Zopiclone extreme warning

Treatment and medication
21

Zopiclone is a wicked drug.

I have read a few comments about people not having difficulty with it and feeling it is not addictive.

​I have extreme fragmented sleep and my daytime brainwaves are active at night.  My sleep specialist prescribed Zop 19 years ago and it worked well (7.5 mg/night) for 15 years.  They said it was not addictive....

Then, I encountered many stresses in my life which further impacted my sleep.  My GP added low dose antidepressants to augment the Zop.  This 'sort of' worked.  Then, I fell and cracked my tailbone.(this is around the same time Zop was declared a Class IV controlled substance).  I could not sleep so I increased my Zop.  Then the daytime anxiety started.  I tried to decrease the Zop and started to go thru the same withdrawal that Darren describes.  It was at that point that I realized how addictive this drug was and I MUST STOP TAKING IT. 

​With the help of my sleep specialist I tried substituting Zop with Diazepam.  I was still experiencing withdrawal and concerned about Diaz. addiction....so, I stopped Diaz. and ate raw marijuana.  This worked great.  My withdrawal subsided and I was able to sleep better.

​I have been clean from Zop (known as Imovane in Canada) for 10 months.  I use low dose trazadone for sleep.  I have also changed my lifestyle and live on a sailboat and we are heading to the Caribbean and Central America for 2 years...a more relaxed lifestyle.

​I am concerned because Zop (imovane) is the most widely prescribed sleep medication in Canada.  My GP was not aware of the addiction aspect of this drug and the impact it has on people when prescribed for more than the revised recommended dosage duration of 7-10 days.

​Yes.....I was on this horrible drug for 19 years, under medical supervision...a doctor who I trusted (I now have another doctor).

​For those who claim they are using it and do not believe it is addictive.....caution, it is addictive and Big Pharma is dishing out these pills like candy in North America.

​Dave, this drug is poison.

​After I got off of Zop I was not sleeping, became sleep deprived and checked myself into the medical health ward at the Orillia hospital.  They stabilized me and put me on low dose traz.  I spent a week in the hospital.

​I was very concerned because there were people in the ward with varying conditions...depression, anxiety, suicide, drug abuse and the vast majority of them were prescribed zopiclone (without their knowledge....just to make sure they were sleeping well).  These patients had no knowledge of this medication they were given.  I spoke of my imovane addiction and the little blue pill that they were all taking for a multitude of conditions.  I can only hope that their GP's will not continue imovane after they are released from hospital.

​So, this is my story after 19 years of Zop.  I am so happy to be clean and will never go back.

​I hope the best for you Darren, and others who are getting off of this drug and experiencing the ravages of Zopiclone (Imovane)

Cathie

22

Funny you mentioned eating raw marijuana, this helped me a great deal, too (although I didn't eat it!).

Thank you for your kind words. I agree with you there is something deeply insidious about this drug which although is not noticeable at first, estblashies itself after repeated exposure to the drug.

I wasn't even getting high, just sleeping good and this stuff took a terrible hold on me in a few short weeks.

23

Eating marijuana doesn't or should not get you high....just sleep, especially with a glass or 2 of wine.  Unfortunately, unlike smoking it, injesting takes about 2 hours to make you sleepy.  Injesting makes the effects last longer in your system than smoking it.  So, if anyone else reading this, injesting is the key.  It helps so well with minimizing/eliminating withdrawal symptons.  I am not a MJ user and didn't want to stay on it very long and then face the problems with discontinuing it.

​A few months ago someone from this forum tried to sell me Zop. He said this was all legal as the drug was coming from his doctor.  I should have reported this to the Zop, no matter how tired I was.  Marijuana is just as good and far less addictive than Zop....just my opinion.

Great to hear from you again Darren.

24

Been off the zopiclone for about 10 weeks now.

It's been a long hard road but I am definitely slowly getting better. Hang in there folks, light is at the end of the tunnel!

