affects the next day I can not believe your GP has prescribed you 4 or 5 Zopiclone a night,
it would be interesting to hear from you thanks,
GeriGeri
Hi Geri, I get mine on prescription off my Dr, I'VE been on them 10 years after having lots of things happen in my life. I would personally up your dose or buy off internet. One side effects are doubled once you up them. I'M trying to wean myself off them with help from my Dr. With buying off internet you never know what your buying. I suggested you go & talk to your Dr about it.
Jules x
I cant believe you still get so many prescribed . I am lucky to manage doc to give me one a night, and even then i always expect to be called in to discuss it. They are really tightening up on these tablets now as they have been classified a C category i think. If i were you i wouldnt try asking for a higher dose. Your doc might suggest weaning you of them, my former gp did. I have resorted to buying of the internet too but reallky resent having to pay for them.
Hi Jaygee , just read your post and just felt i had to comment and say well done you must be very proud of yourself coming off zopiclone.I too was addicted to this and managed to come off over 3 years ago now by the same method as you and advice from CITA.It can be difficult at times in the beginning but the key thing is to withdraw very slowly i withdrew only half a mg every two weeks.Sometimes if try to cut too much can end up going back on due to withdrrawel symtoms.You are have done so well so keep going and be positive.When i was withdrawing i always used to look to the future and tell myself that i would eventually be free of these drugs and back to the old me that was, and looked to my family having me back.If you can find a focus to look forward to that can teally help.Take care
Hi Keith. Just wondered if you have started taking the Activas brand of Zopiclone yet. I find they dont knock me out like the Sanofi brand. With the others, i am lying awake for hours, although i do usually get of eventually. Or maybe you have got on some sort of programme at last.
Hi Vivien,
I am not sure they are any different when I was prescribed them by the local chemist. However, I did find an independent chemist near me who has been supplying me with the Sanofi ones on prescription. I think it's down to other things - I've taken Sanofi ones and they haven't seemed to work well, other times they do. It's the placebo effect I suspect - if you believe it will work, it will, if you don't it won't.
Well an update after a long time...
It's been 6 months now since the ban on internet sales of Zopiclone, and 6 months since I went to see my doctor about getting off them.
At first, he tried to refer me to a drug&alcohol unit in a neighboring county (the practise is actually split between two counties) but they told me to go to the one in my own county. And they also said, look, we're not medically trained, we can't put you on a crossover program, only your doctor can. So doctor next refers me to the similar org in my own county, basically they say the same thing - they don't deal with things like this, they give out needles to junkies, have self-help groups etc. but don't deal with withdrawal itself.
Meanwhile I was getting 56 zops prescribed every 2 weeks (I'm on 4/day). However the last 2 times when I went to pick up the prescription it had been queried by other doctors. Fortunately one of them was there at the time and called me in for a quick discussion and said she'd talk to my doctor. I mentioned CITA seemed the only place that seemed to advise GPs on crossover and she listened.
I had an appointment with my doc today and was terrified he'd be the same but no - he has agreed to do a crossover and has prescribed my diazepam - and he has also asked for details of the crossover, which I've given him from http://www.non-benzodiazepines.org.uk/zopiclone.html (which matches exactly what I'm on). I feel a great weight has been lifted and I'm finally getting somewhere. Still will probably be hard but at least I'm getting some support now.
So don't give up trying to give up!
Hi Keith. Glad you are now grtting to where you want to be, I do hope that you eventually get of them, if that is what you want.. As for me, i am still on one a night and want to stay on that as i feel i can cope on that dose, but only get around six hours a night, but better than no sleep at all. Of coursr, there is always the fear that you will be called in to see doc for a review. Last one did that and i have documented in the past the outcome of that. Anyway Keith, good luck and let us know how you get on.
Hi Viv,
Thanks for your comforting words. I have my next appointment on 6th Jan, will see how it goes. The doc is still a bit unsure, he prescribed me 100 x 2mg diazepam but (as I was away last week in the US) said 'don't start until I see you when you're back, hence the 5th. Also 2mg tabs for the Ashton plan seem too small, as the crossover starts at 10mg diazepam for the first 2-3 weeks, 15 mg for the next 2-3 weeks then 20mg when completely off the zops and start to gradually reduce the diazepam.
Interestingly the doc did say he thought the NHS had facilities for helping people with tranquiliser dependence, and was surprised that they did not ... well I'm not surprised.