Addicted to Zopiclone

[zopiclone1]

Long term MN user but changed names as I feel so ashamed.

8 years ago, I was prescribed Zopiclone due to insomnia from depression and anxiety caused by both of my parents dying suddenly within 2 years of each other.

This became a repeat prescription and I've just become more and more dependent on it.

I'm 31 and have a 1 year old (I actually didn't touch it when I was pregnant, I had horrible withdrawal, night sweats, restless legs, vomiting) and once I got through that I thought I'm never taking them ever again. 3 months after she was born I took half a tablet when I couldn't sleep one Saturday night and DH was on duty for the night and morning and I've snowballed since.

I'm back up to taking 2 or 3 tablets a night (I don't co sleep so know my DD is safe in her cot), I have memory of a goldfish, I know I'm not safe to drive (so I don't), my brain feels foggy every day, I feel ashamed and low and depressed but I just cannot let these tablets go.

I'm terrified if I admit I have a problem that they'll take my DD away, she is my entire heart and soul. DH has no idea I have an issue.

I have to buy a private prescription to get me through the month as I'm using double of what the GP gives me and I start feeling panicky when I'm running low. I've never had any addiction, I rarely touch alcohol (maybe 1/2 glasses of wine every few months), I don't smoke.

I really need help but I'm so scared I'll lose my daughter. Has anyone been through this?

Please speak to your GP. The risk you run is not at this point now by taking action but if you don’t take action and something does happen. People who request help and work with their health care team are clearly facing up to the responsibilities and it’s a good thing, it’s a strong brave thing to do. Don’t leave it too late if god forbid something does go wrong and you are having to answer questions about why you did not seek help. I know that it is hard but you need to talk to someone and get some professional help. Good luck

I'm shocked the doctor gave you a repeat prescription for Zopiclone. I suffer with insomnia myself and have rarely been prescribed it as a one off, your doctor was very irresponsible allowing this to happen. Anyway, the good news is, you have given up once and you can do it again. Contact a support service such as Talk to Frank as a starting point as you can't do this alone. Focus on slowly reducing your dose rather than going cold turkey. As a replacement medication I would recommend low dose Amitriptyline 10mg which would need to be prescribed by a doctor (it's an old school antidepressant but treats insomnia at low doses, I've been taking it for years with no side effects, I was desperate when a doctor prescribed me this and it changed my life), or Phenergan (promethazine hydrochloride) which is an antihistamine which causes drowsiness and can be bought cheaply at the chemist. Both of these are non addictive. Best of luck - you got this.

Tell your GP face to face

You can get help from your local community drug team. You can either refer yourself or get your GP to help you with your referral. No, they won't take your child away. This sort of situation is more common than you think. Good luck.

Tell your husband and tell your doctor, you deserve help and support.

I’ve struggled with prescription addiction myself. I can promise you, there is help out there. First talk to your GP. They’ve been irresponsible by putting this on repeat. It’s a one off type of drug to treat bouts of insomnia and very addictive. I echo PP who mentioned amitriptyline. I’m on this myself and it’s amazing. Takes an hour to work but knocks me out cold. I’ve struggled with insomnia for years. Good luck. You’ve got this

I was prescribed four of these once when I was going through a bad stage of anxiety and the GP handed me the prescription with the words "try not to take these, they'll ruin your life" which really made me question why she was sending me off with the bloody script!

Luckily, I'd already seen how awful they can be; my granny was very addicted to them- so bad that she was taking three or four tablets for only three or four hours sleep. She was forced off of them in hospital after a fall (they realised the severity of her addiction and eased her off of them, but she still had the shakes, vomiting and sweats).

As such I would never touch them. Don't get me wrong, I take plenty of other stuff and am not being pious, it's just that it's a horrible drug and I've seen that first hand.

Please tell your GP to get support. Your daughter won't be taken away. You're a good mother and proof of that is how worried you are and knowing that you need help. Good luck.

I’m sorry you are going through this. It’s so easy happen when a doctor is prescribing.

Please be kind to yourself.

I find strength in books. If it was me, I would first of all get some books and read up a bit, and would then talk to your husband and decide a plan of action together.

You can totally do this with support. All the very best to you x

My experience of zopiclone is that it completely knocks you out. And I've only ever taken 1 tablet a night. How likely are you to hear if your dd was in distress? If your dh is working overnight she's in the care of one unconscious adult?

My GP would rarely give me zopliclone - and then only about 7 tablets. Yours is being very irresponsible. Even if you are topping up privately (not sure how that works) they must still be prescribing a regular supply.

If your dd is your 'heart and soul' then you need to seek help - preferably from a different GP - for your own welfare and that of your dd's.

Many people use drugs (prescription and non prescription) and don't have their children taken away. Being blunt though; you mention you have a 1yr old, if you are caring for your 1yr old on your own (eg if your husband is at work) then a drug service may make a social services referral. Social services would want to understand whether the zopiclone use would have any impact on your daughter. If there was a risk they still wouldn't be looking to take your child away but they would be looking to come up with a plan with you to mitigate the risk, which could include having a family member be there with you or DH taking over more of the care.

Being a bit groggy wouldn't be a safeguarding issue. If you were incapacitated due to zopiclone it would (I have found children completely unsupervised and trying to feed themselves as parent is knocked out on benzos bought illegally online for example) That's pretty extreme but just trying to show its not the drug choice or the addiction that social services care about really, it's whether whatever you're doing impacts the children (to a level where the child is at serious risk)

Thank you everyone, I have just booked a GP appt and the nearest one is 2 weeks away but I've made the first step.

I will talk to DH tonight, I know he will support me even though I'm sure he'll be shocked.