25

Its true, for some reason some people can react very intense on this stuff... Especially when one is allready very stressed or exausted...

it can tranform the most loving people in monsters..they can become very aggresive and in some cases they dont even remember their behaviour afterwards...

 

26

I've been using zopiclone daily for the past 11 years. When the drug was first marketed, one of its selling points was that it was less habit forming/addicting than benzodiazepines. They have since found out that it acts on the *same* chemical receptors in the body  as the benzos,  and that is why people are having horrible withdrawls. It is suggested that those people wanting to come off zopiclone taper down the dose slowly, and transition to benzos (they have a shorter half-life). 

I have no history of depression, but over the past few years, I felt mentally off-balance. Nothing serious, but I couldnt seem to shake this feeling of doom. I wondered if zopiclone contributed to this. The 7.5 mg dose was mostly ineffective, so my GP added Trazedone. My gut feeling was I had to come off this crap, and that is what I am doing now. I weaned off both meds over the period of 2 weeks. I've been 14 days with nothing, and I am *just* learning how to fall asleep on my own again. Its a struggle. I wake up multiple times a night. Overall attitude means a lot. I try to stay positive.

Zopiclone is poison. That's my *opinion* Dave...just because you dont agree with it,doesnt make it any less valid

27

are you american ?

I have been taking this and now with the help of my doctor, its perfectly fine BTW, i have gone from 7.5 down to half and half again and a few nights with nothing,

28

Hi Cathie,

Nice to see another Canadian on this site. I was prescribed 3*7.5 mgs for 15 years. I started abusing them, taking them in the day time after work to self medicate generalized anxiety disorder. Of course my anxiety gradually got worse with the withdrawal. At the end I was doctor shopping, buying them online. I weaned off of them in the psych ward and withdrawal was terrible with diarhea, sweats and horrible anxiety.

While in the hospital I noticed that many were on the same high dose I had been on. It concerns me how many doctors give out this med freely and like candy..

I am just glad I got free of it. I still crave it but don't ever want to go through that horrible withdrawal again

29

Hi Darren , I first started taking this suppose wonder drug 12 years ago, ! I ordered off the net and gp as before Xmas I was on 10 tablets a day , I am a normal, healthy person not sleeping, I had a major melt down at Xmas , by the way I am a nurse ! I was taking 70 tabs a week , my hubbie called 118247 and a community psychiatric nurse arrived an hour later and they looked after me popping in every night , they referred me to the local drug and alcohol centre , felt very ashamed and embarrassed . They prescribed 30mg of diazepam at night and I am sleeping , it's horrible being anxious and panicky but it's been 6 weeks with no zops X you will get there believe in yourself , you are stronger than you think and good luck . 

30

Hi Dave I have to disagree , wait until you try going without . While it's working and the dose suits you it's fine, evidence shows that you develop tolorence and end up not sleeping so you take more , the withdrawals are awful but with support and trust me you need it , you will get there , I am a nurse and took them because I was going through a terrible divorce 10 years ago , I ended up taking 10 tablets a night , through the help of arch drug and alcohol abuse centre which I can tell you is very good I haven't taken any for 6?weeks the panic and anxiety stopped me leaving the house, driving and even speaking to people , every day is a fight , it's very easy to get sucked in to z drugs , thank god for the help I've been given x

31

I have now been off Zopiclone for 8 weeks and have had no real side effects, I reduced my intake from 7.5 to half over a period of a month and then with consultation with my GP We decided to stop the Zopiclone as I felt I was able to control my condition without it. I did start on Pregabalin which may have helped avoid some side effects but I feel lucky as my 9 month on Zopiclone was in no way as bad as that others seem to have experienced

32

Well done , becareful of pregablin my client has just been banned for 3 years driving on it , I am glad you had support , I started 12 years ago but feel positive about getting back yo normal 6 weeks off zops x

33

I think your post does nothing but scare innocent people, you are not helping, you may have issues related to zopiclone. BUT 99.9% of people DO NOT.