Just to answer some questions, after about 2 years of being on them they lost the ability to "knock me out", DH doesn't work nights but anyhow I've never not woke up to DD making a sound. As soon as she cries, I'm awake and up and I'm up in the night for a wee usually too, I also wake up when my dog comes and lays down at the side of the bed as he throws himself on the floor next to me in the middle of the night so I know I'm not "knocked out". I don't drive because I know technically I would be under the influence if I was in an accident, even if I felt fine, I wouldn't risk my daughters or a strangers life so I choose not to drive. Luckily we are within walking distance from shops, fields for the dog to run in etc.

Hopefully the dr will be able to help, in the mean time I'm going to commit to cutting down, I'll start by taking 1 tonight and for the next few nights then cut down again to half. Hopefully this helps with the withdrawals.

I'm also shocked that your GP has kept prescribing it. My GP was very reluctant to prescribe more than 28 days worth for me.

Well done for making an appointment with your GP.

I'm also shocked that your GP has kept prescribing it. My GP was very reluctant to prescribe more than 28 days worth for me.

Same. I persuaded my surgeon to prescribe me some after a hip replacement as I was feeling a bit desperate through lack of sleep. I had 14 days worth which I cut into half and just half a tablet knocked me out for the night.

I found it really hard coming off them after only a month so you have my complete sympathy. Sleep deprivation is hideous.

I think there is an element of catastrophising as this isn’t likely to lead to your daughter being taken into care - your brain is spiralling and not being friendly.

You need to speak to your doctor. There are ways that they can help with advice and medications to get you through this.

You have done the hardest part - admitting you have a problem and facing it. You have stopped taking them before, you can do it again.

Good luck.

I hated zopiclone, it made me buzzed & completely unable to sleep, plus the metallic taste was unbearable.

I am allowed 10 zolpiderm tablets a month but rarely take them.

Promethazine has stopped working for me.

Lorazepam helps calm the brain if I’m spiralling.

The best thing is the headspace app.

Really well done on recognising the problem. I think the withdrawal you're planning might be a little too fast. Sleeping pills have a strong psychological addiction as well as physical. I would look at combining withdrawal with seeing a sleep psychologist if you possibly can. Maybe look at sleep restriction therapy, which works really well.

My method would be - start with your usual dose, but stay awake until you are very very tired, then go to bed. Get up at your usual time, don't nap during the day. The next night, reduce the dose by 1/4 of a tablet and do the same thing, staying up until you absolutely have to sleep. Keep doing this for a few nights, until you feel confident on that dose. Then reduce by another 1/4 and repeat. Keep reducing by 1/4 and make sure you feel comfortable before reducing again. When you get right down, you can reduce it by 1/8th.

If you get into bed and can't sleep after 15 minutes or so, or you are starting to feel stressed, get up and wait until you feel really tired again. If you don't sleep at all, don't panic, you will be ok, just keep going. Eventually you'll train your brain not to worry about sleep.

Keep getting up at your usual time, and don't nap. You'll probably need your husband's support. Take time off work for both of you if you need to to get through it - it will be worth it in the end.

Hope that helps! Feel free to ignore xx

Oh - and nobody is going to take your daughter off you!

Your GP may have a clinical pharmacist working in the surgery who would be best to help with reductions, they would have more time than a GP and would usually book repeated follow ups to support as you came off them.
Keep good sleep hygiene (ie. Good routine, no napping etc) and aim to reduce by 1/4 every fortnight. It may take some time but a gradual reduction would be best. Good luck and we'll done, half the battle is wanting to come off them

So you actually haven't been addicted to it.

I don't think you understand how easy it is to get addicted to Z pills and other benzos.

I got to the point where taking four at a time only let me sleep for a couple of hours.

OP don't be ashamed to tell your GP. There is help out there. I assure you that it's possible to come off them.

I warn you that it took me 18 months to get back a normal sleep routine, after I'd stopped taking them completely.

Our GP will only prescribe 3 days worth.

I was on them for a year,twenty years ago, you can't stop or you get the shakes etc. Get a pill cutter and come off really slowly, it took me about 3 months ,that way I didn't get any side effects/ withdrawal.

Dh took them for 3 weeks and stopped suddenly and he was like something from Trainspotting for 24 hours.

Taper down slowly.

I had a Z pill (zolpidem in my case) addiction. In hindsight I feel angry with the (private) psychiatrist who facilitated it for so long. It went on for several years. I would apparently drift off to sleep talking absolute shite. I had no memory of anything that happened after I would take it, so sometimes I’d get deliveries of things I had no recollection of ordering. Sometimes I’d wake up feeling really paranoid that something terrible had happened.

What enabled me to stop was being abroad for an extended period of time and realising I was running out. I had to cut them up and ration them, and decided that this was the time to quit. The rebound insomnia was hard but it eventually subsided.

Unfortunately I relapsed again when I was given some after a period of stress and insomnia, but this time I was able to stop myself before it got out of control. I started focusing on other ways of aiding sleep like guided meditation, head massage and progressive muscle relaxation.

Well done for recognising you have a problem. I’m really glad you’ve booked an appointment with your GP. Your mind will feel so much clearer once you’re off them.

Wishing you well I quit Duloxetine via tapering and it took about 2 years.

I suffer with insomnia and it's awful. Zopiclone doesn't even work that well for me tbh.

Decent GPs don’t prescribe these other than for a few days in crisis. Z drugs are as addictive as benzodiazepines so Valium etc. OP withdraw them very gradually, ideally with the help of doctors or drug services.

Unless something is going on that you have not mentioned here, there is no chance of your child being taken off you just for this.

Op what strength are your tablets? 3.75mg or 7mg

Please be really careful. I think you might need to titrate slower than this but I'm gonna have a look for guidance.