I've been on them for 10 YEARS, on 15mg, 30mg and 7.5mg I've overdosed many many times to sleep and never had an issue.

We need positive stories on here, not Hey you might die!! For god sake, also you have no way of knowing if your issues are related to zopiclone, unless you can prove to me that you feel this way because of the drug you shouldn't automatically associate the two

34

Zopiclone does not create physical withdrawals, it's impossible due to the way it affects the GABA sub sites. Diazepam however affects the physical withdrawal sites in the brain. So that's not true at all. Whether you want to believe that is up to YOU. But zopiclone does not create physical symptoms of addiction. The only issues a zopiclone user should have when stopping is insomnia, low mood and possibly anxiety - the drug is a hypnotic, it does not supress the CV or CNS systems. IT CANNOT affect them!!! (central nevous system) if it did affect the CNS it would create physical withdrawal. Thats why the drug was invented

35

It is very slightly chemically different, an active stereoisomer of zopiclone known medically as eszopiclone

36

I agree with daniel19975.

I have in in zopiclone 7.5 mg for almost a year. Except for not remembering what I've done or said the few minutes before I fall asleep and the bitter taste in my mouth... I don't feel anything wrong with the drug.

To me, this is a miracle drug as it has relieved me from my sleep problems since I was a child.

Having said that, I will try to decrease my intake after I have fully recovered from my lower back surgery which I am projecting to be within the next 12 months.

I am sad to hear about the horrible experiences of other patients but am thinking if this might be a result of mixed drug interactions. It is also my intent to assure other patients that Zopliclone should be safe if you don't feel otherwise. Please do not get affected by the unpleasant experiences of other patients as each individual is unique and different. What applies to others may not apply to you.

37

Hi Daniel,

i agree with you. 

I am truly sorry people are experiencing such horrible effects from zopiclone.

i have been taking 1x 7.5mg for approximately 3 years now. I have never had a desire to increase this amount or even felt the need to take it during the day.

i work in a hospital and value my sleep as I do not function without a decent nights sleep. I have no intention of stopping this medication that is prescribed for me by my doctor. I started taking this medication as I found it increasingly difficult to fall asleep (could not get my brain to shut down, so I could get to sleep). Once I am asleep, I have a good nights sleep and wake up feeling refreshed, not groggy.

As long as it works, the way I am taking it now, I will continue to take it.

i hope thise if you that are having issues, find some relief.

I have had no side effects at all. 

38

They have been giving me Zopiclone for 4 years straight. It never worked and still doesn't work apart from giving me weeks worth of amnesia and psychotic episodes. why they keep giving it to me I don't know, I've reported the issues but because I have severe insomnia they keep giving it and it doesn't work even at higher doses.

The UK are stupid, they believe benzodiazepines are evil but the Z drugs they force down my neck are worse. The benzodiazepines actually work and just a few weeks supply of them I could have gotten into a good sleeping pattern. anyway the stupid NHS doctors finally learnt there lesson and now I'm given Diazepam for daytime for anxiety and small supplies of Lorazepam for night.

Anyone who gives you Zopiclone tell them to take it themselves, it's awful. it's banned in many countries

39

Hi I have been taking for over twenty years and I can't take much more I have tried to stop but the dreams are terrible but I'm going to try again

40

Hi Darren, really sorry to hear you had such terrible effects.

Having read so many negative comments though, I wanted to provide balance for future peoples information.

I AM SOOO GRATEFUL FOR ZOPICLONE!! This has been life changing for me, helps me maintain my essential schedules, and helps me maintain a positive state of wellbeing, by simply getting the right amount of sleep.

The difference between what I take and what others are taking though startles me. I'm shocked people have been taking this daily.

I take 3.75mg tablets, maximum 2-3 packets of 28/year. To deviate much further away from this is going to absolutely cause problems. Even taking this for more than 2 nights in a row can make sleeping harder the third night. The bonus is you won't get such a tolerance this way.

I'm sorry that it seems doctors aren't giving logical advice on these things, and that's why I always take less than advised.